Furman 14, Nicholls State 12

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Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	14	21
Total Yards	271	311
Passing	72	68
Rushing	199	243
Penalties	3-25	2-25
3rd Down Conversions	5-15	6-13
4th Down Conversions	2-5	2-3
Turnovers	0	3
Possession	32:15	27:45

Individual Leaders

Nicholls State Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Vannoy 3/8 72 1 0	Furman Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Martin I... 5/12 68 1 1
Nicholls State Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Tobias 20 90 0 16 Vannoy 13 46 0 6 Cole 8 21 0 9	Furman Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Mays 10 61 0 19 Felton 18 59 0 12 Gipson 6 50 0 18
Nicholls State Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Okoronkwo 2 50 0 40 Horton 1 22 1 22	Furman Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Carter 2 22 0 27 Stepp 1 29 1 29 Felton 1 12 0 12 Bell 1 5 0 5

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				NICH	FUR
	FG	11:21	ALEXANDER ROMERO 34 YD FG Drive info: 4 plays, 6 yards.	3	0
SECOND QUARTER				NICH	FUR
	FG	11:21	ALEXANDER ROMERO 20 YD FG Drive info: 9 plays, 73 yards.	6	0
	TD	1:24	JUSTIN STEPP 29 YD PASS FROM INGLE MARTIN IV (SCOTT BECKLER KICK) Drive info: 7 plays, 80 yards.	6	7
THIRD QUARTER				NICH	FUR
	TD	8:06	INGLE MARTIN IV 1 YD RUN (SCOTT BECKLER KICK) Drive info: 15 plays, 57 yards.	6	14
	TD	2:02	KENLEY HORTON 22 YD PASS FROM YALE VANNOY (FAILED 2PT RUSH) Drive info: 11 plays, 80 yards.	12	14

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- Furman coach Bobby Lamb has a simple playoff philosophy -- survive and advance.

And that's exactly what the Paladins (10-2) did Saturday.

Furman quarterback Ingle Martin had just 70 yards passing while Brandon Mays and Jerome Felton each rushed for 61 yards to lead the Paladins to a 14-12 victory over Nicholls State (6-3) in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs Saturday.

Furman's defense was the difference, holding Nicholls State to a season-low 199 yards rushing and making several key fourth down stops.

"It's a survive and advance mode. When you look back years from now, nobody will know the score of this game," Lamb said.

The Paladins came into the game averaging more than 38 points, but managed only a couple of touchdowns. The game was in doubt until the middle of the fourth quarter. Trailing by two, the Colonels (6-4) drove to the Paladin 39, but Joseph Tobias was stopped short on fourth-and-two with 4:52 remaining.

Furman never gave the ball back, running down the clock deep in Nicholls State territory as Felton gained 35 yards on the final drive.

The Paladins even chose to go for it on fourth down at the Colonels 8 instead of kicking the field goal. Felton's 2-yard gain got a first down and sealed the win.

Lamb said he didn't want to kick because Furman had already had a field goal block and missed another kick.

Furman will face the winner of Hampton-Richmond.

The Paladins, who have been to the playoffs six of the past seven seasons, had a good defensive scheme against the Colonel's triple option threat, which had been averaging 383 yards rushing a game. They have faced two other teams this season with similar offenses, Georgia Southern and Wofford.

"I'm just so proud of our defense for really stepping it up," said Felton, who finished with 61 yards on 18 carries, eight of which came on the final drive. "We told the defense if they got us the ball back at the end of the game, we'd finish it."

Furman's offense was sluggish from the start and overcame three turnovers.

The Paladins were ahead 7-6 at halftime despite being outplayed for most of the opening period. They scored on their opening possession of the third quarter using a combination of five rushers to go ahead 14-6. Mays led the drive with 18 yards on three carries.

Martin scored from the 1 with 8:06 remaining. He finished 5-of-12 for 68 yards passing and one interception.

"The offensive line stepped up and played well for us and thank goodness the defense played like they did," Martin said

The Colonels fought back after the Paladins' score. Helped by a key pass interference call on third down, they drove to Furman's 22 and ran a designed play to throw the Paladins offsides. It worked.

Yale Vannoy's hard count drew a flag and while most of the Paladin defenders stood still awaiting a whistle, Vannoy tossed a 22-yard scoring strike to a wide open Kenley Horton to cut the lead to 14-12. The two-point conversion failed.

"It's worked for us before," Vannoy said. "Many times."

Tobias had 90 yards rushing on 20 carries to lead the Colonels, who gained an automatic berth to the postseason after winning the Southland Conference.

"We didn't capitalize on things and that's my fault because I'm the leader of the offense," Vannoy said.

Martin led an 80-yard drive in the final minutes of the second quarter, hitting a wide open Justin Stepp for a 29-yard scoring toss with 1:23 to go.

"We never get down," Lamb said. "In this type of format ... games are going to be close."