Furman lost their first three games of the season. The first two were to Wofford and Elon by a combined four points. So it’s not hard to imagine that the Paladins could have been close to FCS perfect coming into the last weekend with a lucky bounce early on. There’s two thing Furman does better than almost everyone else, moving the chains (3rd down converting) and not making dumb mistakes (least penalized team in FCS). You combine that with a positive turnover margin and you have a team you have to beat, because they’re not going to help you. They recently had their seven game win streak snapped, but those close losses and hot roll gave The Committee enough confidence to give them a bid. Can they cash in?
Elon was an equally hot team, rattling off eight consecutive of their own. That streak ended two weeks ago against New Hampshire and another loss to James Madison. In fact, the Phoenix’s second game of the year was a victory at Furman, 34-31. Interesting fact, Elon won all of their games by eight points or less. So you could surmise that this is a team who doesn’t mind the pressure of a close game. They might even relish it. The numbers don’t even resemble a winning program as they don’t statistically excel in anything, except wins and losses. And at the end of the day, that’s the most important one to track.
September 9th was a long time ago and the travel itinerary is pretty easy considering the closeness of these two schools. The fact that Elon won the first meeting and did it at Furman should give them the confidence to do it again. But never downplay the willingness for revenge.
Projected Score: Elon 31, Furman 30
