South Carolina State Survives Furman's Late Rally 20-17
South Carolina State scored with 14:51 left in the first quarter, and for most of the afternoon that was about all it needed to know. Then Furman made it interesting.
Keely Watson hit DJ Maultsby for 65 yards on that first score, and Josh Shaw added a 9-yard run to make it 14-0. Furman could only answer with field goals: a 27-yarder by Nathan Chapman in the second quarter, a 49-yarder in the third, a 44-yarder at the start of the fourth. Jett Jackson kicked a 42-yarder of his own before halftime, so it went 17-3, then 17-6, then 17-9.
Jackson hit a 28-yard field goal with 3:03 left to make it 20-9, which looked like the end of it. Sixteen seconds later Connor Ackerley found Luke Shields for 67 yards, and Ackerley's two-point pass to Daniel Haughton made it 20-17. That was all the scoring. A team that never trailed took the win by three.
Take away that last field goal and Furman's touchdown and conversion would have tied it at 17-17. South Carolina State also had three sacks to none against it, and one interception thrown against Furman's one lost fumble. Furman had 264 passing yards but only 53 rushing on 34 carries.
It was also a game of small margins. Furman's three Nathan Chapman field goals (27, 49 and 44 yards) kept it within reach, and the late touchdown pulled it within three. That was as close as it got.
South Carolina State is 2-0, Furman is 1-1, and Shields, with seven catches for 133 yards, gets the fantasy nod.