Late Field Goal Lifts Chattanooga Over No. 8 Samford Football, 23-21

Saturday, October 28

Birmingham, Ala.

2:00 PM (CT)

Samford University

5-3 , 3-2

Chattanooga (ESPN3)

2-7 , 2-4

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Chattanooga	0	14	6	3	23
Samford	7	0	0	14	21

Late Field Goal Lifts Chattanooga Over No. 8 Samford Football, 23-21

10.28.17 | Football

Box Score

BOX SCORE (PDF)

PHOTO GALLERY

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Chattanooga's Victor Ulmo kicked a 39-yard field goal with 19 seconds left to lift the Mocs' football team to a 23-21 upset win at eighth-ranked Samford Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.

Chattanooga's game-winning drive was set up when UTC's Kareem Orr recovered a Samford fumble at the Mocs' 22-yard line with 2:27 left in the game and Samford holding a 21-20 advantage. Chattanooga then drove to the Samford 22-yard line where Ulmo nailed his game-winning kick with 19 seconds left.

"We did not play our best and we did not coach our best," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "That was very evident if you watched the game. We played very undisciplined football, and that's on me. Some of our key players went down early in the game and I was really proud, on a positive note, of the backups coming in there and stepping up and making some plays."

In the loss, Samford committed seven turnovers (four fumbles, three interceptions). Chattanooga turned the ball over four times (two fumbles, two interceptions). Samford had eight penalties for 87 yards, while Chattanooga had 12 penalties for 107 yards.

For Samford, Devlin Hodges completed 33-of-54 passes for two touchdowns and three interceptions. Hodges also rushed for one score. Chris Shelling led all receivers with seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Marion hauled in seven passes for 78 yards, while Kelvin McKnight caught five passes for 81 yards and a score.

The Samford defense was led by Aaron Harris and Shaheed Salmon with nine tackles each. Carter McManes had an interception and a fumble recovery to go along with his five tackles. Horace Roberts also had an interception for Samford.

For Chattanooga, Cole Copeland completed 14-of-27 passes for 144 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Darrell Bridges rushed 22 times for 89 yards for the Mocs. Joseph Parker had four catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. Tae Davis had 14 tackles and a forced fumble. Trevor Wright, Lucas Webb and Taylor Reynolds had an interception each for Chattanooga.

Samford struck on its first drive of the game when Hodges hit McKnight for a 21-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 12:16 to go in the first quarter. Chattanooga tied the score when Copeland connected with Parker for a 14-yard touchdown to knot the score at 7-7 with 12:59 left in the second quarter.

The Mocs took the lead for the first time late in the second quarter. With 1:52 to go before halftime, Webb picked off a Hodges pass and returned 20 yards for a touchdown to give Chattanooga a 14-7 lead, heading into halftime.

Chattanooga's Alphonso Stewart caught a Copeland pass for a 13-yard touchdown with 10:38 left in the third quarter. The extra-point, however, was no good and Chattanooga held a 20-7 lead.

Hodges scored on a one-yard run with 11:50 left in the game to cut the Mocs' lead to 20-14. Samford took the lead when Hodges hit Shelling for a 30-yard score with 7:40 to go, making the score 21-20.

With the loss, Samford falls to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Southern Conference play. Chattanooga improves to 2-7 overall and 2-4 in league games. The loss ends Samford's nine-game home win streak, and it marked the Bulldogs' first home loss since Oct. 31, 2015 in a 20-17 loss to Furman.

Samford will return to action next Saturday, Nov. 4, when the Bulldogs play at Mercer. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. (CT) start from Macon, Ga.