Looking ahead to the Furman Paladins

The fifth in a series of looks ahead at WCU 2012 football opponents.

Game 5 - Furman Paladins 

Date with Furman: Saturday, Sept. 29th, 1:30 p.m

Site: Paladin Stadium (16,000 - Bermuda grass), Greenville, S.C.

Series: Furman leads 27-10-2 (Lost last 6)

Head Coach: Bruce Fowler (Furman ‘81)

Record at Samford: 6-5 (1 yr)

Career Record: Same 2011 Record: 6-5 overall, 5-3 conference

Basic Offense: Multiple

Basic Defense: 4-3

Lettermen Returning / Lost: 37 / 20

Starters Returning / Lost (O/D/S): 15(6/8/1) / 9(5/3/1)

The Catamounts travel to Greenville, SC to meet the Furman Paladins on Saturday, September 29th for the Cats third conference game and fifth game overall this season.

Furman enters the contest on a six game win streak over the Catamounts, and the Paladians hold a 14-5-1 record over the Cats in games played in Greenville.

In Bruce Fowler's first season with the Paladins, they finished with a 6-5 overall record and 5-3 in conference, which was enough for a third-place finish in the Southern Conference. Fowler lead the Palidans to a pair of big wins over top-five opponents, beating No. 4 Wofford by a 26-21 score and No. 3 Appalachian State by a 20-10 final score.

Fifteen starters return to for the 2012 campaign, six on offense, and eight on the defensive side of the ball. However, the Paladins lost three of their best players, with first-team All-Southern Conference quarterback Chris Forcier, and first-team All-America cornerback Ryan Steed and first team All-SoCon linebacker Kadarron Anderson not on this year's roster.

On offense, replacing quarterback Chris Forcier is the Paladian's highest priority. Dakota Derrick and Travis Eman competed for the job in the spring, with Derrick emerging from spring drills as the probable starter for the Paladins, but Eman, a redshirt freshman, does not seem to be far behind. On the ground, Furman should have one of the better ground options in the SoCon with senior running back Jerodis Williams (199 rush att, 1,055 yds, 9 TDs, 5.3 YPC) and sophomore Hank McCloud (58 att, 241 yds, 1 TD) in the backfield.

On defense, the Paladins lost two top defensive players in cornerback Ryan Steed and linebacker Kadarron Anderson. However, eight starters do return. Furman has three of four defensive tackles that logged a majority of the action returning for the 2012 season. The Paladins have stockpiled linebacker talent in each of the past couple of recruiting classes, and the secondary should once again be strong, returning three of four starters for 2012.

Playing in Greenville is always tough for the Cats, and 2012 will be no exception.