GAME NOTES--SAMFORD VS. MERCER (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team will travel to Macon, Ga., to take on the Mercer Bears Saturday at 3 p.m. (CT) at Five Star Stadium.
 
Samford enters the game with a record of 0-5 overall and 0-3 in Southern Conference play following a 31-13 loss to Furman last Saturday. Mercer has a mark of 3-1 overall and 3-0 in Southern Conference play. The Bears are coming off a 38-34 win at ETSU last Saturday. The game can be seen live on ESPN+ with Frank Malloy handling play-by-play duties and Phil Cox providing color commentary.

Samford and Mercer are meeting for the 32nd time, with Samford owning a 16-14-1 series lead. Last season, the Bulldogs earned a 55-35 win over the Bears at Pete Hanna Stadium. The home team has won the last six meetings in the series. The last time the road team won was in 2018 in a 30-24 Mercer win at Samford. The last time Samford won at Mercer came in 2017 in a 20-3 Samford victory. The first meeting in the series was played in 1907, with Mercer winning, 11-6, in Macon. Since Mercer came back to the SoCon in 2014, Samford has a mark of 7-4 against the Bears.
 
HATCHER'S OFFENSES PRODUCE
Through the last 10-plus seasons, Samford head coach Chris Hatcher's offenses have averaged more points than under any other head coach in program history. Entering Saturday's game, Hatcher's teams have averaged 32.2 points per game, scoring 3,730 points in 116 games. His average is 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 10-plus seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 54 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 30 times, and at least 50 points a total of 15 times.
 
QUICK STRIKES
In the 10-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 214 scoring drives that lasted two minutes or less and 100 that have lasted one minute or less.
 
SAMFORD ON THE ROAD
Samford has seven road games on the 2025 schedule and the Bulldogs are currently 0-2 in those contests. Last season, Samford was 1-4 on the road. Under head coach Chris Hatcher, Samford has a
mark of 23-35 away from home.
 
SAMFORD AGAINST GEORGIA TEAMS
Samford has an all-time record of 36-41-2 against teams from the state of Georgia, including a 16-14-1 record against Mercer. Samford has played the following Georgia teams: Abraham Baldwin (1-0), Bowdon College (1-0), Clark-Atlanta (1-0), Georgia (0-3), Georgia Southern (4-5), Georgia State (1-0), Georgia Southwestern (1-2), Georgia Tech (0-8), Gordon College (1-1), Kennesaw State (2-2), Mercer (16-14-1), Morris Brown (1-0), Oglethorpe (2-2-1), Shorter (2-0) and West Georgia (3-4).
 
SAMFORD IN THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has posted a record of 74-63 in conference games. All-time against the current members of the SoCon, Samford has a mark of 100-91-4, including a 16-14-1 record against Mercer. Samford's all-time record against each current SoCon team is Chattanooga (12-34-3), The Citadel (10-9), ETSU (8-4), Furman (12-15), Mercer (16-14-1), VMI (9-3), Western Carolina (17-6) and Wofford (16-6).
 
ON THIS DATE
Samford has an all-time record of 4-5 in games played on Oct. 4. The last time Samford played a game on the date was in 2014 in a 21-18 win over Mercer. In 2008, Samford picked up its first Southern Conference win on Oct. 4 in  21-6 win at Western Carolina.
 
MOSLEY LEADING THE SOCON STATISTICS
Samford senior linebacker Jaden Mosley leads the Southern Conference in tackles after the first five weeks of the season. Through the first five games, he has a total of 50 tackles, the highest total in the league. His 10.0 tackles per game average is also the highest in the SoCon.  
 
CRITTENDON AND GIBSON TOPS IN THE SOCON
Samford senior quarterback Quincy Crittendon currently leads the Southern Conference in passing yards with 1,245 yards so far this season. Wide receiver Jaden Gibson also leads the SoCon in receptions with 39 through the first five games of the season.
 
Saturday's game can be seen live on ESPN+. For links to follow all of Samford's games this season, click on the following link: 2025 SAMFORD FOOTBALL SCHEDULE.
 
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).