Saturday's Furman-Clemson game will mark the season opener for the Paladins and Tigers and the 53rd meeting in a football series that started in 1896. The contest also represents the last meeting between the Paladins and Tigers for the foreseeable future as Clemson, like many other NCAA I-A football playing institutions, has dropped all NCAA I-AA football opponents (like Furman) from future schedules at least through the year 2005. Saturday's clash also marks a homecoming of sorts for Furman head coach Bobby Johnson, a 1973 Clemson graduate and former Tiger football standout who assumed the head coaching reins at Furman in 1994 after serving as defensive coordinator at his alma mater in 1993 under Ken Hatfield.
Furman was Clemson's first football opponent when the two schools first met in Greenville on Oct. 31, 1896 (Clemson won 14-6), and the Tigers hold a commanding 38-10-4 series advantage. While the early years of the series were competitive, with Clemson posting only a 12-10-4 record against Furman from 1896-1937, the Tigers have dominated the Paladins ever since, winning 26 straight games, including a 19-3 decision in 1996 in the last meeting between the two schools. Furman's last win over Clemson came in 1936 (when Franklin Roosevelt was in the White House) in Clemson by a 12-0 score. Overall the Tigers own a 22-2 mark versus Furman in Clemson. Furman head coach Bobby Johnson, now in his fifth season as the Paladins' mentor, is 0-2 versus Clemson. Clemson's Tommy West, meanwhile, is 3-0 versus Furman, with two wins coming as head coach at Clemson, and the other, a 45-42 victory in 1993, coming during West's one season as head coach at Chattanooga.
In Greenville: Clemson leads 17-8-4
In Clemson: Clemson leads 21-2-0
Furman: Bobby Johnson (Clemson '73) 25-21-0 (.543), 5th Year at Furman 25-21-0 (.543), 5th Year Overall
Johnson vs. Clemson (0-2)
Clemson: Tommy West (Tennessee '76) 28-20-0 (.583), 5th Year at Clemson 32-27 (.542), 6th Year Overall
West vs. Furman (3-0)
Furman (0-0, 0-0 Southern)
Clemson (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast)
CLEMSON, S.C. (Sept. 7, 1996) -- Clemson's defense limited Furman to only 122 total yards and racked up a school record 12 quarterback sacks to subdue the Paladins 19-3 in front of 62,500 at Memorial Stadium.
Defensive end Rahim Abdullah paced the Tigers' outstanding defensive effort with three quarterback takedowns, and nine Tiger defenders in all were credited with sacks on the afternoon.
Clemson struck first when defensive end Tony Plantin sacked Furman quarterback Braniff Bonaventure, whose resulting fumble was scooped up by Eric Bradford and returned nine yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead with 5:56 left in the first quarter.
An interception by Furman linebacker Bernard Scott led to the Paladins' only score of the afternoon, which came on a Jason Wells 22-yard field goal with 14:53 remaining in the second quarter to cut Clemson's lead to 6-3.
Clemson improved its lead to 12-3 with a pair of David Richardson field goals covering 40 and 20 yards, and finished off its scoring effort on a 2-yard run by Emory Smith with only 0:08 left in the third quarter to make it 19-3.
Furman's running attack bore the brunt of 70 yards in quarterback sacks and finished the game with minus 29 yards. The Paladins completed 15-of-24 passes for 151 yards, led by tailback Mark Moore's five receptions for 51 yards. Clemson's Raymond Priester running back paced the Tigers' 332-yard offensive effort with 118 yards on 17 carries.
FURMAN TO OPEN 93RD SEASON...The 1998 season opener against Clemson will mark the beginning of the 93rd season of football at Furman University. The first school in South Carolina (along with Wofford) to begin playing football, Furman since 1889 has rolled up a 465-372-38 record over the years. A member of the Southern Conference since 1936, Furman has captured nine league championships (1978-80-81-82-83-85-88-89-90) Ñ the most of any current Southern Conference member school. Furman was also the first conference school to win an NCAA I-AA national championship when it captured the title in 1988 by defeating Georgia Southern (at the time an NCAA I-AA independent), 17-12, to culminate a school best 13-2 season.
BOBBY JOHNSON: YEAR FIVE...The 1998 season will be Furman head coach Bobby Johnson's fifth year at the helm of a Paladin program and 21st season of service to the university. After suffering through a 3-8 season in 1994 (the program's first losing season since 1979 and worst record since 1972), Furman rebounded in 1995 to finish 6-5. A year later Johnson directed the Paladins to a 9-4 record and into the NCAA I-AA playoffs Ñ the program's first playoff appearance since 1990. Furman went 7-4 last year and finished third in the Southern Conference for the third consecutive year. Johnson's four-year head coaching record is 25-21 (.543), and his last three teams have combined to post a 22-13 slate (.628). Johnson's 20-year tenure at Furman includes work as defensive backs coach, assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, and head coach. The Paladins' record during that span (1976-80; 82-92; 94-present) is 157-74-7 (.674) and includes 17 winning seasons, eight Southern Conference championships and one NCAA I-AA title.
