# 2019 Samford Bulldogs football team

The 2019 Samford Bulldogs football team represented Samford University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Chris Hatcher and played their home games at Seibert Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon).

## Preseason
### Preseason media poll

The SoCon released their preseason media poll and coaches poll on July 22, 2019. The Bulldogs were picked to finish in sixth place in both polls.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Wofford | 253 (21) |
| 2 | Furman | 229 (6) |
| 3 | East Tennessee State | 187 (2) |
| 4 | Mercer | 146 |
| 5 | Chattanooga | 134 |
| 6 | Samford | 125 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 111 |
| 8 | Western Carolina | 88 |
| 9 | VMI | 32 |
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Wofford | 63 (7) |
| 2 | Furman | 55 (1) |
| 3 | East Tennessee State | 44 (1) |
| 4 | Chattanooga | 40 |
| 5 | Mercer | 34 |
| 6 | Samford | 33 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 22 |
| 8 | Western Carolina | 21 |
| 9 | VMI | 12 |

### Preseason All-SoCon Teams

The Bulldogs placed four players on the preseason all-SoCon teams.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 24 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. Youngstown State* | Crampton BowlMontgomery, AL (FCS Kickoff) | ESPN | L 22–45 | 12,560 |
| August 31 | 6:00 p.m. | at Tennessee Tech* | Tucker StadiumCookeville, TN | ESPN+ | L 58–59 $^{2OT}$ | 7,806 |
| September 14 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 21 Wofford | Gibbs StadiumSpartanburg, SC | Nexstar/ESPN3 | W 21–14 | 3,463 |
| September 21 | 6:00 p.m. | Alabama A&M* | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN3 | W 55–21 | 5,934 |
| September 28 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 25 The Citadel | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | W 61–55 $^{4OT}$ | 3,524 |
| October 5 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 14 Furman | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | L 14–58 | 6,169 |
| October 12 | 12:30 p.m. | at VMI | Alumni Memorial FieldLexington, VA | Nexstar/ESPN+ | L 41–48 $^{OT}$ | 5,300 |
| October 26 | 12:00 p.m. | East Tennessee State | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | W 24–17 | 1,521 |
| November 2 | 6:00 p.m. | at Mercer | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN+ | L 33–36 $^{3OT}$ | |
| November 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Chattanooga | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN3 | L 27–35 | 4,835 |
| November 16 | 1:00 p.m. | at Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire StadiumCullowhee, NC | ESPN+ | W 31–13 | |
| November 23 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 15 (FBS) Auburn* | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, AL | SECN | L 0–52 | 80,692 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Vs. Youngstown State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Penguins | 14 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 45 |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 22 |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | YSU | SAM |
| 1 | 9:09 | 5 | 85 | 1:22 | SAM | Robert Adams 55-yard touchdown reception from Liam Welch, Mitchell Fineran kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 2:12 | 13 | 83 | 6:57 | YSU | Samuel St. Surin 16-yard touchdown reception from Nathan Mays, Colton McFadden kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 1 | 1:29 | | | | YSU | Fumble recovery returned 25 yards for touchdown by Cash Mitchell, Colton McFadden kick good | 14 | 7 |
| 2 | 10:57 | 8 | 41 | 3:55 | YSU | 43-yard field goal by Colton McFadden | 17 | 7 |
| 2 | 0:36 | 12 | 90 | 2:46 | YSU | Josh Burgett 4-yard touchdown reception from Nathan Mays, Colton McFadden kick good | 24 | 7 |
| 4 | 14:29 | 8 | 63 | 3:45 | YSU | Braxton Chapman 1-yard touchdown run, Colton McFadden kick good | 31 | 7 |
| 4 | 13:37 | 3 | 70 | 0:52 | SAM | Montrell Washington 64-yard touchdown reception from Chris Oladokun, 2-point run good | 31 | 15 |
| 4 | 5:16 | 13 | 75 | 8:21 | YSU | Braxton Champan 1-yard touchdown run, Colton McFadden kick good | 38 | 15 |
| 4 | 3:17 | 6 | 36 | 1:59 | SAM | Chris Oladokun 10-yard touchdown run, Mitchell Finehan kick good | 38 | 22 |
| 4 | 2:16 | 3 | 44 | 1:01 | YSU | Christian Turner 3-yard touchdown run, Colton McFadden kick good | 45 | 22 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 45 | 22 |

### At Tennessee Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 17 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 58 |
| Golden Eagles | 12 | 0 | 10 | 22 | 7 | 8 | 59 |

### At Wofford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| No. 21 Terriers | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### Alabama A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| AAMU Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| SAM Bulldogs | 10 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 55 |

### The Citadel

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | 4OT | Total |
| No. 25 CIT Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 55 |
| SAM Bulldogs | 7 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 61 |

### Furman

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Paladins | 28 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 58 |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### At VMI

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 41 |
| Keydets | 14 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 48 |

### East Tennessee State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 24 |

### At Mercer

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 33 |
| Bears | 3 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 36 |

### Chattanooga

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mocs | 7 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 27 |

### At Western Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Catamounts | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 |

### At Auburn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 15 (FBS) Tigers | 7 | 24 | 7 | 14 | 52 |
at Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama
* Date: November 23, 2019
* Game time: 11:06 a.m.
* Game weather: Temperature: 65° • Wind: S 11 mph • Weather: Rain
* Game attendance: 80,692
* Referee: Marc Curles
* TV announcers (SEC Network): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), Alyssa Lang (sideline reporter)
Game information :
First Quarter
AUB – JaTarvious Whitlow 1 yd run (Anders Carlson kick), 8:13 (AUB 7–0)
Second Quarter
AUB – JaTarvious Whitlow 3 yd run (Anders Carlson kick), 14:08 (AUB 14–0)
AUB – Harold Joiner 10 yd pass from Bo Nix (Anders Carlson kick), 9:37 (AUB 21–0)
AUB – Shaun Shivers 4 yd run (Anders Carlson kick), 7:14 (AUB 28–0)
AUB – Anders Carlson 29 yd field goal, 1:16 (AUB 31–0)
Third Quarter
AUB – D.J. Williams 2 yd run (Anders Carlson kick), 12:35 (AUB 38–0)
Fourth Quarter
AUB – Zach Farrar 27 yd pass from Cord Sandberg (Josh Marsh kick), 13:32 (AUB 45–0)
AUB – Zach Farrar 4 yd pass from Cord Sandberg (Josh Marsh kick), 9:23 (AUB 52–0)
Top Passers
SAM – Liam Welch – 12–23, 66 yds, 2 INT
AUB – Bo Nix – 15–23, 150 yds, 1 TD
Top Rushers
SAM – Jay Stanton – 10 rushes, 19 yds
AUB – Shaun Shivers – 9 rushes, 55 yds, 1 TD
Top Receivers
SAM – Kendall Watson – 3 receptions, 17 yds
AUB – Seth Williams – 4 receptions, 45 yds :

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Coaches | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | |