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One of Saturday's premier FCS college football matchups is a bout between the No. 17 Furman Paladins and the Samford Bulldogs in Greeneville, South Carlina.
It will be a road game for Samford, a tough test considering Furman's top-25 ranking and the added home-field advantage. The game will kick off at noon and will be broadcast by ESPN+.
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The Paladins (1-1, 1-1 SOCON) lost 14-13 to VMI last week, but opened the spring season with a dominating 35-7 win over Western Carolina.
The Bulldogs (1-1, 1-1 SOCON) are also celebrating a victory over Western Carolina, whom they defeated 55-27 last week. They dropped their spring season opener to ETSU, 24-17.
Furman Paladins vs. Samford Bulldogs Head-to-Head | FCS Football
Good luck placing a bet on this series. This will be the 23rd matchup between the two football programs; the series is all-even at 11-11.
Interestingly, the visiting team has won more games than the home team in this series.
Furman won last year's edition, 58-14, but Samford took a 38-25 victory in 2018, following the series' trend of unpredictability.
Furman Paladins vs. Samford Bulldogs Team News | FCS Football
Furman is trying to find its identity after being upset last week, but it's still early in the season for head coach Clay Hendrix's team.
The Paladins are led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Hamp Sisson, who threw for both of their touchdowns last week. He also totaled 232 yards.
Tailback Devin Wynn, who has rushed for over 2,000 yards in his career, is one of Furman's top weapons. Defensive ends Dru Seabrook and Adrian Hope consistently disrupt opponents' backfields.
Samford has it going offensively, particularly in throwing the football, as it leads the SOCON in scoring, total offense and passing offense.
Bulldogs quarterback Liam Welch, a graduate student, is the reigning SOCON Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 83 yards and three touchdowns last week.
Furman head coach Clay Hendrix is in his fourth season with the football team, while Samford's head coach is in his sixth season leading his program.
Furman Paladins vs. Samford Bulldogs Projected Starters | FCS Football
Furman Paladins:
QB: Hamp Sisson
RB: Devin Wynn
WR: Ryan DeLuca, Zach Peterson
TE: Ryan Miller
Samford Bulldogs:
QB: Liam Welch
RB: Jay Stanton
WR: A.J. Toney, Ty King
TE: Michael Vice
Furman Paladins vs. Samford Bulldogs Prediction | FCS Football
As already noted, any game in this series is incredibly tough to predict.
Both have already won and lost games this spring season, and both are motivated by separate goals. Furman hopes to bounce back after a big upset, while Samford wants to keep its momentum going.
The edge, though, goes to Samford, whose offense is just too overwhelming right now. Look for Liam Welch and his cohorts to have another big day against an overmatched Furman defense.
It will be a close game throughout, but the Bulldogs should pull this one out on the road.
Prediction: Samford Bulldogs 42, Furman Paladins 38
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