2016 Samford Bulldogs football team

2016 Samford Bulldogs football

FCS playoffs first round, L 24–38 vs. Youngstown State
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 23
FCS Coaches	No. 23
Record	7–5 (5–3 SoCon)
Head coach	Chris Hatcher (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Russ Callaway (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Bill D'Ottavio (10th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Seibert Stadium

2016 Southern Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 10 The Citadel $^	8	–	0	10	–	2
No. 9 Wofford ^	6	–	2	10	–	4
No. 13 Chattanooga ^	6	–	2	9	–	4
No. 23 Samford ^	5	–	3	7	–	5
Mercer	4	–	4	6	–	5
Furman	3	–	5	3	–	8
East Tennessee State	2	–	6	5	–	6
Western Carolina	1	–	7	2	–	9
VMI	1	–	7	3	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2016 Samford Bulldogs football team represented Samford University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second year head coach Chris Hatcher and played their home games at Seibert Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Youngstown State in the first round.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 pm	Mars Hill*		Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3	W 77–7	4,482
September 10	6:00 pm	at Central Arkansas*		Estes Stadium Conway, AR	BNN	W 35–29	9,987
September 24	1:00 pm	at No. 5 Chattanooga		Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	SDN	L 21–41	8,714
October 1	2:00 pm	Wofford		Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3	W 28–26	8,509
October 8	12:00 pm	at Furman		Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN3	W 38–21	4,587
October 15	2:00 pm	VMI	No. 24	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3	W 55–21	4,085
October 22	6:00 pm	Western Carolina	No. 21	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ASN	W 30–17	4,031
October 29	2:30 pm	at Mississippi State*	No. 20	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	L 41–56	58,019
November 5	1:00 pm	at No. 5 The Citadel	No. 20	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN3	L 34–37 ^OT	15,015
November 12	2:30 pm	Mercer	No. 22	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3	W 24–19	8,379
November 19	2:30 pm	at East Tennessee State	No. 18	Kermit Tipton Stadium Johnson City, TN	SDN	L 14–15	5,752
November 26	4:00 pm	at No. 13 Youngstown State*	No. 23	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH (NCAA Division I first round)	ESPN3	L 24–38	5,322
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

Mars Hill

Mars Hill @ Samford

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Mountain Lions	0	7	0	0	7
• Bulldogs	14	14	21	28	77

Date: September 1
Location: Seibert Stadium
Homewood, AL
Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
Game attendance: 4,482
Television network: ESPN3

At Central Arkansas

Samford @ Central Arkansas

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bulldogs	7	21	7	0	35
Bears	3	7	0	19	29

Date: September 10
Location: Estes Stadium
Conway, AR
Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
Game attendance: 9,987

At Chattanooga

Samford @ Chattanooga

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	7	7	7	21
• #5 Mocs	7	14	10	10	41

Date: September 24
Location: Finley Stadium
Chattanooga, TN
Game start: 1:00 PM CDT
Game attendance: 8,714
Television network: SDN

Wofford

Wofford @ Samford

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Terriers	7	10	3	6	26
• Bulldogs	7	14	0	7	28

Date: October 1
Location: Seibert Stadium
Homewood, AL
Game start: 2:00 PM CDT
Game attendance: 8,509
Television network: ESPN3/SDN

At Furman

Samford @ Furman

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bulldogs	14	10	7	7	38
Paladins	0	14	0	7	21

Date: October 8
Location: Paladin Stadium
Greenville, SC
Game start: 12:00 PM CDT
Game attendance: 4,587
Television network: ESPN3

VMI

VMI @ Samford

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Keydets	7	7	7	0	21
• #24 Bulldogs	28	10	0	17	55

Date: October 15
Location: Seibert Stadium
Homewood, AL
Game start: 2:00 PM CDT
Game attendance: 4,085
Television network: ESPN3

Western Carolina

Western Carolina @ Samford

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Catamounts	7	0	3	7	17
• #21 Bulldogs	7	6	14	3	30

Date: October 22
Location: Seibert Stadium
Homewood, AL
Game start: 6:00 PM CDT
Game attendance: 4,031
Television network: ASN

At Mississippi State

Samford @ Mississippi State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
#20 Bulldogs (SAM)	13	7	13	8	41
• Bulldogs (MSU)	21	7	21	7	56

Date: October 29
Location: Davis Wade Stadium
Starkville, MS
Game start: 2:30 PM CDT
Game attendance: 58,019
Television network: SECN

At The Citadel

Samford @ The Citadel

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
#20 Bulldogs (SAM)	7	13	0	14	0	34
• #5 Bulldogs (CIT)	7	7	7	13	3	37

Date: November 5
Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium
Charleston, SC
Game start: 1:00 PM CDT
Game attendance: 15,015
Television network: ESPN3

Mercer

Mercer @ Samford

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	10	0	9	19
• #22 Bulldogs	21	0	0	3	24

Date: November 12
Location: Seibert Stadium
Homewood, AL
Game start: 2:30 PM CST
Game attendance: 8,379
Television network: ESPN3

At East Tennessee State

Samford @ East Tennessee State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
#18 Bulldogs	7	0	7	0	14
• Buccaneers	0	3	6	6	15

Date: November 19
Location: Kermit Tipton Stadium
Johnson City, TN
Game start: 2:30 PM CST
Game attendance: 5,752
Television network: SDN

FCS playoffs

First round – Youngstown State

Samford @ Youngstown State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
#23 Bulldogs	7	0	0	17	24
• #13 Penguins	7	3	14	14	38

Date: November 26
Location: Stambaugh Stadium
Youngstown, OH
Game start: 4:00 PM CST
Game attendance: 5,322
Television network: ESPN3

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	21	20	20	22	18	23	23
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	20	19	18	21	18	24	23