Saturday's Furman-Citadel game marks the 77th renewal of one of The Southern Conference's oldest rivalries.
Tickets for Saturday's Furman-Citadel game are $14 reserved and $8 general admission. Tickets can be purchased at the Furman University Ticket Office (located on the second floor of the Paladin Stadium Press Box) through Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Ticket office hours are 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and the telephone number is (864) 294-3097.
In a series that got its start in 1913 with a 75-0 Citadel win in Charleston, Furman holds a 46-27-3 advantage over The Citadel and enters Saturday's game having captured the last two meetings between the two schools, including a 35-25 win last year in Greenville. The last time the Paladins and Bulldogs squared off in Charleston, Furman downed The Citadel 24-3 in 1995.
In Greenville: Furman leads 26-11-0
In Charleston: Furman leads 18-16-2
Neutral Sites: Furman leads 2-0-1
Furman: Bobby Johnson (Clemson '73)
The Citadel: Don Powers (Western Carolina '68)
Furman: Multiple I
The Citadel: Multiple I
Furman: 43
The Citadel: 43
FURMAN (3-2, 2-1 Southern)
THE CITADEL (3-3, Southern 1-2)
FURMAN All-Southern Conference linebacker Orlando Ruff picked off an Appalachian State pass and returned it 51 yards with just over a minute to play to preserve Furman's 24-22 Southern Conference win over nationally 14th-ranked Appalachian State in Greenville.
Ruff's interception came after Appalachian State took possession of the football at its own 45-yard line with 2:06 remaining and appeared to be driving for what could have been a game score. But Ruff stepped in front of Mountaineer quarterback Bake Baker's sideline pass at the Furman 28 and returned it to the Appalachian State 21, where the Paladins burned the clock en route to its second straight win over the Mountaineers.
Trailing 10-9 at intermission, the Paladins raced to a 24-10 third quarter lead with a pair of scores on a 53-yard touchdown run by tailback Ernest Crosby and a 3-yard run by backup tailback Mark Moore. From that point, however, Furman's offense stalled, and Appalachian State cut into the Paladins' lead with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Baker to Daryl Skinner early in the fourth quarter. A blocked Mountaineer PAT attempt by Furman linebacker Jay Thier made it 24-16, but Appalachian State scored again with 2:49 left when Gerard Hardy gathered in a 5-yard scoring strike from Baker. On the two-point try, Paladin All-Southern Conference free safety Jeremy Osborne batted down a Mountaineer pass at the goal line to preserve Furman's two-point margin.
After holding Furman on downs, the Mountaineers regained possession with just over two minutes left, and appeared to be in prime position to win the game before Orlando Ruff thwarted Appalachian State's late surge with his third interception in the past two games. In addition to Ruff's strong play, Furman got an outstanding performance from senior linebacker Jay Thier, who racked up a game high 14 tackles, a tackle-for-loss, an interception, and a blocked extra point.
In addition, Thier delivered key blocks as a wing back on a touchdown run (which he set up with his interception) and what proved to be the Paladins' game winning two-point conversion. Senior tailback Ernest Crosby, meanwhile, ran for a season high 128 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.
THE CITADEL shocked nationally eighth-ranked East Tennessee State, 23-20, in overtime in Johnson City.
Trailing 17-7 with under a minute to play in regulation, the Bulldogs' Kenyatta Spruill scored on a 1-yard run to cut East Tennessee State's lead to 17-14. After recovering the ensuing onside kick, The Citadel tied the game at 17-17 on Justin Skinner's 52-yard field goal as time expired.
In the overtime, East Tennessee State took a 20-17 lead with a field goal on its first possession, but The Citadel answered with Kenyatta Spruill's second 1-yard touchdown run of the afternoon to lift the Bulldogs to victory.
GREENVILLE, S.C. (Oct. 19, 1996) Ñ Tight end Luther Broughton caught two touchdown passes and set up another with an 86-yard kickoff return to lead Furman to a 35-25 homecoming day victory over The Citadel in front of 11,975 fans at Paladin Stadium.