BY PERCENTAGE POINTS...Furman head coach Bobby Johnson and Clemson mentor Tommy West sport almost identical winning percentages as head coaches. Johnson is 25-21 (.5434) in his four-year tenure at Furman, and West is 32-27 (.5423) in five-plus years as a collegiate head coach.
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PRE-SEASON POLLS...Furman was a consensus fourth place pick in a pair of Southern Conference pre-season polls conducted by league head coaches and media.
SoCon Head Coaches
SoCon Media
SEVEN PALADINS NAMED PRE-SEASON ALL-SOCON...In balloting by Southern Conference head coaches, seven Paladins were selected to the pre-season all-league team. They include senior center Mark Foster (Williamston, S.C.), junior offensive guard Ben Hall (Royston, Ga.), junior placekicker Jason Wells (Lawton, Okla.), senior linebacker Orlando Ruff (Winnsboro, S.C.), and junior strong safety John Keith (Newnan, Ga.), who were named to the first team. Named to the second team were junior flanker Desmond Kitchings (Wagener, S.C.) and senior defensive tackle B.J. Pate (Inman, S.C.).
RUFF PRE-SEASON DEFENSIVE POY PICK...Senior linebacker Orlando Ruff (Winnsboro, S.C.), who heads into the 1998 season ranked seventh on Furman's all-time tackles chart with 391 career stops, was selected by Southern Conference head coaches as the league's defensive player-of-the-year. If he captures the honor, Ruff, a two-time all-conference selection, will become the second straight Paladin and sixth Furman player to earn Southern Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors since the conference initiated the award in 1986 (prior to 1986 only one "player-of-the-year" award was accorded). Furman's five previous Southern Conference Defensive Player-of-the Year honorees include: LB Jeff Blankenship (1988), DE Kelly Fletcher (1989), LB Kevin Kendrick (1990), NG Allen Edwards (1991), DE Bryan Dailer (1997).
RUFF ON THE CHARTS...Furman senior linebacker Orlando Ruff (Winnsboro, S.C.) heads into the 1998 season currently ranked seventh on the Paladins' career tackles chart with 391 stops.
FOSTER PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICA...Furman senior center Mark Foster (Williamston, S.C.) was selected to the Sports Network Pre-Season All-America team. A second team All-Southern Conference pick a year ago and pre-season all-league pick this year, Foster earned winning grades in 10 of the Paladins' 11 games a year ago and earned the highest blocking percentage (.841) of any Paladin offensive lineman in 1997. Foster has also served as Furman's long snapper the last three years.
CROSBY SETS SIGHTS ON 2,000...Senior tailback Ernest Crosby (Greenville, S.C.) heads into the 1998 season bidding to become only the ninth player in Furman history to rush for 2,000 yards in a career. Crosby, who has totaled 1,637 yards and 12 touchdowns in his career, currently ranks 16th on the school's career rushing ledger.
WELLS MAKING HIS MARK...Junior placekicker Jason Wells (Lawton, Okla.) heads into the Paladins' season opener against Clemson ranked sixth on Furman's all-time kick scoring chart with 124 points. A pre-season first team All-Southern Conference selection, Wells is coming off a strong 1997 campaign that saw him convert 11-of-14 field goals (.785%) and 30-of-32 PATs. Wells has made 18-of-31 field goal attempts and 70-of-74 PATs in two seasons of action.
NOT SINCE CAMELOT...It's been 37 years since Furman last scored a touchdown against Clemson in football. Although the Paladins and Tigers have met only eight times since 1961, the Paladins' futility against the Tigers includes 28 straight touchdown-less quarters and only 15 points (five field goals) over that span. The last Furman player to cross the goal line against Clemson was quarterback Billy Canty, who scored on a three-yard run in the fourth quarter of a 35-6 loss to the Tigers on Nov. 18, 1961. If you're looking for a personal account of Canty's touchdown run, don't ask Furman sports information director Hunter Reid. He was born seven days later.
