Samford's Defense Holds at the Goal Line to Beat Furman 13-6

Furman had the ball at the Samford 19 with the game on the line and two chances to throw it into the end zone. Both times, a Samford defender got a hand on the ball.

That was the finish to a 13-6 Samford win over Furman on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, S.C. It was the kind of Southern Conference afternoon that rewards patience, field position and defense, and Samford had more of all three when it mattered.

The Bulldogs improved to 2-6 overall and 2-3 in the SoCon. Furman, coming off an open week, fell to 2-6 and 1-3.

Two kicks and a long wait

Samford took the opening kickoff and marched all the way to the Furman 2-yard line before stalling. Ty Ippolito kicked a 22-yard field goal with 8:49 left in the first quarter, and the Bulldogs led 3-0. Ippolito added a 42-yarder with 34 seconds left in the period, and it was 6-0.

Those were the only points of the first half. For a kicker who had already made the three longest field goals in Samford history this season, from 58, 54 and 53 yards, a 42-yarder probably felt like a chip shot. Ippolito had been named the SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week just five days earlier, and he kept right on going.

The Furman offense could not find a rhythm. The Paladins were held to 77 rushing yards for the game, and they would not score at all until the third quarter.

Furman claws back

The Paladins finally broke through with 3:34 left in the third quarter, when Nathan Chapman kicked a 24-yard field goal to make it 6-3. Then, with 11:12 to go in the game, Chapman hit again from 37 yards. Tie game at 6, and a home crowd that had waited all afternoon for something to cheer.

At that point, it looked like the kind of game that would come down to one mistake. It did.

The turning point

With the score still tied, Furman's Ben Croasdale had the ball knocked loose by Samford defensive tackle Maxton Woodward. Noah Holton fell on it at the Furman 11.

Samford did not waste the gift. Three plays later, quarterback Gabarri Johnson found Cayden Aukerman for a 14-yard touchdown pass, and the Bulldogs led 13-6 with 6:42 left. It was the only touchdown of the game.

"We finally got some breaks, we were plus in the (turnover) margin, we've been talking about that all year," Samford coach John Grass said.

The goal-line stand

Furman still had time. The teams traded three-and-outs, and the Paladins took over at the Samford 41 with 2:25 to play.

Trey Smith came off the bench at quarterback and moved the offense. He hit Daniel Haughton for 9 yards, Croasdale ran for a first down, and Smith found Ethan Harris for 11 yards and another first down at the Samford 19. A 3-yard run and an incompletion set up third-and-7.

Smith rolled out and threw for Jackson Pryor at the goal line, but Samford's Trey Lenhardt batted the pass down. After a Furman timeout, Smith went back to the goal line on fourth down. Elijah McDowell broke that one up, and Samford took over on downs inside the final minute and a half. The Bulldogs ran out the clock from there.

The players who decided it

Start with the Samford defense, because it was the story. Max Steve led the Bulldogs with 13 tackles, seven of them solo, and forced a fumble. Woodward forced the fumble that set up the winning score, and Holton recovered it. Dylon Henderson and defensive end Jackson Bussey each intercepted Furman quarterback Connor Ackerley. Add in the goal-line breakups from Lenhardt and McDowell, and you had a defense that made the big play every time it was needed.

Samford's defense held a SoCon opponent without a touchdown for the first time since a 27-3 win over VMI in 2024. That is the kind of note that tells you how much this unit has grown.

On offense, Johnson completed 18 of 26 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown. A first-year starter, he did not turn the ball over and made the throw that won the game. Aukerman caught five passes for 68 yards and the touchdown. Ken Cherry, coming off the first 100-yard game of his Samford career against Mercer, ran 15 times for 64 yards to lead the ground game.

For Furman, Ackerley completed 15 of 25 passes for 216 yards but threw the two interceptions. Raleigh Herbert was everywhere, with a game-high 16 tackles, 12 of them solo, and 2.5 tackles for loss. Eli Lipscomb added two sacks. The Furman defense held Samford to 13 points and gave its offense every chance. The offense just could not finish.

Stats that matter

The yardage was almost dead even. Furman outgained Samford 313 to 304. Usually, a team that wins the yardage battle on its home field wins the game.

The difference was the ball. Samford forced three turnovers and won the turnover battle, which is exactly what Grass said his team had been preaching all season.

And Furman's ground game never got going. With just 77 rushing yards, the Paladins had to put the game on Ackerley and then on Smith, and the Samford secondary was up to it. The full numbers are in the official box score (opens in a new tab).

A series built on close games

None of this should surprise anyone who follows this rivalry. In the 17 meetings since Samford joined the SoCon in 2008, 10 have been decided by seven points or fewer, and six by three or fewer. Furman still leads the all-time series, which now stands at 15-13.

This was also Samford's first trip to Greenville since 2022. The 2024 game at Paladin Stadium was canceled because of a hurricane that hit the area earlier that week. In that last visit, Samford won 34-27 on its way to a SoCon title. Furman won last season's meeting 31-13 at Pete Hanna Stadium, so the Bulldogs had a score to settle.

What it means

For Samford, this was a needed win after a 31-21 loss to No. 18 Mercer the week before. The record is still 2-6, but the Bulldogs are now 2-3 in the league, and the defense is playing well enough to make every game close. Next on the schedule was a home game against Wofford on Oct. 31 at Pete Hanna Stadium.

For Furman, the frustration is real. The Paladins came off an open week, played well on defense and had the ball at the 19 with a chance to tie in the final minutes. They lost because of one fumble and two goal-line passes that Samford defenders got to first. Furman's last game before the break was a 20-15 loss at Tennessee Tech, and this one was just as tight. Next on the schedule for the Paladins was a home game against Western Carolina on Oct. 31.

There is more in Samford's recap (opens in a new tab) and in Furman's account of the game, carried by FOX Carolina (opens in a new tab).

The last word

Grass knew where the credit belonged.

"I'm proud of our guys," Grass said. "This was a good road win."

And he made sure the defense got its due. "A lot of guys made a lot of plays. Take your hat off to the defense, the defense is playing really, really well."

On a day when the offense scored one touchdown, that was the whole story. Samford won a road game in the SoCon by getting stops, taking the ball away and holding firm at the goal line. In a league where this series so often comes down to a play or two, the Bulldogs made the last two.

Sources: Samford Athletics recap and preview, Furman Athletics via FOX Carolina, and the official box score. More FCS and college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Samford Athletics.