The win, Furman's sixth straight on the season and second in a row over The Citadel, improved the Paladins' season record to 6-1 and Southern Conference record to 4-0.
Trailing 3-0 after one quarter, Furman took the lead for good on the first play of the second period when Broughton hooked up with quarterback Braniff Bonaventure on an 8-yard touchdown strike to make it a 7-3 game.
The Paladins upped their lead to 14-3 later in the quarter when Ernest Crosby scored on a 3-yard run to cap a short drive that began following a fumble recovery by Furman defensive tackle Michael Brown at the Bulldog 25.
In the third quarter, Broughton again hooked up with Bonaventure on a screen pass that went for 28 yards and a touchdown, giving the Paladins a 21-3 advantage.
After The Citadel closed the gap to 21-11 early in the fourth period, Furman answered immediately when Broughton took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 86 yards to the Bulldog 13-yard line. Two plays later, fullback Parrish Clark rolled off right guard for a 5-yard touchdown run to up Furman's lead to 35-11.
Although outgained 450-300 on the day, Furman yielded 167 yards and two touchdowns to The Citadel in the game's waning moments, long after the game's outcome had been decided. In addition to Broughton, who caught five passes for 71 yards on the day, Furman got a strong performance from quarterback Braniff Bonaventure, who completed 13-of-20 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
BACK IN THE HUNT...Furman's 24-22 win over Appalachian State and The Citadel's 23-20 upset win over East Tennessee State on Saturday have put the Paladins squarely back in the 1997 Southern Conference title race. While Georgia Southern currently sits atop the conference with a 4-0 league record, Furman, Chattanooga, and East Tennessee State are tied for second with 2-1 league marks, and the Paladins have yet to face the Buccaneers (Oct. 25), Eagles (Nov. 8), or Mocs (Nov. 22).
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT...Furman's 24-22 win over Appalachian State on Saturday was as close as the score indicates, and probably too close for some in attendance. After taking a 24-10 lead following a pair of third quarter touchdowns, Furman's offense sputtered badly, managing just one first down and only 20 total yards over its final six possessions. That lack of effective ball control enabled Appalachian State to come back with a pair of fourth quarter scores, and it appeared the Mountaineers would indeed salvage the win until junior All-Southern Conference linebacker Orlando Ruff picked off a pass by Mountaineer quarterback Bake Baker and returned it 51 yards with just over a minute left in the contest. For Ruff, the interception against Appalachian State was his third in the last two games, and followed a pair of pickoffs in the Paladins' 17-16 loss to Western Carolina on Oct. 4.
STREAKING AT HOME...Furman's 24-22 win over Appalachian State on Saturday marked its second home win of the season and extended the Paladins' home winning streak to eight games. Last year the Paladins re-established their dominance at home by going 6-0 en route to a 9-4 campaign that included a trip to the NCAA I-AA playoffs (two rounds). Furman now sports a 81-22-1 record (.784) in Paladin Stadium.
LOOKING FOR FIRST ROAD WIN...Furman will be looking for its first road win of the season this Saturday when it travels to Charleston to take on arch-rival The Citadel. The Paladins, who have dropped both road games this year, losing 17-6 to South Carolina State in Orangeburg on Sept. 13 and 17-16 to Western Carolina in Cullowhee on Oct. 4, in all has lost their last three road games dating back to the 1996 campaign. Furman's last road victory was a 42-31 win over Northern Arizona a year ago in NCAA I-AA first round playoff action. The last time the Paladins played in Charleston, Furman emerged with a 24-3 win during in 1995.
THIER HAS MONSTER GAME...Furman senior linebacker Jay Thier, a pre-season All-Southern Conference selection, had nothing short of a monster game Saturday in the Paladins' 24-22 win over Appalachian State. Against the Mountaineers, Thier starred on both sides of the football, registering 88 total play participations. On defense he tallied 15 tackles, a tackle-for-loss, and an interception, and also blocked an extra point attempt that proved decisive. Meanwhile, on offense he was utilized as a wing back on six plays, and was responsible for two key blocks on a touchdown run and two-point conversion. For his work against Appalachian State, the former standout linebacker and fullback at Columbia's Richland Northeast High School was named Southern Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Week.
