GREENVILLE, S.C. (Oct. 3, 2025) – The ETSU football team will begin the month of October with a road trip to Furman on Saturday. Kickoff between the Bucs and Paladins is set for 2 p.m. from Greenville, S.C.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, October 4
Time: 2:02 p.m.
Location: Greenville, S.C. | Paladin Stadium
Teams: (RV) ETSU (2-3, 0-1 SoCon) at (RV) Furman (3-1, 1-0 SoCon)
Weather: 76 degrees, overcast
Live Video: ESPN+
TV Crew: Brock Bowling (pbp), Cole Neely (analyst)
Live Audio: WXSM-AM 640 | HD radio can listen on 101.5 WQUT HD-2
Radio Crew: Jay "Voice of the Bucs" Sandos (pbp), Mark Hutsell (analyst), Robert Harper (sideline)
Live Stats: ETSUBucs.com (Statbroadcast)
X:
@ETSUFootball
THINGS TO KNOW – Please click
HERE for all the "Things to Know" for Saturday's matchup with the Paladins, presented by Citizens Bank.
PILING UP THE PASSING NUMBERS - ETSU quarterback
Cade McNamara put together one of the best statistical days a Buccaneer signal caller has ever had on Saturday. McNamara, who matched a single-game program record with 30 completions last week vs. Elon, threw 398 yards on a 29-for-46 day passing with four touchdowns. McNamara's 398 yards on the day were not only a new career-high for him but also the second-most ever in a game by an ETSU quarterback, trailing only Austin Herink's 434-yard day against Furman in 2017. Furthermore, McNamara became the seventh different Buccaneer quarterback to throw four or more touchdowns in a game, joining Tyler Riddell, Greg Ryan, Alan Chadwick, Jatavis Sanders, Mark Hutsell, and
Jaylen King.
BIG PLAY MEGGETT - One of McNamara's top targets was
Hakeem Meggett. Meggett hauled in five passes for 119 yards and three receiving touchdowns, all of which were new career-bests. Meggett is the first ETSU wideout to catch three or more touchdowns in a game since Will Huzzie in 2022. He is the sixth Buc ever to accomplish this feat. Since joining the Bucs prior to last season, Meggett has been one of the biggest play threats in the SoCon. In an ETSU uniform, Meggett is averaging 20.9 yards per catch.
MOVING THE CHAINS RECORD GOES DOWN AGAIN - A few weeks after breaking the single-game program record for first downs in a game against Murray State, this Buccaneer team broke it again on Saturday by moving the chains 32 times against the Bears. ETSU ran a total of 80 plays against the Bears and averaged 5.8 yards per play, including 13.7 yards per completion.
MAKING PLAYS ON DEFENSE -
Jivon Oggs was ETSU's top defensive player last week vs. Mercer. Oggs had a career-high seven tackles against the Bears, with one of those being behind the line of scrimmage. The Texas native also forced and recovered a fumble against Mercer. As the season moves into October, Oggs is sixth on the team with 16 tackles and is ETSU's interception leader with two.
ABOUT FURMAN - Furman will enter Saturday's matchup with ETSU sporting a 3-1 record overall, including a 1-0 mark in SoCon play. The Paladins are coming off a 31-13 victory on the road at Samford on Saturday. Furman also has wins over William & Mary (23-21) and Campbell (28-24) this fall with the lone setback coming against Presbyterian (39-38 in overtime). Entering week six, the Paladins are one of 12 teams in the FCS to have more than one defensive touchdown. Furman has returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns so far in 2025. Furman had two interceptions returned for touchdowns but also have four more picks for a season total of six. Those six INTs are tied for the third-most in the country. In addition to taking the ball away, the Paladins have been great at creating negative plays for the opposing offenses. Furman is third nationally averaging 8.3 tackles for loss per game. Additionally, Furman's defense has the most sacks among SoCon teams with 14 (3.5 per game).
SERIES REWIND AGAINST THE PALADINS - The all-time series between the Bucs and Paladins has been skewed towards Furman as it has won 30 of the 39 matchups. Despite the disparity, five of the last six matchups have been decided by one score, including a 24-21 win for the Paladins last November in Johnson City. Historically, ETSU has won just three games ever in Greenville in 20 tries (1979, 1997 and 2021). The Bucs also were also Furman's first opponent in Paladin Stadium back in 1981, which ended in a 21-0 win for the home team.
For more information on Buccaneer football, visit
ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.
