Furman held Anderson to 160 total yards of offense. The Paladins allowed just six yards rushing. They ran for 268 yards and totaled 451 overall.
With those kinds of numbers, one might think Furman blew out the visiting Trojans the way a Division I football team is supposed to against an inferior Division II program that just began its third ever football season.
However, that is not what happened in Thursday’s season-opener for both schools at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, S.C. Instead, the Trojans forced Furman into two missed field goal attempts and an interception inside the 10-yard line.
Though the Paladins won 20-3, the 17-point victory was not the final score the statistics nor the expectations implied it should have been.
Yes, a win is a win, but with a date with No. 20 Tennessee on the docket a week from Saturday, Furman needs to get better fast or the 102,000 fans that will be in Knoxville, Tenn., next Saturday will be singing a lot of Rocky Top.
“Offensively, it will be interesting to watch the tape,” Furman head coach Clay Hendrix said afterwards.
What they will watch is a poor offensive showing for nearly much of the first half. After recovering a fumble on the opening play of the game at the Anderson 40-yard line. The Paladins picked up one first down and then the reliable Nathan Chapman missed a 42-yard field goal.
Furman followed that missed opportunity with three consecutive three-and-outs. Before the Paladins got anything going offensively, the game was scoreless for almost 22 minutes.
“It was a little frustrating that we left the points that we left out there,” Hendrix said. “We had two really good drives to start the third quarter, but we had just three points.”
Despite the missed opportunities, Hendrix still feels good about his offense. He said, “it just felt different.” He believes the pieces are there for them to be really good, “we just have to keep working.”
He is right. When the Paladins were executing, they looked good. Quarterback Jake Garcia, playing his first real action in two years, made some good throws, especially the deep ball. The running game, especially when they ran up the middle, was very productive. The offensive line, for the most part, was solid and did its job.
However, Garcia threw too many balls that were in the ground, especially early on. There were a couple of dropped passes that could have kept the chains moving on those first couple of possessions. There were too many one- or two-yard runs, and at times Garcia was flushed out of the pocket and on the run.
“I see lots of things I know we can do better,” Hendrix said. “I think the pieces are in place, and I really don’t think I see a place where, I think, we are not very good. Now, we need to play better, and we need to coach better, and we got to be that team that doesn’t beat Furman.”
Though it was not pretty, as Hendrix said, it was a win and every win is a good win. It was a tough game and the Trojans played hard and made it a tough game. The most important thing Hendrix said about his team’s sloppy win, “that one will help us going forward.”
And it will. It just might not help at Neyland Stadium next Saturday, though.