THE BIG THREE...Furman's claim to have one of the best linebacking corps in the Southern Conference is underscored in the numbers the Paladins' three starting linebackers Ñ Jay Thier, Orlando Ruff, and Bernard Scott Ñ have produced over the course of their careers. The numbers include: 995 tackles, 74 tackles-for-loss, 10 interceptions, and eight fumble recoveries. A snap shot of their value to Furman's program came last Saturday in the 24-22 win over Appalachian State when Furman's BIG THREE combined for 40 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, two pass deflections, and one fumble recovery.
CROSBY COMES UP BIG...Junior tailback Ernest Crosby came through with a strong rushing performance on Saturday in the Paladins' 24-22 win over Appalachian State, rushing 20 times for a season high 128 yards and two touchdowns. Named Southern Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Week for his work against the Mountaineers, Crosby's two scoring runs covered 4 and 53 yards, and he also accounted for what proved to be a decisive two-point conversion run, giving him 14 of the Paladins' 24 points on the afternoon. Crosby's 100-yard rushing performance against Appalachian State was the first 100-yard outing of the season by a Paladin running back. In two games against the Mountaineers, he has run for 285 yards and four touchdowns.
SUPER SAFETIES...Furman's defense is obviously the strength of this year's team and, aside for the Paladins' linebackers, one of the strongest areas on Furman's defensive unit is the two safety positions, where two-time All-Southern Conference free safety Jeremy Osborne (Kingsport, Tenn.) and standout sophomore strong safety John Keith (Newnan, Ga.) reside. On Saturday in the Paladins' 24-22 win over Appalachian State, Osborne racked up a season high 13 tackles and had a critical pass deflection on the Mountaineers' two-point conversion attempt that could have tied the game at 24-24 late in the fourth quarter. Keith, meanwhile, continued his strong play with seven tackles, an interception, and a pass deflection. Osborne has 43 tackles and Keith has 42 stops through five games.
FIRST TIME STARTERS...Saturday's game against Appalachian State marked the first career starts for a pair of Paladins. At tight end, sophomore Michael Owings (Ninety Six, S.C.) stepped in for an injured Kenya Fouch (ankle) and caught one pass for 14 yards. At defensive tackle, redshirt freshman Steve Kupchinsky started in place of the ailing Leroy Davies-Venn (ankle) and tallied a tackle and two pass deflections.
BEHIND THE NUMBERS...Although Furman has officially yielded 80 points in five games this year, the Paladins' first team defense has actually been tagged for only 52 of those 80 points. In Furman's 17-16 loss to Western Carolina on Oct. 4, the Catamounts' first score was registered against Furman's offense, which surrendered a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown. Three weeks ago, in a 35-14 win over VMI, the first Keydet score came against Furman's offense, which gave up a 60-yard fumble return for a touchdown after the Paladins had built a comfortable 35-0 lead. The second Keydet score came midway through the fourth quarter following a 98-yard drive against Paladin reserves. The other touchdown given up by Furman defensive reserves this year was in the season opener against Samford, when the Bulldogs scored a meaningless touchdown with just over a minute to go in a 29-10 Furman victory.
PASS RUSH STRONG...After pacing the Southern Conference with 34 sacks a year ago, Furman is off to a solid start this year with 11 sacks through four games. In the 24-22 win over Appalachian State on Saturday, Furman notched two more quarterback takedowns, with one going to Southern Conference Pre-Season Defensive Player-of-the-Year selection rush end Bryan Dailer (Winter Garden, Fla.) and the other going to senior outside linebacker Bernard Scott (St. Augustine, Fla.). A year ago, Bryan Dailer had a pair of sacks to head up a school single game record eight-sack performance in a 35-25 win over The Citadel in Greenville.
