Western Carolina Beats Furman on a Field Goal with Four Seconds Left
Fourteen of Western Carolina's 27 points came from the defense, and both of them arrived inside the first 70 seconds. Ken Moore Jr. returned a fumble 15 yards for a touchdown at 14:51 of the first quarter, and Jermiyah Douglas took an interception back 37 yards at 13:50. That was a 14-0 lead before Furman had run much of anything. The Catamounts offense produced the other 13 points, which tells you how this one went.
Furman did not stay down. Nathan Chapman kicked a 39-yard field goal, Connor Adams scored on a 7-yard return of a blocked punt (so the special teams got in on the fun too), and Trey Smith broke a 79-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to put the Paladins up 17-14. Western Carolina tied it on a Bryan McCollum field goal with 1:46 left in the half, then Lex Thomas found Jai Boyd for a 40-yard touchdown with 15 seconds to go before the break. 24-17 at halftime.
The second half belonged to Chapman's right leg. He hit from 49 yards in the third quarter, from 39 early in the fourth, and from 25 with 1:57 left to push Furman in front 26-24. Four field goals for him, and Furman never found the end zone again after Smith's run. Then McCollum answered with a 36-yarder at 0:04. Final: 27-26, Western Carolina.
The box score says Furman should have won. The Paladins out-gained the Catamounts 388 yards to 321 and ran 55 times for 268 yards, against 33 carries for 126 yards on the other side. But they threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles, and two of those turnovers went straight back for touchdowns. Flip those two returns and Western Carolina is the team scrambling for a field goal to stay within shouting distance. Instead the Catamounts move to 4-4 and Furman falls to 1-6.
Fantasy-wise, Smith was the surprise of the day. Boyd and Thomas had the usual Western Carolina production, but a Furman player with a season average of single digits led everyone in points.