GAME NOTES: SAMFORD VS. FURMAN
 
GAME DAY CENTRAL

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team will wrap up the 2021 season by playing host to the Furman Paladins Saturday at 12 p.m. at Bobby Bowden Field at Seibert Stadium.  
 
To purchase tickets for the game, click on the following link: TICKETS. The game can also be seen live on ESPN+ at the following link: WATCH LIVE. Live stats are also available by clicking here: LIVE STATS.

Samford enters the game with a record of 4-6 overall and 3-5 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs are coming off a hard-fought 70-52 loss at Florida. Furman is currently 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the SoCon games. The Paladins are coming off a 37-31 win over VMI.   
 
Samford and Furman are meeting for the 24th time, with the Paladins holding a 12-11 advantage in the series. The teams last met on March 6, 2021, with Furman earning a 44-37 overtime win at home. The first meeting came in 1961, with Furman winning, 21-14 in Greenville. In the 13 games that Samford and Furman have played as fellow members of the Southern Conference, the average score has been 27-26 in favor of Furman.
 
The game will be Senior Day for Samford's 17 seniors. Samford head coach Chris Hatcher talked about what the day would be like.
 
"It's an emotional day for me," Hatcher said. "Especially with this group of seniors because we've gone through so much with the COVID year. They're not the traditional four- and five-year seniors, some of these guys are six years. Once it hits on Saturday it'll be emotional, you've just spent so much time with these guys."
 
PUTTING UP POINTS
Over the last six-plus seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 41 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 25 times, and at least 50 points a total of 11 times.
 
QUICK STRIKES
In six-plus seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, Samford has made a habit of quick scoring drives. In Hatcher's time at Samford, the Bulldogs have had 160 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 71 that have lasted one minute or less.
 
BULLDOGS IN THE RED ZONE
Samford's offense leads the Southern Conference and is tied for 11th nationally in red zone offense, scoring on 90 percent of the team's trips inside the red zone.
 
RECORDS FALL IN OFFENSIVE SHOW AT FLORIDA
In last week's 70-52 loss at Florida, the Samford offense set a couple of records. The 42 points scored in the first half were the most any Florida team has ever given up in a half. The 52 total points are the most any FCS team has scored against an SEC team since Division I split into subdivisions in 1978.
 
WASHINGTON AMONG THE BEST
Entering Saturday's game senior wide receiver Montrell Washington leads the nation in all-purpose yards per game (184.3 ypg.). He also leads the Southern Conference in scoring (10.2 ppg.), scoring by touchdown (10.2 ppg.), punt return average (18.3 ypr.), kickoff return average (23.1 ypr.) and all-purpose yards per game (184.3 ypg.).
 
SAMFORD IN THE SOCON STATISTICS
In addition to the impressive Red Zone numbers, Samford leads the Southern Conference in scoring offense (38.3 ppg.), total offense (458.6 ypg.) and punt return average (15.9 ypr.). Individually, Liam Welch leads the league in passing (309.7 ypg.) and total offense (355.3 ypg.).
 
GRADUATE STUDENTS MAKING AN IMPACT
Samford has eight graduate students on its 2021 roster. Dakota Chapman (RB), Nathan East (LB), Armond Lloyd (DL), Coutrell Plair (CB), Tyler Russell (LS), Seth Simmer (DL), Liam Welch (QB) and Deandre Williams (RB) are all earning graduate degrees at Samford.
 
SAMFORD AGAINST SOUTH CAROLINA TEAMS
Samford has an all-time record of 41-28-1 against teams from the state of South Carolina, including a mark of 11-12 against Saturday's opponent, Furman.
 
AGAINST SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAMS
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has posted a record of 59-49 in conference games. All-time against the current members of the SoCon, Samford has a mark of 85-79-4, including an 11-12 record against Furman. Samford's all-time record against each current SoCon team is: Chattanooga (10-33-3), The Citadel (8-7), ETSU (6-3), Furman (11-12), Mercer (14-13-1), VMI (6-3), Western Carolina (16-3) and Wofford (14-5).
 
SPREADING THE BALL AROUND
Samford graduate quarterback Liam Welch has done a good job of spreading the ball around so far this season. Welch has completed passes to 17 different receivers, throwing touchdown passes to seven different receivers. Montrell Washington leads the group with 54 catches for 770 yards and eight touchdowns. 
 
THE LAST TIME AGAINST FURMAN
Samford and Furman last met on March 6, 2021, with Furman earning a 44-37 overtime win at Paladin Stadium. For Samford in the loss, Liam Welch completed 16-of-21 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown. Ty King caught four passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Jay Stanton led the Samford running game with 18 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown. The Samford defense was led by Chris Edmonds with two interceptions, including one returned for a 45-yard touchdown, to go along with his seven tackles. Ty Herring was the team's leading tackler with 16, including eight solo stops and one forced fumble. 
 
WASHINGTON DOES IT ALL
In last week's 70-52 loss at Florida, Montrell Washington did a little bit of everything. He scored three touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving and one on a kickoff return), becoming the first FCS player to score a touchdown in all three areas in a single game since Brian Westbrook accomplished the feat for Villanova in 1998. He also completed one pass for 16 yards to quarterback Liam Welch.
 
ON THIS DATE
Samford has an all-time record of 4-6-2 in games played on Nov. 20. The last time the Bulldogs played a game on the date was in 2010, a 13-12 loss to The Citadel. The first time Samford played on the date came in 1909 in a 26-0 win over Birmingham-Southern. 
 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford football, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordFootball (Facebook), @SamfordFootball (Instagram) and @SamfordFootball (Twitter).