2005 Furman Paladins football team

The 2005 Furman Paladins football team represented Furman University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2005 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Bobby Lamb, the Paladins compiled and overall record of 11–3 with a mark of 5–2 in conference play, trying for second place in the SoCon. Furman advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoff, where they beat Nicholls State in the first round and Richmond in the quarterfinals before falling to SoCon and eventual national champion Appalachian State in the semifinals.

2005 Furman Paladins football
NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal, L 23–29 vs. Appalachian State
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	11–3 (5–2 SoCon)
Head coach	Bobby Lamb (4th season)
Captain	Patrick Covington, Ingle Martin, Brandon Mays, William Freeman, Maurice Duncan
Home stadium	Paladin Stadium
Seasons ← 2004 2006 →

2005 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 Appalachian State $^		6	–	1					12	–	3
No. 3 Furman ^		5	–	2					11	–	3
No. 9 Georgia Southern ^		5	–	2					8	–	4
Western Carolina		4	–	3					5	–	4
Wofford		3	–	4					6	–	5
Chattanooga		3	–	4					6	–	5
The Citadel		2	–	5					4	–	7
Elon		0	–	7					3	–	8
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	at No. 20 Jacksonville State*	No. 2	Paul Snow Stadium Jacksonville, AL		W 37–35	14,000	[1]
September 10	at Western Carolina	No. 2	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC		L 21–41	9,847	[2]
September 17	Samford*	No. 10	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC		W 45–23	13,452	[3]
September 24	No. 17 Hofstra*	No. 9	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC		W 44–41 2OT	9,884	[4]
October 1	Gardner–Webb*	No. 7	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC		W 48–31	10,127	[5]
October 8	No. 16 Appalachian State	No. 6	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	CSS	W 34–31	14,138	[6]
October 15	at The Citadel	No. 5	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC (rivalry)		W 39–31 3OT	12,880	[7]
October 22	Elon	No. 2	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC		W 45–6	11,916	[8]
November 5	at No. 14 Georgia Southern	No. 1	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA		L 24–27	19,808	[9]
November 12	Wofford	No. 4	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC (rivalry)		W 34–21	13,764	[10]
November 19	at Chattanooga	No. 3	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN		W 56–35	5,548	[11]
November 26	No. 21 Nicholls State*	No. 3	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)		W 14–12	4,125	[12]
December 3	at No. 12 Richmond*	No. 3	University of Richmond Stadium Richmond, VA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	ESPNU/ESPNGP	W 24–20	6,603	[13]
December 10	at No. 5 Appalachian State*	No. 3	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)		L 23–29	15,307	[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

Source:^[15]