DAILER MOVING UP SACKS CHART...With a sack Saturday in the Paladins' 24-22 win over Appalachian State, senior pre-season All-America rush end Bryan Dailer improved his career sack total to 21.5. Dailer, now in his fourth season as a starter, notched 95 tackles and a league leading 24 tackles-for-loss and 14 sacks a year ago en route to earning All-Southern Conference honors. His strong pass rushing skills helped Furman improve from 13 quarterback sacks in 1995 to a league leading 34 sacks in 1996. A pre-season Sports Network and Sports Ticker All-American, Dailer has now started in 40 consecutive games over the past three-plus seasons and heads into this Saturday's game against The Citadel with 27 tackles and a team leading seven tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks on the year.
FURMAN CAREER SACKS LEADERS
| Rank | Player | Years | Sacks |
| 1) | Kelly Fletcher | 1986-90 | 35.5 |
| 2) | Bryan Dailer | 1994- | 21.5 |
| 3) | Ryan Livezey | 1990-93 | 19.0 |
| 4) | Brian Pitts | 1986-89 | 17.0 |
| 5) | Dean Williams | 1987-89 | 17.0 |
RUFF AND READY...After turning in an outstanding, two-interception performance in a 17-16 loss to Western Carolina two weeks ago, junior All-Southern Conference strong side linebacker Orlando Ruff (Winnsboro, S.C.) came back with arguably an even better outing this past Saturday in the Paladins' 24-22 win over Appalachian State. Against the Mountaineers, Ruff led Furman with 17 tackles, and had a pair of tackles-for-loss, an interception, and a pass deflection. His interception (and subsequent 51-yard return) in the game's waning minutes literally saved the game for Furman, which had seen Appalachian State score 12 unanswered points to close to within two points before moving into Furman territory for what looked like an almost certain game winning score. Ruff, however, stepped in front of Mountaineer quarterback Bake Baker's pass to preserve the critical victory for the Paladins. Furman's leading tackler a year ago with 164 stops, Ruff is the Paladins' leader in the weight room, where in the spring he combined to lift 1,420 pounds in three exercises: bench press (435), squat (625), and power clean (360). Through five games, he has totaled 48 tackles, six tackles-for-loss, three interceptions (and 77 yards in returns), two caused fumbles, and a pass deflection on the league's second best defense. Ruff now has 299 career tackles and is on pace to crack the school's career tackles chart later this year.
SCOTT ON THE CHARTS...In recording seven tackles in the 24-22 win over Appalachian State on Saturday, Furman senior outside linebacker Bernard Scott (St. Augustine, Fla.) moved into ninth place on the school's top 10 career tackles list. A three-year starter who currently has 352 career stops, Scott, whose seven-tackle performance against the Mountaineers on Saturday also included a sack, a fumble recovery, and a pass deflection, only needs nine tackles this Saturday against The Citadel to move into eighth place on Furman's career tackles chart, ahead of former greats Frank Moses (1974-77) ad Darryl Gardner (1984-87), who finished their respective careers with 360 tackles. The Paladins' second leading tackler on the year with 65 stops, Scott also has five tackles-for-loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and a pass deflection to his credit through four games this season.
FURMAN CAREER TACKLE LEADERS
| Rank | Player | Years | Tackles |
| 1) | Jeff Blankenship | 1985-88 | 580 |
| 2) | Kevin Kendrick | 1987-90 | 574 |
| 3) | Kota Suttle | 1989-92 | 556 |
| 4) | Milan Sterling | 1990-93 | 445 |
| 5) | Steve O'Neill | 1978-81 | 389 |
| 6) | Bruce Gheesling | 1978-81 | 387 |
| 7) | Rock Hurst | 1981-84 | 364 |
| 8) | Frank Moses | 1974-77 | 360 |
| Darryl Gardner | 1984-87 | 360 | |
| 9) | Bernard Scott | 1993- | 352 |
| 10) | Jerry Scott | 1977-80 | 348 |
| 11) | Larry Anderson | 1974-76 | 347 |
THIER KNOCKING TOO...Another Paladin linebacker who is on the verge of placing his name among the list of school career tackle leaders is senior weak side linebacker Jay Thier (Columbia, S.C.), who heads into this Saturday's game against The Citadel with 343 stops in his career. Thier, a pre-season All-Southern Conference pick who last week earned league defensive player-of-the-week honors with a brilliant, 15-tackle performance in the Paladins' 24-22 win over Appalachian State, currently leads Furman in tackles with 67 through five games.
