2023 Samford Bulldogs football team

The 2023 Samford Bulldogs football team represented Samford University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by ninth-year head coach Chris Hatcher and played home games at Seibert Stadium in Homewood, Alabama.

2023 Samford Bulldogs football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record6–5 (4–4 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRicky Turner (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorChris Boone (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumSeibert/Pete Hanna Stadium
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 7 Furman $^   7 1     10 3  
No. 14 Chattanooga ^   6 2     8 5  
No. 17 Mercer ^   6 2     9 4  
No. 23 Western Carolina   5 3     7 4  
Samford   4 4     6 5  
VMI   4 4     5 6  
East Tennessee State   2 6     3 8  
Wofford   2 6     2 9  
The Citadel   0 8     0 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

On October 14, 2023, Samford University announced that the stadium would be renamed to Pete Hanna Stadium.[1][2]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 317:00 p.m.Shorter*No. 9ESPN+W 69–145,931
September 91:30 p.m.at Western CarolinaNo. 8ESPN+L 7–3012,410
September 166:30 p.m.at Auburn*No. 18SECN+/ESPN+L 13–4588,043
September 232:00 p.m.ChattanoogaNo. 20
  • Seibert Stadium
  • Homewood, AL
ESPN+L 24–4710,870
September 3012:00 p.m.East Tennessee State
  • Seibert Stadium
  • Homewood, AL
ESPN+W 42–282,931
October 712:30 p.m.at WoffordESPN+W 31–104,514
October 1412:00 p.m.No. 5 Furman
  • Pete Hanna Stadium
  • Homewood, AL
ESPN+L 21–275,908
October 2112:30 p.m.at VMIESPN+W 27–144,245
October 282:00 p.m.The Citadel 
  • Pete Hanna Stadium
  • Homewood, AL
ESPN+W 37–75,023
November 112:00 p.m.at No. 23 MercerESPN+L 21–289,772
November 1812:00 p.m.No. 19 UT Martin*
  • Pete Hanna Stadium
  • Homewood, AL
ESPN+W 27–173,043
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[3]

Game summaries

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Shorter

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at Western Carolina

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Pregame line Over/under
SAM –6.0 64.5
Game Two – Western Carolina Catamounts (0–1) vs No. 8 Samford Bulldogs (1–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Samford 7 0 007
Western Carolina 7 13 3730

at E.J. Whitmire StadiumCullowhee, North Carolina

  • Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C) • Wind: SE 5 MPH
  • Game attendance: 12,410
  • Referee: Michael Farmer
  • TV: ESPN+
  • [1][2][3]
Game information
First quarter
  • (7:03) SAM – Michael Vice 8-yard pass from Michael Hiers, Wilson Beaverstock kick (Drive: 7 plays, 97 yards, 2:00; Samford 7–0)
  • (3:21) WCU – AJ Colombo 21-yard pass from Cole Gonzales, Richard McCollum kick (Drive: 10 plays, 76 yards, 3:32; Tied 7–7)
Second quarter
  • (13:42) WCU – Censere Lee 6-yard pass from Cole Gonzales, Richard McCollum kick (Drive: 10 plays, 59 yards, 3:58; Western Carolina 14–7)
  • (1:38) WCU – Richard McCollum 23-yard field goal (Drive: 15 plays, 69 yards, 6:43; Western Carolina 17–7)
  • (0:00) WCU – Richard McCollum 41-yard field goal (Drive: 2 plays, 20 yards, 0:11; Western Carolina 20–7)
Third quarter
  • (4:29) WCU – Richard McCollum 18-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 84 yards, 5:50; Western Carolina 23–7)
Fourth quarter
  • (8:02) WCU – Desmond Reid 2-yard run, Richard McCollum kick (Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 6:14; Western Carolina 30–7)
Statistics SAM WCU
First downs 15 34
Plays–yards 57–361 84–546
Rushes–yards 23–46 49–284
Passing yards 315 262
Passing: compattint 21–34–0 29–35–0
Time of possession 18:51 41:09
Team Category Player Statistics
No. 8 Samford Passing Michael Hiers 21/34, 315 yards, TD
Rushing Jay Stanton 7 carries, 26 yards
Receiving Ty King 3 receptions, 96 yards
Western Carolina Passing Cole Gonzales 29/35, 262 yards, 2 TD
Rushing Desmond Reid 27 carries, 170 yards, TD
Receiving AJ Colombo 5 receptions, 79 yards, TD

at Auburn (FBS)

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Game Three – No. 18 Samford Bulldogs (1–1) at (FBS) Auburn Tigers (2–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 18 Bulldogs 0 0 13013
(FBS) Tigers 0 17 141445

at Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama

  • Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
  • Game time: 6:02 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C)
  • Game attendance: 88,043
  • Referee: David Smith
  • TV announcers (ESPN+/SEC Network+): Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Aaron Murray (analyst)
Statistics SAM AUB
First downs 12 26
Plays–yards 61–218 79–562
Rushes–yards 28–74 43–222
Passing yards 144 340
Passing: compattint 19–33–2 27–36–2
Time of possession 26:32 33:28
Team Category Player Statistics
Samford Passing Michael Hiers 18/31, 141 yds, TD, 2 INT
Rushing Damonta Witherspoon 5 carries, 30 yds
Receiving Ty King 5 receptions, 24 yds
Auburn Passing Payton Thorne 24/32, 282 yds, TD, 2 INT
Rushing Payton Thorne 11 carries, 123 yds, 2 TD
Receiving Jay Fair 7 receptions, 93 yds

Chattanooga

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East Tennessee State

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at Wofford

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No. 5 Furman

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at VMI

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The Citadel

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at No. 23 Mercer

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No. 19 UT Martin

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References

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  1. ^ "Samford renames football stadium in honor of Pete Hanna". The Alabama Baptist. October 14, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  2. ^ Mason, Will (October 17, 2023). "Samford announces renaming of stadium". The Samford Crimson. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "2023 Samford Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved April 13, 2023.