FURMAN AND NCAA I-A...Furman's football program made a name for itself with its success against NCAA I-A foes in the early and mid-1980s, posting a 4-0-1 mark against I-A opponents during one stretch, with wins over South Carolina (28-23, 1982), Georgia Tech (17-14, 1983), and North Carolina State (34-30, 1984; 42-20, 1985), and a tie with Georgia Tech (17-17, 1986). Since that time, however, the Paladins have had no success as Furman is 0-10 against I-A opposition since 1987. In Furman's defense, several of the Paladins' last 10 NCAA I-A foes were pretty good by anybody's standards, and included Florida State (11-1, Fiesta Bowl Champion, AP 2nd) in 1987 (41-10 loss), Clemson (10-2, Citrus Bowl and Gator Bowl Champions) in both 1988 (23-3 loss) and '89 (30-0 loss), Florida (9-2, AP 13th) in 1990 (27-3 loss), Georgia Tech (8-5, Defending UPI National Champion, Aloha Bowl Champion) in 1991 (19-17 loss), and North Carolina (9-3, Peach Bowl Champion, AP 19th) in 1992 (28-0 loss). Of the 10 straight losses, the one that is still painful to recall for most Furman folks is the 19-17 loss to Georgia Tech in 1991. In that contest, the Paladins had the ball and a 17-16 lead with 1:41 left in the game, but a fumble by Furman quarterback Hugh Swilling following a sack by Tech's Marco Coleman at the Furman 29 led to a game (and face) saving Yellow Jacket field goal by Scott Sisson with only 0:21 showing on the clock.
NCAA I-A WELL ALMOST DRY...Furman's season opening contest against Clemson will mark the end of the Paladins' road against NCAA I-A opposition for the foreseeable future. Furman, like their NCAA I-AA brethren, has found the going rough in finding NCAA I-A foes to play since the "six win" bowl qualifier went into effect a few years ago. The result has seen I-A teams drop I-AA teams off schedules in an attempt to schedule (and win) more games against I-A foes. As it stands now, Furman will not play another I-A opponent until 2002 when it is scheduled to take on Vanderbilt. Furman will be Clemson's last NCAA I-AA foe until at least 2,006. Until the 1997 season Furman had played at least one I-A opponent in each of its then 91 years of football history. Furman was an NCAA I-A football playing school until the 1982 season, when the Southern Conference was reclassified to NCAA I-AA.
FRESHMAN INFLUENCE IN FURMAN BACKFIELD...While senior tailback Ernest Crosby (Greenville, S.C.) has nailed down the starting job with an exceptional pre-season, the Paladins appear to be ready to start freshman Louis Ivory (Fort Valley, Ga.) in the season opener against Clemson. Ivory, who rushed for 3,100 yards and 37 touchdowns at Peach County High School, was a participant in the Georgia-Florida All-Star Game this past summer (a rarity for I-AA bound prep talent). Only 5-foot-8 and 194 pounds, Ivory is not a big back, but he has impressed Furman's coaching staff with his strong running ability and excellent lower body strength. A strained hamstring that sidelined returning starting fullback Derek Russell (Austell, Ga.) for the first week of the pre-season gave Ivory his chance, and a 62-yard touchdown catch and run in a pre-season scrimmage improved his starting bid. As for Ernest Crosby, a strong summer training session in California with his brother, Michael Hamilton, a third round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers, earned him pre-season raves from head coach Bobby Johnson. Crosby is bidding to become only the ninth player in Furman history to rush for 2,000 yards. Stuart Rentz (Pickens, S.C.), who grew up almost in the shadow of Clemson University, should also see action at tailback. against the Tigers. A former walk-on and Furman's toughest, hard-nosed runner, Rentz sports a 3.92 GPA in business administration and Spanish.
A PAIR OF QBS WINS...A year ago Furman was dealt a pair of losing hand with injuries to two of its quarterbacks. The flip side is the injuries have given the Paladins two experienced quarterbacks for the 1998 season in sophomores Justin Hill (Greer, S.C.) and Brent Rickman (Rome, Ga.). While Hill will apparently start against Clemson, Rickman should also see action. Both Paladin signal callers had excellent pre-seasons and should head up what appears to be a much-improved, more versatile Furman offense this year. Hill, a former Shrine Bowl MVP selection from Greer High School who was sidelined in the early part of the 1997 season with a sore right shoulder, should help ignite Furman's option attack. He started in three of the Paladins' final four games (all wins) and threw for 212 yards and passed for 231 yards. Rickman, meanwhile, passed for 943 yards and seven TDs as a true freshman after being forced into the lineup early in Furman's game against South Carolina State (following a season ending injury to starting QB Chris Jonas).
KITCHINGS IS THE MAN...Don't fault Furman's coaching staff if they do all they can to get junior flanker Desmond Kitchings (Wagener, S.C.) the ball this year. That's because Kitchings, a pre-season all-conference pick, is Furman's fastest player and the Paladins prime passing target. A year ago he caught 30 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns as part of a receiver duo with Jody Wade (28 rec. in '97). Wade's gone now, and Kitchings is the man in Furman's receiving corps. He's also an excellent return specialist. After taking over kickoff return duties midway through the 1997 campaign, Kitchings averaged 28.6 yards on 10 returns, and he had a 90-yard return for a touchdown in the Paladins' 43-21 win over Chattanooga in the season finale. With only 10 returns, Kitchings didn't qualify for conference (and national) rankings, but the possibility of that changing this fall is very favorable. Bidding for Kitchings' backup and likely to see action in the Clemson game is true freshman Bear Rinehart (Seneca, S.C.). Following one pre-season scrimmage, an impressed Bobby Johnson commented that "Bear Rinehart is going to help us. He's a guy who caught a lot of passes in his high school career." Rinehart caught 50 passes, including 16 for touchdowns, as a senior at Seneca High School.
