Ben Croasdale burst through the middle for a 47-yard touchdown run with 47 seconds left to give Furman a 20-13 win over Mercer on Saturday night in a Southern Conference openerByThe Associated PressSeptember 12, 2026, 10:03 PMMACON, Ga. -- Ben Croasdale burst through the middle for a 47-yard touchdown run with 47 seconds left to give Furman a 20-13 win over Mercer on Saturday night in a Southern Conference opener.The Paladins (2-1) tied the game with just under five minutes remaining on Nathan Chapman's 43-yard field goal that was set up by Joshua Tarver's 42-yard punt return.Mercer (2-1) backup quarterback JP Pickles scored from a yard out to break a tie earlier in the fourth quarter. Furman's Jake Garcia was 18-of-28 passing for 158 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Daniel Haughton had 103 yards receiving on eight catches with a touchdown that came on a 46-yard completion. Chapman also kicked a 44-yard field goal. Mercer's Jaylen King was 18-of-35 passing for 196 yards but was intercepted four times, twice by Caleb Easterling. Simon Zeidan kicked 54- and 47-yard field goals for the Bears, ranked 18th in the Stats Perform FCS poll.There were eight turnovers in all.Popular ReadsFurman: home against South Carolina State next Saturday.Mercer: at Georgia Tech next Saturday.___Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here