2023 Furman Paladins football team

The 2023 Furman Paladins football team represented Furman University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Paladins were led by seventh-year head coach Clay Hendrix and played their home games at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina. The Furman Paladins football team drew an average home attendance of 10,467 in 2023.

2023 Furman Paladins football
SoCon Champion
NCAA Division I Quarterfinal, L 28–35OT at Montana
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 7
FCS Coaches	No. 6
Record	10–3 (7–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Clay Hendrix (7th season)
Co-offensive coordinators	Chad Byers (2nd season) Justin Roper (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Duane Vaughn (5th season)
Home stadium	Paladin Stadium
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 7 Furman $^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 14 Chattanooga ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
No. 17 Mercer ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 23 Western Carolina		5	–	3					7	–	4
Samford		4	–	4					6	–	5
VMI		4	–	4					5	–	6
East Tennessee State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Wofford		2	–	6					2	–	9
The Citadel		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech*	No. 6	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	W 45–10	9,827
September 9	7:30 p.m.	at South Carolina*	No. 6	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN+/ESPN+	L 21–47	78,281
September 16	5:00 p.m.	at Kennesaw State*	No. 7	Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA	ESPN+	W 31–28	6,993
September 23	1:00 p.m.	No. 21 Mercer	No. 8	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	W 38–14	9,387
October 7	2:00 p.m.	The Citadel	No. 5	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	W 28–14	12,157
October 14	1:00 p.m.	at Samford	No. 5	Pete Hanna Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN+	W 27–21	5,908
October 21	2:30 p.m.	at No. 8 Western Carolina	No. 4	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	W 29–17	10,736
October 28	2:00 p.m.	East Tennessee State	No. 3	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	W 16–8	11,237
November 4	1:30 p.m.	at No. 14 Chattanooga	No. 2	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	W 17–14	9,201
November 11	1:00 p.m.	VMI	No. 2	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	W 37–3	9,277
November 18	12:00 p.m.	at Wofford	No. 2	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN+	L 13–19	3,722
December 2	1:00 p.m.	No. 18 Chattanooga*	No. 7	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN+	W 26–7	7,118
December 8	9:00 p.m.	at No. 2 Montana*	No. 7	Washington-Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN2	L 28–35 OT	20,884
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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Game summaries

at South Carolina (FBS)

See also: 2023 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

Game Two – No. 6 Furman Paladins (1–0) at South Carolina Gamecocks (FBS) (0–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Furman	7	7	0	7	21
South Carolina (FBS)	7	20	13	7	47

at Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina

• Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Sunny • 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind: SE 5 mph
• Game attendance: 78,281
• Referee: -
• TV announcers (SECN+/ESPN+): TBD

Game information

First quarter (7:27) FU – Dominic Roberto 1-yard run (Axel Lepvreau kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 68 yards, 2:49; Furman 7-0) (4:59) SC – Dakereon Joyner 3-yard run (Mitch Jeter kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 2:21; Tied 7-7) Second quarter (11:57) FU – Luke Shiflett 4-yard pass from Tyler Huff (Ian Williams kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 5:04; Furman 14-7) (8:26) SC – Spencer Rattler 1-yard run (Mitch Jeter kick) (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:31; Tied 14-14) (0:43) SC – Luke Doty 36-yard pass from Spencer Rattler (pass failed) (Drive: 10 plays, 74 yards, 3:48; South Carolina 20-14) (0:03) SC – O'Mega Blake 3-yard pass from Spencer Rattler (Mitch Jeter kick) (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 0:26; South Carolina 27-14) Third quarter (8:36) SC – Xavier Legette 42-yard pass from Spencer Rattler (Mitch Jeter kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 90 yards, 1:30; South Carolina 34-14) (0:09) SC – Tyshawn Russell 50-yard pass from LaNorris Sellers (pass failed) (Drive: 5 plays, 67 yards, 2:01; South Carolina 40-14) Fourth quarter (10:40) SC – Nyck Harbor 7-yard pass from LaNorris Sellers (Alex Herrera kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 38 yards, 2:24; South Carolina 47-14) (4:41) FU – Brock Chappell 16-yard pass from Carson Jones (Axel Lepvreau kick) (Drive: 1 play, 16 yards, 0:08; South Carolina 47-21)

Statistics	FU	SC
First downs	16	25
Total yards	65–323	77–571
Rushing yards	31–80	39–108
Passing yards	243	463
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	20–34–1	32–38–0
Time of possession	28:07	31:53

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Furman	Passing	Tyler Huff	14/24, 129 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Jayquan Smith	8 carries, 30 yards
	Receiving	Joshua Harris	6 receptions, 73 yards
South Carolina	Passing	Spencer Rattler	25/27, 345 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Dakereon Joyner	11 carries, 42 yards, TD
	Receiving	Xavier Legette	6 receptions, 118 yards, TD