OFFENSIVE LINE PRIMED...In no area is Furman more experienced and deeper than along the offensive front. Senior center Mark Foster (Williamston, S.C.), a pre-season All-America pick, is the anchor, and he is flanked by a fine pair of guards in junior Ben Hall (Royston, Ga.) and Mark Batluck (Carlisle, Pa.). Hall, a pre-season all-conference selection, has been especially impressive in the pre-season. Ryan Kineard (Blakely, Ga.) will start at left tackle, and Josh Moore (Cross Hill, S.C.), the lone new face on the offensive line, will likely get the call at right tackle. One player who is much improved and who will push for action at tackle is redshirt freshman Donnie Littlejohn (Gaffney, S.C.).
NEW LOOK DEFENSIVE FRONT...Furman's defensive front will sport an entirely new look in the season opener against Clemson following the departure of all four starters to graduation. Just who will start at a couple of positions won't be completely known until probably mid-week, but the two positions that appear set are junior Bobby Hubbard (Charlotte, N.C.) at rush end and junior Brian Conner (Knoxville, Tenn.) at weak side tackle. Hubbard has the tough assignment of taking over for All-America and 1997 Southern Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year Bryan Dailer (17.5 sacks in '97, 46 consecutive starts). Conner, meanwhile, sustained a torn tendon in his right ring finger in the pre-season (prior to contact work) and at first appeared to be lost for the year; however, he decided against surgery and returned to the practice field four days later. He gives Furman a much needed pass rusher. The nose guard slot will likely be manned by junior Luke Kosman (Cincinnati, Ohio) and senior B.J. Pate (Inman, S.C.). Pate has seen some work at nose in the pre-season due to the solid emergence of Faamata Fonoimoana (Jonesboro, Ga.) at strong side tackle. Highly regarded redshirt freshman Ryan Spencer (Clover, S.C.) has been limited in the pre-season with a shoulder injury.
LEANING ON RUFF...Furman's linebacking corps is headed up by senior Orlando Ruff (Winnsboro, S.C.), the pre-season Southern Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year. Furman's seventh all-time leading tackler with 391 stops, Ruff is the main cog in an otherwise young and relatively inexperienced Paladin defense. Sidelined for two days in the pre-season with a slight hyperextension of the knee, Ruff has proved to be a durable performer (2,169 plays) in his Furman career. Flanking Ruff at weak side linebacker will be redshirt freshman Will Bouton (Greenville, S.C.), a highly mobile performer who has had an impressive pre-season. The outside linebacking slot will be manned by Colin Rogers (Danville, Ky.), but don't be suprised to see Brad Redmond (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) or Marion Martin (Columbia, S.C.) , a 3.87 GPA chemistry major, garner some action. Another redshirt freshman, John Thrift (Hartwell, Ga.) will work behind Ruff and Bouton.
CORNERBACK SHUFFLE...It may come down to the first defensive series to see who will start for Furman at cornerback against Clemson. That's because injuries to a pair of veterans and the emergence of a couple of freshmen have fueled some serious competition for the starting job. A strained hamstring has sidelined sophomore Andre Stroman (Plantation, Fla.), 10 starts in '97, for much of the pre-season, and sophomore Bryant Huguley (Valley, Ala.) has also missed valuable practice time with a leg injury. In their place, two freshmen, redshirt Richie Jackson (Cincinnati, Ohio) and true freshman Rodney Johnson (Marion, N.C.) have stepped up. Jackson is a budding quality cover man according to the coaching staff, and Johnson, a Morehead Scholarship finalist, appears to sport the entire package (speed, smarts, physical, etc.) and can match the team's fastest player, Desmond Kitchings, stride-for-stride. Competing with them are also redshirt freshman Daniel Roberson (Plant City, Fla.) and sophomore Tarick Khadra (Ormond Beach, Fla.). Strong safety will be a strength with junior John Keith (Newnan, Ga.). Keith, a tenacious hitter, led Furman with four interceptions last year, incuding a school record 99-yarder in the Paladins' 43-21 win over Chattanooga. The free safety slot will be manned by senior Rocco Adrian (Deltona, Fla.) and Walter Booth (Gainesville, Fla.). Booth, especially, has had a solid pre-season.