Why 42 points weren't enough for Furman against Western Carolina
CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- The first time Furman changed starting quarterbacks this season, the Paladins scored 42 points in a blowout win against Wofford. Furman changed starting quarterbacks again Saturday and scored 42 points again.
This time, it wasn’t enough.
Western Carolina outscored the Paladins 12-0 in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead 85-yard touchdown pass with 6:41 left, to pull out a 43-42 win at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
It’s the third consecutive loss for Furman (4-5, 2-4 Southern Conference), which saw it’s five-game winning streak against the Catamounts (3-6, 3-3) snapped.
Four things we learned in the game:
Third-down woes continue for Furman’s defense
When Furman faced two of the SoCon’s top defenses the previous two Saturdays in ETSU and Chattanooga, its defense kept the Paladins in it. Facing one of the SoCon’s top offenses Saturday, it was a different story as Western piled up 538 yards total offense.
Rogan Wells, who won a national championship at Division II Valdosta State under current Catamounts’ coach Kerwin Bell and then played at Tusculum, completed 22 of 33 passes for 386 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was also Western’s leading rusher with 91 yards on 13 carries, including a 33-yard touchdown.
A few of Wells' runs came on third down when he could not find a receiver. The Catamounts converted 10 of 15 third downs and i's only fourth-down conversion attempt. Furman opponents have converted 39-of-66 third downs (59.1 percent) in the past four games.
“The third down thing kind of drives you crazy,” Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. “Their guy is good at what he does and he’s been doing it for six years. The frustrating thing is we never hit him and we didn’t contain him. You’d think you could do one or the other.”
Hamp Sisson returns at quarterback
Looking for a spark following one of the least productive days offensively in years last week at Chattanooga, Furman reinserted Hamp Sisson as the starting quarterback against WCU.
Sisson managed the game well at times, but Furman’s first and final drives were an issue.
►On the opening drive of the game, the first three plays were passes -- a 1-yard completion, an overthrown incompletion and an interception that Jacob Harris returned 41 yards for a touchdown to give the Catamounts a 7-0 lead 46 seconds into the game.
►Furman’s final drive began at its 15 with 1:21 left and no timeouts. On the first play, Sisson couldn’t find a receiver and took off for a 34-yard gain to midfield. On the next play, Sisson took a sack. On second-and-10 from the Western 41 and 18 seconds left, Sisson held the ball too long and took another sack. He spiked the ball to stop the clock with five seconds left.
Furman called on kickoff specialist Axel Lepvreau to make his first collegiate field goal attempt. The 62-yard effort sailed under the crossbar and likely never had enough height to cross it.
“We just can’t take a sack there, and we took two. I thought we had good protection there. ... We had plenty of time,” Hendrix said. “I thought (Sisson) played well, but just made a couple of bad decisions.”
Sisson finished with 102 yards on 17-of-26 passing with one touchdown and one interception.
Dominic Roberto was unstoppable … for three quarters
With Furman leading rusher Devin Wynn (groin) out for the third time this season, Dominic Roberto stepped up in a big way. The 5-foot-11, 242-pound fullback basically took simple handoffs straight up the gut, and the Catamounts had no answer for it. Until they did.
Roberto finished with a career-high 196 yards on 24 carries, and a career-high four touchdowns. His 11-yard touchdown run pushed Furman’s lead to 42-31 with 3:10 left in the third quarter. After that score, Roberto had just three carries for six yards.
“They just stacked the box. Then (receiver) Josh (Harris) went out of the game, but I can’t say if it affected us that much,” Hendrix said.
Turnovers prove critical for Furman football
Furman won the turnover battle, 4-2. While the Paladins scored touchdowns off three of their four, the two they suffered were critical.
The first was the pick six to start the game. The last came after what was shaping up to be a big play late in the game.
Dejuan Bell, who wasn’t injured but didn’t make the trip to Chattanooga last week, finally got a chance to touch the ball Saturday when Western attempted its first punt with 2:45 left leading 43-42. Bell, who was an All-SoCon return specialist as a freshman in 2018 but has struggled comparatively since, caught the ball and returned it 28 yards before the ball was popped out from behind and Western recovered at its 48-yard line.
On the ensuing drive, Furman’s defense forced a three-and-out but the Paladins had to use all of the rest of their timeouts.
“This one’s on everybody. … We had chances all over. We could’ve won on offense, on defense or on special teams,” Hendrix said. “Our kids played hard and fought to the very end. We just make too many mistakes. We’re not talented enough to get away with them.
“This is an extension of the spring (season). We didn’t have an offseason. We didn’t have 30 transfers come in. It’s just not going to change overnight.”
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Recap: Furman loses by one point against Western Carolina
