BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford backup quarterback Quincy Crittendon scored on a 25-yard run in the second overtime to give the ninth-ranked Bulldogs a 50-44 win over 19^th-ranked Mercer, giving Samford its first-ever outright Southern Conference championship Saturday afternoon at Bobby Bowden Field at Seibert Stadium.
 
The win ends the regular season for Samford with a mark of 10-1 overall and 8-0 in SoCon play. The 10-1 record ties the 1991 team for the best regular season record in program history, and this is the first time Samford has ever gone undefeated in SoCon play. The Bulldogs will find out who and where they will play in the NCAA Division I-FCS Playoffs when the selection show airs Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (CT) on ESPNU. Mercer falls to 7-4 overall and 5-3 in SoCon action.
 
"What a way to finish a great regular season," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "Today, I don't think we played our best ball in all three phases, but we made plays when we had to. We kept believing and the last sequence of events, our goal line defense at the end to hold them to send it to overtime and then we get the blocked kick and then your walk-on, backup quarterback comes in there and scores, it'd be hard to write something up like that."
 
Near the end of regulation, with Samford leading, 37-34, Mercer had the ball first-and-goal at the two-yard line with less than a minute left. Samford stopped the Bears on three-straight plays, but a pass interference call gave the Bears a fresh set of downs. The Bulldogs stopped Mercer on three-straight plays again to force a 20-yard Devin Folser field goal with seven seconds left to knot the score at 37-37 and force overtime.
 
In the first overtime possession, Samford starting quarterback Michael Hiers hit Judd Cockett for a 21-yard touchdown pass for a 44-37 lead. Mercer's Al Wooten answered with a 19-yard touchdown run to tie the score again at 44-44. In Mercer's possession in the second overtime, the Samford defense held the Bears to a 38-yard field goal attempt, but Fred Flavors blocked the kick, turning the threat away.
 
In Samford's possession in the second overtime, Crittendon came in for the injured Hiers. After completing a pass for no gain on first down, Crittendon scored from 25 yards out, giving Samford the 50-44 win and igniting a celebration in both the stands and the Samford sideline.
 
"I'm very proud of our team," Hatcher said. "We finished the regular season FCS schedule undefeated and as the conference champions. And then to see our crowd interact with the players at the end of the game was very special."
 
For Samford in the game, Hiers completed 43-of-55 passes for 454 yards and four touchdowns. Hiers now has 35 touchdown passes this season, to just three interceptions. His 35 TD throws are just one short of the school record of 36 set by Devlin Hodges in 2016.
 
Chandler Smith caught 14 passes for 144 yards to lead the Samford receivers. D.J. Rias hauled in eight passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Jaylan Thomas and Cockett also caught touchdown passes from Hiers. Jay Stanton led the Samford running game with 19 rushes for 62 yards.
 
The Samford defense was led by Kourtlan Marsh with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery. Noah Martin had nine tackles for the Bulldogs, while Midnight Steward intercepted a pass to go along with his five tackles.
 
For Mercer, quarterback Fred Payton completed 30-of-51 passes for 514 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Ty James caught 13 passes for a Mercer-record 351 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Mercer struck first when James scored on a 23-yard pass from Payton for a 7-0 Bears lead with 11:05 to go in the first quarter. Hiers then hit Rias for a 29-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 7-7 with 8:52 left in opening period. Wooten scored on a one yard run to give the Bears a 14-7 advantage at the 5:17 mark in the first quarter. Hiers hit Rias again, this time form eight yards out to make the score 14-14 with 3:05 to play in the first quarter. Mercer's Folser concluded the first-quarter scoring with a 22-yard field goal to give the Bears a 17-14 lead with 53 seconds left in the period.
 
In the second quarter, Samford's Zach Williams kicked a pair of field goals from 33 and 30 yards out to give Samford a 20-17 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. Mercer's Folser kicked a 30-yard field goal with 12:42 to go in the third quarter to bring the teams back even at 20-20. Thomas scored on an eight-yard run to give Samford a 27-20 lead with 4:12 to go in the third quarter.
 
The scoring picked back up quickly in the fourth quarter. Hiers scored on a one yard run with 14:24 to play for a 34-20 Samford lead. On the next play from scrimmage, Mercer's Payton hit James for a 55-yard touchdown pass to make the score 34-27 with 14:09 to go. Williams kicked a 40-yard field goal with 10:42 to go to give Samford a 37-27 lead. Payton scored on a five-yard run to make the score 37-34 with 5:31 left in regulation and set the stage for the thrilling finish.



 
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