BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University football team earned the No. 6 national seed for the upcoming NCAA Division I-FCS Playoffs when the pairings were announced Sunday morning.
 
The national seed gives Samford a bye through next week's first round. The Bulldogs will host the winner of the game between Idaho and Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. (CT) at Bobby Bowden Field at Seibert Stadium. The game will mark the first time Samford has ever hosted an FCS Playoff game, and it is the program's first playoff appearance since 2017.
 
"I'm very excited for our program," Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said. "Our team has played exceptionally well, week in and week out this season and is very well-deserving of a national seed. It gives us a bye week, which we desperately need after having played a gauntlet of a schedule here at the very end, with two ranked teams back-to-back. We're very excited, and one thing about the playoffs is, you get to play teams from different regions. We don't know much about the opponents we'll be playing in the second round, but we'll be excited and ready to play, and we are extremely thankful that we get to play at home."
 
Samford and Southeastern Louisiana have met three times in football, with the Lions holding a 2-1 series lead. The teams last played in 2013, with Southeastern Louisiana coming away with a 34-31 win at Seibert Stadium. Samford and Idaho have never met in football.
 
Samford wrapped up its historic regular season Saturday afternoon with a thrilling, 50-44, double overtime win over 19^th-ranked Mercer. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a mark of 10-1 overall, tying the 1991 team for the best regular season record in program history. Samford also earned the program's first-ever outright Southern Conference championship, posting a perfect 8-0 record in league play.
 
The ticket information for the game will be released at a later date.


 
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