DOUBLE DUTY WADE...Senior split end/punter Jody Wade (Waycross, Ga.), a pre-season All-Southern Conference selection as both a wide receiver and punter, fashioned a career best performance three weeks ago in Furman's 35-14 win over VMI, catching a career high seven passes for another career high 141 yards and a touchdown. Furman's leading receiver with 19 catches through five games, Wade hooked up with freshman quarterback Brent Rickman for a 35-yard touchdown catch in the win over VMI and, counting his 50 yards on four catches Saturday in the Paladins' 34-22 win over Appalachian State, now has a team best 281 yards in receptions through five games. In addition to his fine work as a receiver, Wade continues his solid contribution as Furman's punter, averaging 39.9 yards/punt on 26 punts this season.
FOUR PALADINS ENTER HALL...Former Paladin football standouts Frankie DeBusk '91, Steve Duggan '91, Andrew Burr '91, and Carl Tremble '93 highlighted a class of six former Furman athletic greats who were inducted into the school's athletic hall-of-fame in ceremonies on Sept. 26. DeBusk, a three-year starter and 1989 Southern Conference Player-of-the-year, quarterbacked Furman to three straight league championships and, in 1988, became the first quarterback in league history to lead his team to a national championship. The Greeneville, Tenn., native is Furman's all-time passing (5,851 yards) and total offense (6,726 yards) leader. Duggan, a three-time All-Southern Conference selection at center, was a consensus 1990 NCAA I-AA All-America pick and winner of both the state and Southern Conference Jacobs Blocking Award. During the Sumter, S.C., native's tenure, the Paladins won three league championships and posted the best four-year record in school history (41-12). Holder of 18 school records, tailback Carl Tremble of Jacksonville, Fla., ranks as Furman's all-time leading rusher and scorer, having totaled 4,746 yards and 50 touchdowns in his career. A 1992 Associated Press All-America selection, Tremble rushed for 100 yards in 25 games in his career and was part of three NCAA I-AA playoff squads. Atlanta, Ga., product Andrew Burr was a two-sport standout at Furman, having starred in both soccer and football. In soccer, the 1990 Southern Conference Player-of-the-Year scored a school record 50 goals and was a three-time All-South selection. In his only year of football, Burr led the Southern Conference in scoring 1991 after converting 14-of-16 field goals and 45-of-46 PATs, thereby becoming the first athlete in league history to lead the conference in scoring in two different sports in consecutive years. DeBusk, Duggan, Tremble, and Burr were enshrined in Furman's Hall-of-Fame along with former Olympic gold-medal swimmer Angel Myers '90 and late Furman swimming coach Howard Wheeler.
PALADIN POINTERS...Quarterback Brent Rickman's (19-of-25) 335-yard, three-touchdown passing performance in the Paladins' 35-14 win over VMI on Sept. 27 established a new Furman freshman single game record, as did his 319 yards in total offense. The 335 yards marked the fifth best overall passing performance in school history. Rickman was named Southern Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Week for his work in the win over VMI.
Furman will depart Greenville Friday at 11:00 a.m. via chartered bus and will work out at Johnson Hagood Stadium at approximately 3:00 p.m. The team will headquarter at The Raddison Inn-Charleston (803) 744-2501.
Coaches All-Southern Conference
Southern Conference Coaches Defensive Player-of-the-Year
Sports Network All-America
Sports Ticker All-America
Southern Conference Pre-Season Polls