# 2017 Samford Bulldogs football team

The 2017 Samford Bulldogs football team represented Samford University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Chris Hatcher and played their home games at Seibert Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference (Socon). They finished the season 8–4, 6–2 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they lost to Kennesaw State in the first round.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 6:00 p.m. | Kennesaw State* | No. 19 | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN3 | W 28–23 | 4,908 |
| September 7 | 6:00 p.m. | West Alabama* | No. 17 | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN3 | W 49–41 | 4,509 |
| September 16 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 13 (FBS) Georgia* | No. 17 | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA | SECN | L 14–42 | 92,746 |
| September 23 | 2:30 p.m. | at Western Carolina | No. 18 | E. J. Whitmire StadiumCullowhee, NC | ESPN3 | L 34–38 | 12,018 |
| September 30 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 8 The Citadel | No. 25 | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN3 | W 35–14 | 9,233 |
| October 7 | 12:30 p.m. | at VMI | No. 20 | Alumni Memorial FieldLexington, VA | ESPN3 | W 26–7 | 3,310 |
| October 21 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 5 Wofford | No. 16 | Gibbs StadiumSpartanburg, SC | ESPN3 | W 24–21 | 7,236 |
| October 28 | 2:00 p.m. | Chattanooga | No. 9 | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN3 | L 21–23 | 3,523 |
| November 4 | 2:00 p.m. | at Mercer | No. 16 | Moye ComplexMacon, GA | ESPN3 | W 20–3 | 10,200 |
| November 11 | 2:00 p.m. | East Tennessee State | No. 16 | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN3 | W 42–7 | 5,178 |
| November 18 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 20 Furman | No. 17 | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | STADIUM | W 26–20 | 4,673 |
| November 25 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 18 Kennesaw State* | No. 14 | Fifth Third Bank StadiumKennesaw, GA (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN3 | L 17–28 | 5,566 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Kennesaw State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 23 |
| • No. 19 Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |

### West Alabama

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 41 |
| • No. 17 Bulldogs | 14 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 49 |

### @ Georgia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 Bulldogs (SAM) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • No. 13 (FBS) Bulldogs (UGA) | 14 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 42 |

### @ Western Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 34 |
| • Catamounts | 10 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 38 |

### The Citadel

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Bulldogs (CIT) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • No. 25 Bulldogs (SAM) | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 35 |

### @ VMI

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 20 Bulldogs | 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 26 |
| Keydets | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### @ Wofford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 16 Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
| No. 5 Terriers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |

### Chattanooga

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Mocs | 0 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 23 |
| No. 8 Bulldogs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |

### @ Mercer

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 16 Bulldogs | 0 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 20 |
| Bears | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### East Tennessee State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • No. 16 Bulldogs | 14 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 42 |

### Furman

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 20 Paladins | 7 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| • No. 17 Bulldogs | 7 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 26 |

## FCS Playoffs
### @ Kennesaw State–First Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 14 Bulldogs | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| • No. 18 Owls | 0 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 28 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | 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 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 25 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 18 |
| Coaches | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 8 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 17 |