GREENVILLE, S.C. (Oct. 27, 2023) – For the second straight week, ETSU football is on the road. For the second straight week, the Bucs are facing another ranked opponent. 
 
The Blue & Gold gear up for a difficult road test when ETSU travels to Greenville, S.C. and take on No. 3 Furman Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Paladin Stadium. 
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN 
Date: Saturday, Oct. 28
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Greenville, S.C. | Paladin Stadium 
Teams: ETSU (2-5, 1-3) at #3 Furman (6-1, 4-0)
Weather: 83° | Sunny | Winds Light and Variable  
Live Video: ESPN+
TV Crew: Brock Bowling (pbp); Cole Neely (analyst) 
Live Audio: WXSM-AM 640 | 104.9 NASH ICON
Radio Crew: Jay "Voice of the Bucs" Sandos (pbp), Mark Hutsell (analyst), Robert Harper (sideline) 
Live Stats: FurmanPaladins.com
Twitter: @ETSUFootball
 
ABOUT THE BUCS 
SEARCHING FOR RANKED WIN
ETSU is searching for its first win over a ranked team since defeating No. 4 Kennesaw State 32-31 in the second round of the FCS Quarterfinal back on Dec. 4, 2021 … The Bucs have dropped their last four games over ranked teams. 
 
ARNOLD NAMED TO MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICAN WATCH LIST
Earlier this week, ETSU junior safety Sheldon Arnold II was named to the Phil Steele/DraftScout Midseason All-American Watch List … Arnold was a third team selection … The Buccaneer has totaled 59 tackles, 7 TFLs, one sack, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble this season in seven games … Arnold, who is two-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Week selection, had a pick-6 in the win over Wofford on Oct. 14. 
 
BUCS IN THE FCS RANKINGS 
Teddy Wilson ranks second nationally with his three blocked punts and Sheldon Arnold II ranks fourth with his two fumble recoveries and ninth in interceptions per game (0.4) … Arnold also ranks 30th in solo tackles (5.0) and 46th in total tackles (8.4) … Nate Brackett ranks 14th nationally in punting as he's averaging 43.5 yards per punt … Brackett's 70-yard punt against Carson-Newman is tied for the eighth-longest among FCS players this season … Bryson Irby is 41st in rushing yards per carry (5.25) and 46th touchdowns (5), while Ewan Johnson is 35th in field goals per game (1.00) and 43rd in field goal percentage (.700).
 
BARRAGE OF BUCCANEER BLOCKED PUNTS
ETSU has blocked four punts this season with three of them coming in the last three weeks ... Linebacker Teddy Wilson has three of the Bucs' four blocks with Trey Foster getting in on the fun vs. Wofford ... Wilson got his first blocked punt in the home opener against Carson-Newman, which led to Ray Coney falling on the ball, resulting in a touchdown ... ETSU ranks second nationally with the four blocked punts -- trailing New Hampshire's five. 
 
PERSONAL MILESTONES
A pair of Buccaneers reached personal milestones at Austin Peay as linebackers Zach West and Stephen Scott notched their 100th career tackles … Zach West landed right on the number with his two hits against the Govs, while Stephen Scott – who posted a career-high 12 tackles at Austin Peay – has 132 for his career … Chris Hope and Sheldon Arnold II both registered their 100th career tackles against Mercer … Hope entered that game with 99 and now has 118 career hits, while Arnold needed 12 to land on the milestone … The Buccaneer defensive back tied his career high with 12 hits against the Bears to land right at 100 … Arnold now has 118 career tackles … Max Evans recorded his 100th career tackle last week at Chattanooga when he tallied a career-high seven hits … For his career, Evans has 105 tackles in 37 games. 
 
HUZZIE REACHES THE 2K MARK 
Speaking of personal milestones, ETSU redshirt senior wide receiver Will Huzie made history in the Bucs' win over Carson-Newman as he became just the third Buccaneer receiver to eclipse the 2,000 receiving yard mark for a career … Huzzie, who suffered a season-ending knee injury at Chattanooga, finished his Buccaneer career with 2,211 receiving yards in 45 career games with the Bucs … B.J. Adigun (1994-97) is the all-time Buccaneer leader with 2,802 receiving yards and Cecil Moore (1999-02) is second with 2,488 yards … Huzzie also totaled 169 receptions, which rank second all-time … Huzzie needed four catches to break B.J. Adigun's school record of 172 … In his 45 games played, Huzzie recorded 18 touchdown receptions … The Duluth, Ga. native needed one more touchdown catch to move into the top three Buccaneer leaders and nine to break Adigun's record of 26.
 
T0 30 AND BEYOND…
ETSU is 19-4 when scoring at least 30 points since restarting the program in 2015 … ETSU had won its last 13 games when scoring at least 30 points following the lone setback at Furman on Sept. 30, 2017, before falling to No. 11 Mercer, 55-33, No. 15 Samford 55-45 and Wofford 48-41 last season ... ETSU is 2-0 this year when scoring at least 30 points.   
 
ABOUT FURMAN

• Furman enters the week ranked No. 3 in the AFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll and No. 4 in the STATS Perform Top 25 Poll
• The Paladins sit 6-1 overall and 4-0 in SoCon play … Furman's lone setback this season was a 47-21 loss at South Carolina on Sept. 9
• Furman has won its last five games and is 3-0 at home this season … The Paladins are 25-7 at home since the start of the 2017 season 
• The Paladins are coming off a 29-17 win at No. 8 Western Carolina last Saturday 
• As a team, Furman is averaging 31.3 points per game and 394.1 yards of offense per contest (199.9 rushing/194.29 passing) … Defensively, the Paladins are holding opponents to 21.6 points and 370.3 yards per game (98.1 rushing/272.14 passing)
• Eighteen of Furman's 29 touchdowns have come via the run, while nine have come through the air and two defensive touchdowns 
• Furman is converting on nearly 50 percent on third down (50-101) and opponents are hitting at a 39.6 percent clip (38-96) 
• Quarterback Tyler Huff is completing 68 percent of his passes (124-182) for 1,231 yards and eight touchdowns … Huff also has 480 rushing yards on 80 attempts and five touchdowns … Eighteen different players have accounted for Furman's 132 receptions with Joshua Harris leading the team in receptions (24), Ben Ferguson being the leader in receiving yards (243) and Mason Pine and Luke Shiflett each hauling in two touchdown catches
• Running back Dominic Roberto has 548 rushing yards on 118 carries and seven touchdowns … Roberto ranks 15th nationally in rushing touchdowns, 25th in total touchdowns (7), 32nd in rushing yards per game (78.3) and 33rd in rushing yards
• Furman ranks among the national leaders in several FCS statistical categories … Second in win percentage (.857), third in turnover margin (1.29), sixth in defensive touchdowns (2), eighth in passes intercepted (9) and turnovers lost (5), ninth in third down conversion percentage (.495) and fourth down conversion percentage defense (.316), 11th in rushing defense (97.4), 13th in completion percentage (.670), 14th in red zone defense (.722), 15th in turnovers gained (14), 18th in rushing offense (199.9) and team tackles for loss (6.9), 20th in team sacks (2.57) and time of possession (32:10), 25th in scoring offense (31.3) and tackles for loss allowed (4.43), 28th in first downs offense (155), 29th in punt return defense (4.33) and 30th in scoring defense (21.6) and net punting (38.3)
• Huff ranks 24th nationally in rush yards per carry (6.0), Wayne Anderson Jr. is 10th in kickoff returns (26.5), Travis Blackshear is 18th in passes defended (1.3) and Cally Chizik is ninth in interceptions per game (0.4)
• Furman has forced 14 takeaways this season – 9 INTs and 5 fumble recoveries … The Paladin offense has only turned the ball over five times (5 INTs, 1 fumble) 
• Defensively, Hugh Ryan leads the team in tackles (48), Evan DiMaggio is the team leader in sacks (4) and TFLs (6.5) and Chizik leads the team with three interceptions 

 
SERIES HISTORY 

• Saturday marks the 38th all-time game in the series … Furman holds a commanding 28-9 all-time series lead
• The Paladins have won eight of the last 10 meetings with the Bucs' two wins coming in 2021 where ETSU won 17-13 in Greenville and the historic 29-27 win where Austin Herink came off the bench to lead the Blue & Gold to their largest comeback in program history … ETSU's win in 2021, was the Bucs' first win at Furman since Oct. 25, 1997 when ETSU won 58-28 
• The Bucs are just 3-16 all-time at Furman

 
COVERAGE
The Buccaneer Sports Network (BSN) will provide ETSU fans with complete pregame, in-game and postgame coverage on the Bucs' flagship station WXSM-AM 640 and affiliate station 104.9 FM NASH ICON. Click herefor live audio. 
 
BSN begins its pregame programing one hour and 30 minutes prior to kickoff with the 30-minute Tennessee Lottery Tailgate Show, followed by the Pregame Show presented by Lafayette Heat & Air, which will lead up to 30 minutes prior to kickoff. The Appalachian Orthopedic Countdown to Kickoff will then lead into the final moments before kickoff.     
 
The broadcast team of "Voice of the Bucs" Jay Sandos, analyst Mark Hutsell and sideline reporter Robert Harper will provide ETSU fans all the information they need to complement their game-day activities.
 
At halftime, the crew will have the Mr. Electric Halftime Show, while fans can tune into the Mullican Flooring Post Game Show for a full wrap up, with game statistics, players and coach interviews and other post-game information. 
 
Saturday's game will also be broadcast on ESPN+ with the team of Brock Bowling (play-by-play) and Cole Neely (analyst) on the call.
 
UP NEXT
ETSU returns home for the first time in three weeks when the Bucs host VMI on Saturday, Nov. 4. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium. 
 
For more information on Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.