Samford Football Set to Host Mercer on Senior Day

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Looking to bolster its postseason resume, the ninth-ranked Samford football team welcomes the No. 19 Mercer Bears to Seibert Stadium on Saturday for the Bulldogs' annual Senior Day celebration.

The Southern Conference contest is slated for a 12 p.m. CT kickoff and can be streamed on ESPN+.

For this week's complete game notes, Click here. Tickets can be purchased here.

Samford will recognize 28 seniors including Tay Berry, Cade Blackmon, Dakota Chapman, Judd Cockett, Nathan East, Trey Elston, Fred Flavors, Emmanuel Flowers, Koi Freeman, Austin Guyse, Ty Hardimon, Will Hudson, Hakeem Johnson, Drew Mims, Miles Morris, Gavin Orr, Torrence Pollard, Bradley Porcellato, Peter Renkoski, Isaiah Richardson, Seth Simmer, Chandler Smith, Khalid Thomas, Jaylan Thomas, J.R. Tran-Reno, Kendall Watson, Zach Williams and Ty Hatcher.

The Bulldogs claimed the Southern Conference championship and automatic bid with a 35-24 over Chattanooga the last time out. The SoCon title is Samford's first conference title since 2013.

Samford and Mercer are meeting for the 29th in program history. The Bulldogs hold a narrow 14-13-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Bears winning three of the last four meetings.

With a win over Mercer, Samford would move to 10-1 on the season and match 1991 for the best regular season record in school history. A victory would also give the Bulldogs their first outright conference title since Howard College won the Dixie Conference in 1936 with a record of 5-3-1.

National Team of the Week
Following the 35-24 victory over Chattanooga, Samford was named National Team of the Week by FCS Stats Perform and Athlon Sports. This is the first time that the Bulldogs have claimed either honor. For his efforts in the Chattanooga game, Hiers was named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week for his four-touchdown performance.

Streaking Samford
Heading into the Mercer game, Samford is riding an eight-game win streak, which is the longest by the Bulldogs in school history.

Road Dogs
With the victory over Chattanooga, Samford has recorded five road wins on the season which is the most since 1991.

Nationally Ranked Dogs
The high-flying aerial act of Michael Hiers has the junior ranked top 10 nationally in completions per game (28.6/2nd), passing efficiency (166.4/7th), passing touchdowns (31/3rd), passing yards (2,836/7th), passing yards per game (283.6/7th), points responsible for (198/5th), points responsible per game (19.8/5th) and total offense (295.3/8th). Chandler Smith jumped back into the Top 10 for receiving touchdowns with 10. Smith ranks sixth nationally while ranking eighth with 7.2 receptions per game.

Putting Up Points
Over the last eight seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 48 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 25 times, and at least 50 points a total of 12 times.

Quick Strikes
In eight seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, Samford has made a habit of quick scoring drives. In Hatcher's time at Samford, Samford has had 176 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 78 that have lasted one minute or less.

Samford Against Georgia Teams
Samford has an all-time record of 33-38-2 against teams from the state of Georgia, including a mark of 14-13-1 against Saturday's opponent, Mercer.

Against Southern Conference Teams
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has posted a record of 66-50 in conference games. All-time against each current members of the SoCon, Samford has a mark of 92-80-4, including a 14-13-1 record against Mercer. Samford's all-time record against each current SoCon team is: Chattanooga (11-33-3), The Citadel (9-7), ETSU (7-3), Furman (12-13), Mercer (14-13-1), VMI (7-3), Western Carolina (17-3) and Wofford (15-5).

On This Date
Samford has an all-time record of 4-5-1 in games played on Nov. 19. The last time the Bulldogs played a game on the date was in 2016, a 15-14 defeat at ETSU. The last time Samford won a game on Nov. 19 was a 34-6 win over Miles in 1988.

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).

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Players Mentioned

#44 Tay Berry: DT; 6' 2"; Graduate Student

#15 Cade Blackmon: QB; 5' 11"; Junior

#30 Dakota Chapman: TE; 6' 2"; Graduate Student

#5 Nathan East: LB; 6' 2"; Graduate Student

#65 Austin Guyse: OL; 6' 4"; Senior

#11 Will Hudson: QB; 5' 11"; Senior

#16 Hakeem Johnson: CB; 6' 3"; Graduate Student

#17 Miles Morris: QB; 6' 2"; Junior

#72 Gavin Orr: OL; 6' 4"; Graduate Student

#14 Torrence Pollard: CB; 5' 8"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#44 Tay Berry
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student
: DT

#15 Cade Blackmon
: 5' 11"; Junior
: QB

#30 Dakota Chapman
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student
: TE

#5 Nathan East
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student
: LB

#65 Austin Guyse
: 6' 4"; Senior
: OL

#11 Will Hudson
: 5' 11"; Senior
: QB

#16 Hakeem Johnson
: 6' 3"; Graduate Student
: CB

#17 Miles Morris
: 6' 2"; Junior
: QB

#72 Gavin Orr
: 6' 4"; Graduate Student
: OL

#14 Torrence Pollard
: 5' 8"; Graduate Student
: CB

Samford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned