BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the penultimate non-conference game of the 2023 season, the No. 18 Samford football team will hit the road for the second time in as many weeks for a showdown with the Auburn Tigers. 
 
The All-Alabama affair is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Sept. 16. Clay Matvick and Aaron Murray will have the call for ESPN+ and SEC Network+.
 
For this week's complete game notes, click here.
 
The Bulldogs are coming off a 30-7 defeat at Western Carolina in the Southern Conference opener. Michael Hiers threw for 315 yards and a touchdown in a game that featured a nearly six-hour lightning delay.
 
Samford and Auburn have 29 times before in program history with the Tigers holding a 28-0-1 lead in the series. The Bulldogs are looking for their first win over an SEC since downing Ole Miss in 1936.
 
Birmingham Vice 
When graduate student Michael Vice found the end zone with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter against Western Carolina, it was Vice's first touchdown in a Bulldog uniform since his 58-yard sprint to the end zone at Florida on Nov. 13, 2021, a span of 665 days. Vice was a freshman All-American and All-SoCon player for the Bulldogs from 2019-21 before transferring to Troy for the 2022 season.
 
Samford Against Alabama Teams
Samford has a record of 96-81-20 against teams from the state of Alabama, including a mark of 0-28-1 against Saturday's opponent, Auburn. The Tigers are the team from Alabama on Samford's regular season schedule.
 
Samford SEC Teams
Samford has a record of 2-79-3 against the current members of the Southeastern Conference. Samford has played an SEC team in nine of the last 11 fall seasons. Samford defeated Mississippi State, 6-0 in 1909 and Ole Miss by a score of 7-6 in 1934.
 
On This Date
Samford has a record of 7-1 in games played on Sept. 16 with the first game being played in 1932. The last time that the Bulldogs played on Sept. 16 was a 42-14 loss at Georgia in 2017. The lone victory on Sept. 16 came in 2010 when Samford raced past Newberry, 38-15.
 
Staton Leaving His Mark
Despite the #HatchAttack offense being synonymous with throwing the ball all over the field, senior running back Jay Stanton has shot to leave Samford as the second-best rusher in program history. After rushing for 690 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022 and 27 yards in the season opener, Stanton needs 554 yards on the ground to surpass Jerome Russell's 3,122 yards for the second-most career rushing yards. Chris Evans holds the Bulldog record with 4,575.
 
Second Quarter Fireworks 
Samford broke in the new scoreboards at the south end of Seibert Stadium by scoring 35 points in the second quarter against Shorter. The 35 points are the most in a single quarter surpassing the 32 scored in a 80-0 victory over Troy in 1961.
 
Hatcher's Offenses Produce
Through his first eight seasons, Samford head coach Chris Hatcher's offenses have averaged more points than under any other head coach in program history. Entering the season, Hatcher's teams have averaged 34.53 points per game, ahead of Bobby Bowden's 28.57 average. Terry Bowden (1987-1992) averaged 27.92 points per game during his tenure while Bill Gray (2001-06 / 25.68) and Pat Sullivan (2007-14 / 25.50) round out the top five.
 
Putting Up Points
Over the last eight seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 49 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 27 times, and at least 50 points a total of 14 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 183 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 82 that have lasted one minute or less.
 
Moving The Chains
In 2022, Samford set a program record with 312 first downs on
offense. The Bulldogs beat the previous record of 298 that was set by the 2018 team. Samford averaged 24 first downs per contest last season and ranked sixth nationally in first downs.
 
Traversing Red Mountain
The 2023 Samford roster features four transfers from nearby UAB, this is the most transfers from a single school on the current roster. The former Blazers include Chris Noble, Brett Johnson, Jayme Motley-Simmons and Wilson Beaverstock.
 
Hier Power
After a breakout campaign in 2022, Samford signal-caller spent the summer collecting almost every possible honor that an FCS quarterback could have gotten. In total, the Birmingham native was named to seven different watch lists and All-American teams including the Senior Bowl Watch List, the Walter Payton Award Watch List and the Manning Award Watch List while being named an All-American by Athlon Sports, Hero Sports, Phil Steele and Stats Perform.
 
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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).