CHARLESTON (Interstat) — Furman defeated Citadel 24-14 on Saturday in an NCAA Football Championship Division game at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The Paladins, the visiting team, improved to 3-7. The Bulldogs, the home team, fell to 2-8. Furman scored on two touchdown runs by Ben Croasdale, a touchdown pass from Jake Garcia and a Nathan Chapman field goal.

Citadel opened the scoring with 7:47 remaining in the first quarter when Nick Billoups rushed up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown and Evan Kiely added the extra point. Furman answered with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter on Croasdale’s 1-yard touchdown run and Chapman’s extra point. The Paladins moved ahead with 33 seconds remaining in the first quarter when Garcia completed a short pass to Croasdale for a 3-yard touchdown and Chapman converted again. Kiely missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt with 8:02 remaining in the second quarter, and Chapman made a 20-yard field goal with 7:15 remaining in the third quarter. Billoups scored again on a 2-yard rush with 17 seconds remaining in the third quarter, and Kiely’s extra point brought the Bulldogs closer. Croasdale then broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run with 5:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Chapman’s extra point completed the scoring.

Garcia, a 6-foot-3, 194-pound quarterback from Whittier, California, completed 15 of 24 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown and had five rushing attempts for 1 yard. Croasdale carried 24 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 10 yards and a touchdown. John Holbrook caught three passes for 43 yards, Daniel Haughton had three receptions for 39 yards, Nick Segarra added one catch for 15 yards, Luke Shields had two receptions for 11 yards, and Connor Morin had one reception for 6 yards. C.J. Stokes had four rushes for 1 yard and one reception for 3 yards, and Gram Smithson had one reception for zero yards. Gray Gitter punted seven times for 276 yards. CJ Nettles returned two punts for 22 yards.

Furman’s defense produced a heavy tackle count. Raleigh Herbert recorded 16 tackles and half a sack. Caleb Ellison added 12 tackles. Joshua Tarver and AK Burrell each made nine tackles. Caleb Easterling had five tackles, Garrison Butler had five tackles, and Joshua Stoneking had four tackles and half a sack. Billy Lewis, Aaron Davis and Daco Coleman each recorded four tackles. Demetrius Baldwin and Nick Simmons each had two tackles, while Javaris Jones, Will McQueen, Ethan Washington, Trevor Short, Isaiah Davis and Banks Bouton each made one tackle. Eli Lipscomb, Trae Williams and Ty Kauserud each had three tackles. Caldwell Bussey had two tackles. Furman held Citadel to 14 points.

Citadel’s Israel Benjamin rushed 13 times for 65 yards and caught one pass for 6 yards. Gavin Garcia carried 10 times for 38 yards and caught one pass for 20 yards. Sebastien Boyle had seven rushes for 14 yards, Michael Lorino had one rush for 3 yards, and Abijah Webb had one rush for 3 yards and one reception for 7 yards. Damir Abdullah caught three passes for 41 yards, Ismael Zamor had four receptions for 33 yards, Derek Kee had one reception for 13 yards, and Braylon Knauth returned one kickoff for 17 yards and two punts for 1 yard. Billoups accounted for the Bulldogs’ two touchdowns on the ground.

Jalen Wright led Citadel with 10 tackles. J’hari Mosley recorded seven tackles and one sack. Zyion Brown and D’Angelo Sheppard each had five tackles. Tre’ McLeod and Zeb Stroup each made four tackles.

Furman entered the game after a 27-26 loss to Western Carolina and a 13-6 loss to Samford, part of a six-game losing streak. The Paladins also had losses to Tennessee Tech, Wofford, Richmond and South Carolina State during that stretch. Citadel entered after a 28-19 loss at Mercer and a 28-13 loss to Tennessee Tech. The Bulldogs also had losses to Texas A&M and East Tennessee State in their previous four games. Furman’s victory snapped that skid and gave the Paladins their third win of the season. Furman will host Chattanooga next before visiting Virginia Military Institute. Citadel will visit Virginia Military Institute next before traveling to Western Carolina.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Citadel 36, Furman 26. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Citadel with a 57 percent probability to win.