Furman football falls to Incarnate Word in Round 2 of FCS playoffs, 41-38

Furman football's comeback bid fell just short as the Paladins lost 41-38 to No. 7 seed Incarnate Word in the second round of the FCS playoffs Saturday at San Antonio.

Furman (10-3) was trying to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2005. The Cardinals (11-1) will face the winner of the second-round game between Sacramento State and Richmond.

“We certainly didn't play our best football, but I don't know if I've ever been more proud of our group for just hanging in there," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "… They played better than we did, and I think that was really it. They made a couple more plays than we did. That was really the difference in the game."

Here are three takeaways from the last game of the Paladins' 2022 season:

DB Cally Chizik and Furman defense keep Paladins in the game

Despite allowing 41 points and 613 yards, the Furman defense was the reason this game was in reach for the Paladins.

Redshirt junior defensive back Cally Chizik had a first half to remember picking off UIW quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. twice, including one that he returned 36-yards for a touchdown. He returned the other to the Cardinals red zone; the play led to the second Furman touchdown.

Furman's goal-line defense stopped Incarnate Word from scoring two more touchdowns. On one, the Cardinals settled for a field goal; on the other, UIW turned the ball over on downs.

“The fourth-down stop right before halftime, we were like, 'OK, we can do what we've been doing all year, to these guys,'" Furman defensive tackle Matt Sochovka said. "But unfortunately, we needed a stop at the end. We didn't get it."

As soon as the Furman offense started clicking, the defense gave it one more short field by forcing a fumble on the UIW 29-yard line. Huff took advantage of by leading a 32-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown run by the QB to to give the Paladins a 38-34 lead with 6:55 left in the fourth.

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Furman's offense didn't show up in the 1st half and lost because of it

Going into this game, the plan was clear for the Paladins: Slow down the UIW offense as much as you can and then keep the Scott and his dynamic receivers on the sideline by running the ball down the heart of the Incarnate Word defense. The defense did its part, the offense didn't — at least not in the first half.

Furman gained only 137 yards total offense, which failed to come close to the 413 yards Incarnate Word's offense gained. And despite fighting back into the game and taking the lead in the fourth, the Paladins' inability to score more points in the first half came back to haunt them in the stretch run.

"We didn't play very good complimentary football in the first half," Hendrix said. "I thought we did that in the second half both sides of the ball."

Incarnate Word's potent offense stalled in 2nd half

After scoring 28 points in the first half, the Cardinals' offense — which averaged 52.9 points per game this season — were able to score six only points -- two field goals -- in the first 28 minutes of the second half. UIW broke through for what proved to be the winning touchdown with 1:54 left in the game.

“Just go out and win, find a way," Scott said. "Scratch, claw, do whatever you have to do to put together a drive. I told the guys before we step on the field we're going to believe it, then we're going to do it. … At that point, everybody executed perfectly, offensive line blocked great, a great route by by freshman Cole Wilson. At that point … just don't overthrow him."

UIW struggled to rush or pass and punted or turned over the ball five times. The Cardinals' gained only 159 yards in its eight second-half possessions. Despite the struggle, the Cardinals did just enough on both sides of the ball to get this one over the hump and advance to the quarters.

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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Furman football falls to Incarnate Word in Round 2 of FCS playoffs, 41-38