ORANGEBURG, SC--The SC State Bulldogs (1-2, 0-0 MEAC), will host in-state rival and Southern Conference foe Furman (2-1, 1-0) in a pivotal non-conference matchup this evening at Oliver. C. Dawson Stadium. Kickoff is 6 p.m.
 
Both the Paladins and Bulldogs are coming off tough losses last week. The Bulldogs, who rolled over Benedict 63-0 in their season opener in Columbia, are reeling after two straight lopsided losses at Clemson (73-7) and Coastal Carolina (30-3).
 
A win today against the nationally-ranked Paladins – 21^st in The Sports Network poll – would be a confidence builder for the Bulldogs, who are experiencing some growing pains with a youthful secondary and a quarterback, who had not seen much on-field action until the 2014 campaign.
 
The game is a rematch of last season's first-round Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff encounter which Furman won 30-20 at Orangeburg. Not wanting to sound an alarm, Pough has expressed some concern about the slow start of his Bulldogs and the team's inability to score in its last two outings. "There's a lot of concern right now," Pough said following the Coastal loss last Saturday. "But we knew going into this season that at this point, we could be at this stage (1-2), but the 1-2 doesn't worry me quite as bad as the fact that we haven't played well." He is hoping that being in the friendly confines of O.C. Dawson Stadium will change that.
 
Furman, meanwhile, is coming off a surprising 10-7 setback to Presbyterian, a team the Paladins had beaten 15 straight times. With the loss, Furman plummeted from 12^th to 21st in TSN rankings. Both teams had costly turnovers in last week's losses and hope to avoid such miscues today.
 
The Attraction
South Carolina State is celebrating Hall of Fame Day. Eleven individuals and two teams were enshrined in the Bulldog Athletic Hall of Fame Friday night and will be presented at halftime of today's contest.
 
The Series
The Bulldogs and Paladins are meeting for the 15^th time. Furman enjoys a 11-4 edge in the rivalry, which began in 1982 when the two Palmetto State rivals met in the first-round of the then-Division I-AA (now FCS) playoffs at Greenville. The Bulldogs won that match 17-0 and backed it up with a 13-3 triumph in Orangeburg the following season, however, Bulldogs teams have captured just two wins in the last 11 meetings and have dropped the last two outings to Furman, including the 2013 playoff game. Prior to last season's FCS playoff contest, the two teams had not met since 1998, when the Paladins won 27-19.
 
The Coaches
SC State's Buddy Pough (SC State '75) is in his 13^th season as head coach at his alma mater and owns a 98-45 overall mark. He is 0-1 against Furman.
 
Bruce Fowler (Furman '81) is in his 4th season as head coach at his alma mater and is 19-20 overall at Hampton. He is 1-0 against the Bulldogs