Mocs see Furman as formidable foe
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team is well aware of the challenges Furman presents.
Last season the Paladins got off to an 0-3 start before running off seven consecutive wins and advancing to the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. This season has followed a similar script: The Paladins were 0-3 with one loss to an Atlantic Coast Conference program (Clemson this time) but then started to find their way.
UTC and Furman will battle Saturday at 1 p.m. at Paladin Stadium in a must-win game. UTC is 4-2 and Furman is 3-2 in the Southern Conference, and the loser likely will be out of the playoff picture while the winner still has an outside shot at a share of the league championship.
Having seen what an 0-3 Furman team can do once it figures things out, the Mocs are very aware of this opponent.
“I think Furman is very dangerous,” UTC coach Tom Arth said. “They have a very good football team; they’re coached well, they’re tough and they present a lot of challenges schematically — especially on the offensive side of the ball. They’re unlike most option teams in that they have all those elements, but they’re also capable of having a very sophisticated passing game and a quarterback that can do it.”
The Paladins have used three quarterbacks in 2018, with senior Harris Roberts seemingly having the most success. Roberts has been injured for much of the season, allowing Darren Grainger and JeMar Lincoln also to get extended playing time. Lincoln started last week against The Citadel.
The Mocs know Furman has probably the best league win of the season, having picked apart league-leading Wofford 34-14 two weeks ago.
“We know they’re a great football team,” defensive coordinator Matt Feeney said. “You see those losses early in the year — to Clemson, to Elon — and those are two great football teams. They really started to hit their stride in the Wofford game when they were virtually unstoppable on offense and defensively they were clicking on all cylinders.
“We are well aware of how good this Furman football team is. We see them as a playoff-contending football team and we’re in the same situation, so we’re battling every day to try to gain a competitive advantage on those guys and the offense they have.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@ timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.