As a lifelong fan of a FCS (formerly 1-AA) team, beating a FBS school is kind of a white whale. By these football giants, my team is perceived as a cupcake, a gimme game. I listen to some commentators on ESPN and you'd think that the fact that Furman is allowed to breathe the same air as a larger school is a blasphemous affront to college football.
My senior year at Furman, the Paladins faced a Pitt team that would later go on to play in the Fiesta Bowl. After the game, ESPN analyst Mark May (a Pitt alum) was incensed. He said Furman had no business being out there with a FBS team. This was after Pitt beat Furman by 3...in overtime. Sidenote: I do not like Mark May. At all.
So playing David to a FBS Goliath felt really, really good. Granted this isn't the first time Furman has taken down a giant foe, but it's the first time that I truly got to experience it. We beat NC State in 1984 and 1985. While the foundation for Furman fandom had been laid at the time, I was 1 and 2 years old respectively so it didn't really register. In 1999, the Paladins trounced UNC 28-3. But I was running in a cross country meet and didn't get to start listening on the radio until the 2nd half when they had already built a 21-3 lead.
But Saturday night, I got to watch the whole thing unfold on television (with the exception of putting the boys to bed in the first half). To be honest, I wasn't too confident in our chances beforehand. The previous week's 42-3 loss to VA Tech had dulled the optimism of our near upset of Coastal. And when bad breaks placed the Paladins in a 12-0 hole, I feared another Philistine would win the day.
Then came the halfback pass from Deon Sanders(!). A few plays later, Ernie Cain found the end zone and Furman would head into the half only down 12-7. By the time Reese Hannon tossed a gorgeous 61 yard TD pass to Andrej Suttles to give Furman the lead, I began the very dangerous practice of belief. Text messages came in from my Mom, Dad, and sister. My brother and I (we typically text each other throughout road games) excitedly updated our friend TJ who wasn't able to watch the game.
I was a bundle of excitement and nerves. When Furman couldn't capitalize on some strong 3rd quarter momentum and UCF took a 15-13 lead, I feared this was going to be one of those haunting near miss losses. Then Hollingsworth boomed a school record 55 yarder early in the 4th to retake the lead.
From there, our offense moved the ball enough to keep pinning UCF in their own territory. Our smaller defense, which was already playing an incredible game, somehow became more beastly when most teams tire. Furman couldn't quite put it away until Trey Robinson, to whom EA taught Spanish in high school, nabbed his second interception of the night. As David took a knee, Goliath slunk defeated to his. Final score: Furman 16, UCF 15.
Taylor, TJ, and I celebrated via text. My dad called me and we excitedly chatted about the game for a few minutes. I was giddy and had a hard time calming down for bed. It was a good night.
But let me dispel a myth that I heard in the aftermath of the upset. This wasn't the most important win in our school's history. It can be an important win, but only if it is something off of which the team builds. Furman's goals are a SoCon championship, the playoffs, and the FCS Championship. Contrary to what the FBS school would like to believe, our football world is much bigger than our solitary shots at the so-called big time. Taking down a FBS school is great. It is historic. It was undoubtedly a big goal at the beginning of the season.. But it is only one goal out of many.
David and Goliath is typically viewed as a self-contained story. In reality, it is only one of the opening chapters in a sprawling epic containing numerous highs and lows. Great teams understand this reality and strive to perpetually improve. I look forward to seeing if Furman is one of those teams.
But all in all? Watching Furman take down a FBS Goliath was a whole heck of a lot of fun.