# 2019 Furman Paladins football team

The 2019 Furman Paladins team represented Furman University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Clay Hendrix, the Paladins compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing second in the SoCon. Furman received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they lost to Austin Peay in the first round. The team played home games at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina.

## Preseason
### Preseason polls

The SoCon released their preseason media poll and coaches poll on July 22, 2019. The Paladins were picked to finish in second place in both polls.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Wofford | 253 (21) |
| 2 | Furman | 229 (6) |
| 3 | East Tennessee State | 187 (2) |
| 4 | Mercer | 146 |
| 5 | Chattanooga | 134 |
| 6 | Samford | 125 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 111 |
| 8 | Western Carolina | 88 |
| 9 | VMI | 32 |
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Wofford | 63 (7) |
| 2 | Furman | 55 (1) |
| 3 | East Tennessee State | 44 (1) |
| 4 | Chattanooga | 40 |
| 5 | Mercer | 34 |
| 6 | Samford | 33 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 22 |
| 8 | Western Carolina | 21 |
| 9 | VMI | 12 |

### Preseason All-SoCon Teams

The Paladins placed seven players on the preseason all-SoCon teams.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 1:00 p.m. | Charleston Southern* | No. 19 | Paladin StadiumGreenville, SC | ESPN+ | W 46–13 | 6,146 |
| September 7 | 7:00 p.m. | at Georgia State* | No. 17 | Georgia State StadiumAtlanta, GA | ESPN3 | L 42–48 | 20,351 |
| September 14 | 12:00 p.m. | at Virginia Tech* | No. 16 | Lane StadiumBlacksburg, VA | ACCN | L 17–24 | 52,314 |
| September 21 | 1:00 p.m. | Mercer | No. 17 | Paladin StadiumGreenville, SC | Nexstar/ESPN+ | W 45–10 | 7,667 |
| September 28 | 1:00 p.m. | East Tennessee State | No. 16 | Paladin StadiumGreenville, SC | Nexstar/ESPN+ | W 17–10 | 5,031 |
| October 5 | 3:00 p.m. | at Samford | No. 14 | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | Nexstar/ESPN+ | W 58–14 | 6,169 |
| October 19 | 1:00 p.m. | The Citadel | No. 8 | Paladin StadiumGreenville, SC (rivalry) | ESPN3 | L 10–27 | 6,603 |
| October 26 | 3:30 p.m. | at Western Carolina | No. 14 | E.J. Whitmire StadiumCullowhee, NC | ESPN3 | W 28–7 | 8,174 |
| November 2 | 2:00 p.m. | at Chattanooga | No. 13 | Finley StadiumChattanooga, TN | ESPN+ | W 35–20 | 7,431 |
| November 9 | 1:00 p.m. | VMI | No. 9 | Paladin StadiumGreenville, SC | ESPN+ | W 60–21 | 7,229 |
| November 16 | 1:30 p.m. | at No. 21 Wofford | No. 9 | Gibbs StadiumSpartanburg, SC (rivalry) | Nexstar/ESPN+ | L 7–24 | 6,457 |
| November 23 | 1:00 p.m. | Point* | No. 17 | Paladin StadiumGreenville, SC | ESPN+ | W 64–7 | 3,207 |
| November 30 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 18 Austin Peay* | No. 16 | Fortera StadiumClarksville, TN (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN3 | L 6–42 | 3,559 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Charleston Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| No. 19 Paladins | 7 | 17 | 8 | 14 | 46 |

### At Georgia State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 Paladins | 13 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 42 |
| Panthers | 3 | 14 | 21 | 10 | 48 |

### At Virginia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 16 Paladins | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Hokies | 3 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 24 |

### Mercer

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 17 Paladins | 14 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 45 |

### East Tennessee State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 16 Paladins | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

### At Samford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Paladins | 28 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 58 |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### The Citadel

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 27 |
| No. 8 Paladins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

### At Western Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Paladins | 3 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 28 |
| Catamounts | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### At Chattanooga

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Paladins | 0 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
| Mocs | 3 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 20 |

### VMI

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Keydets | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| No. 9 Paladins | 15 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 60 |

### At Wofford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Paladins | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 21 Terriers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |

### Point

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Skyhawks | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 17 Paladins | 21 | 22 | 14 | 7 | 64 |

### At Austin Peay—FCS First Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 16 Paladins | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| No. 18 Governors | 7 | 0 | 28 | 7 | 42 |
The Paladins were selected for the postseason tournament, with a first-round pairing against Austin Peay.

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| STATS FCS | 19 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 17 | 16 | |
| Coaches | 17 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 16 | |