# 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.
On October 14, 2023, Samford University announced that the stadium would be renamed to Pete Hanna Stadium.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:00 p.m. | Shorter* | No. 9 | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | W 69–14 | 5,931 |
| September 9 | 1:30 p.m. | at Western Carolina | No. 8 | Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire StadiumCullowhee, NC | ESPN+ | L 7–30 | 12,410 |
| September 16 | 6:30 p.m. | at Auburn* | No. 18 | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, AL | SECN+/ESPN+ | L 13–45 | 88,043 |
| September 23 | 2:00 p.m. | Chattanooga | No. 20 | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | L 24–47 | 10,870 |
| September 30 | 12:00 p.m. | East Tennessee State | | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | W 42–28 | 2,931 |
| October 7 | 12:30 p.m. | at Wofford | | Gibbs StadiumSpartanburg, SC | ESPN+ | W 31–10 | 4,514 |
| October 14 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 5 Furman | | Pete Hanna StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | L 21–27 | 5,908 |
| October 21 | 12:30 p.m. | at VMI | | Alumni Memorial FieldLexington, VA | ESPN+ | W 27–14 | 4,245 |
| October 28 | 2:00 p.m. | The Citadel | | Pete Hanna StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | W 37–7 | 5,023 |
| November 11 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 23 Mercer | | Five Star StadiumMacon, GA | ESPN+ | L 21–28 | 9,772 |
| November 18 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 19 UT Martin* | | Pete Hanna StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | W 27–17 | 3,043 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### at Western Carolina

| Pregame line | Over/under |
| SAM –6.0 | 64.5 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Samford | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Western Carolina | 7 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 30 |
at E.J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, 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+
| Statistics | SAM | WCU |
| First downs | 15 | 34 |
| Plays–yards | 57–361 | 84–546 |
| Rushes–yards | 23–46 | 49–284 |
| Passing yards | 315 | 262 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 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 |
| No. 8 Samford | Rushing | Jay Stanton | 7 carries, 26 yards |
| No. 8 Samford | Receiving | Ty King | 3 receptions, 96 yards |
| Western Carolina | Passing | Cole Gonzales | 29/35, 262 yards, 2 TD |
| Western Carolina | Rushing | Desmond Reid | 27 carries, 170 yards, TD |
| Western Carolina | Receiving | AJ Colombo | 5 receptions, 79 yards, TD |

### at Auburn (FBS)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| (FBS) Tigers | 0 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
at Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, 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: comp–att–int | 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 |
| Samford | Rushing | Damonta Witherspoon | 5 carries, 30 yds |
| Samford | Receiving | Ty King | 5 receptions, 24 yds |
| Auburn | Passing | Payton Thorne | 24/32, 282 yds, TD, 2 INT |
| Auburn | Rushing | Payton Thorne | 11 carries, 123 yds, 2 TD |
| Auburn | Receiving | Jay Fair | 7 receptions, 93 yds |