GAME NOTES--SAMFORD VS WCU (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team will go back into Southern Conference play when the Bulldogs play at Western Carolina Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (CT) at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
 
Samford enters the game with a record of 0-3 overall and 0-1 in SoCon play after a 42-7 loss at Baylor. WCU is also 0-3 overall after a 37-31 loss to Elon last week.

Samford and Western Carolina are meeting for the 23rd time, with Samford owning a 17-5 series lead. Last season, Western Carolina earned a 47-42 win at Pete Hanna Stadium. Since Samford joined the Southern Conference, the Bulldogs have a 13-4 record against the Catamounts.

Samford has a record of 7-3 in games played at Western Carolina. The last time Samford played Western Carolina in Cullowhee came on Sept. 9, 2023. In that game after a long lightning delay late in the first quarter, Western Carolina picked up a 30-7 win over the Bulldogs. Samford's first Southern Conference win in 2008 came in a 21-6 win at Western Carolina. Samford's last win at WCU came in 2021 in a 42-37 victory.
 
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 32.3 points per game, scoring 3,682 points in 114 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 53 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 211 scoring drives that lasted two minutes or less and 99 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 0-1 in those contests. Last season, Samford was 1-4 on the road. Under head coach Chris Hatcher, Samford has a mark of 23-34 away from home.
 
SAMFORD AGAINST NORTH CAROLINA TEAMS
Samford has an all-time record of 39-23 against teams from the state of North Carolina, including a 17-5 record against Saturday's opponent, Western Carolina. Samford has played the following North Carolina teams: Appalachian State (2-6), Catawba (1-0), East Carolina (0-2), Elon (5-7), Fayatteville State (1-0), Gardner-Webb (6-2), Guilford College (3-0), Mars Hill (3-0), Western Carolina (17-5) and Wingate (1-1).
 
SAMFORD IN THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has posted a record of 74-61 in conference games. All-time against the current members of the SoCon, Samford has a mark of 100-89-4, including a 17-5 record against Western Carolina. Samford's all-time record against each current SoCon team is Chattanooga (12-34-3), The Citadel (10-9), ETSU (8-4), Furman (12-14), Mercer (16-14-1), VMI (9-3), Western Carolina (17-5) and Wofford (16-6).
 
ON THIS DATE
Samford has an all-time record of 3-5 in games played on Sept. 20. The last time the Bulldogs played on the date was in 2014 in a 63-21 win over VMI. Below is a list of each game Samford has played on Sept. 20
 
MOSLEY LEADING THE SOCON STATISTICS
Samford senior linebacker Jaden Mosley leads the Southern Conference in tackles after the first three weeks of the season. Through the first three games, he has a total of 31 tackles, including 16 solo stops, both the highest totals in the league. 
 
CRITTENDON LONE RETURNING OFFENSIVE
STARTER
Samford senior quarterback Quincy Crittendon is Samford's lone returning offensive starter. Last season, Crittendon completed 277-of-394 passes for a SoCon-best 2,689 yards and 18 touchdowns.
 
FOUR BULLDOGS Headline ALL-SOCON PRESEASON TEAMS
Samford had four players named to the preseason All-SoCon teams, released in July. Defensive lineman Conroy Cunningham and long-snapper Alex Applefield were both named first team preseason All-SoCon, while quarterback Quincy Crittendon and linebacker Jaden Mosley both earned second team honors.
 
PERKINS EARNS PRESEASON ATTENTION
Nahil Perkins, a graduate transfer defensive back from Fordham, has gained national attention in the preseason. Perkins was named third team preseason All-American by Stats Perform, and he was also named to the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the top defensive player in all of FCS football. Last season at Fordham, Perkins intercepted five passes, including a pair of games with two interceptions each. His five interceptions were tied for the most in the Patriot League. He tallied 56 total tackles, including 5.0 tackles for loss, and was named second team All-American by Blue Blood FCS Central.
 
CRITTENDON NAMED TO WALTER PAYTON AWARD WATCH LIST
Samford senior quarterback Quincy Crittendon was named to the preseason watch list for the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the top offensive player in all of FCS football. Last season, Crittendon completed 277-of-394 passes for a Southern Conference best 2,689 yards and 18 touchdowns. He finished second in the SoCon in completion percentage at 70.3 and he threw for over 300 yards four times.
 
BRINGING THE POWER
The 2025 Samford football roster features several Power Four transfers including Deuce Caldwell II (North Carolina), Web Davidson (Virginia Tech), Gumbo Gaskins (Vanderbilt), Jaden Gibson (Virginia), Charlie Gilliam (Wake Forest), Donovan Grayson (West Virginia), Grant Hidalgo (Auburn), Noah Jones (Georgia), Vance Nicklaus (Florida State), Rayf Vinson (Ole Miss) and Hank Weber (Wisconsin),
 
New Faces In NEw places
Not only have there been changes on the roster, but the Bulldog coaching staff has some new faces as well: Scot Sloan (Defensive Coordinator), Cal King (Linebackers), Tyler Zielenske (Special Teams Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator), Thomas Morton (Quarterbacks) and Caysey Colant (Chief of Staff).
 
HATCHER SAMFORD'S WINNINGEST COACH
Samford head coach Chris Hatcher is entering his 11th season at the helm of the Bulldogs' football program. He is the winningest coach in program history with 61 wins at the school and he has earned 182 career wins having previously served as head coach at Valdosta State, Georgia Southern and Murray State. Hatcher has led Samford to three NCAA Division I-FCS Playoff appearances, earning bids in 2016, 2017 and 2022.
 
MOSLEY NAMED WINNER OF CHARLES WILLIAMS MEMORIAL JERSEY
Senior linebacker Jaden Mosley is this season's winner of the Charles Williams Memorial Jersey. The jersey honors former Samford player Charles Williams, who died in a car accident on May 23, 2003.
 
SUCCESS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Over the last six seasons Samford has won 56 percent (10-8) of its games against ranked FCS opponents, the highest percentage in the Southern Conference. Last season, Samford was 2-0 against ranked foes, earning wins over No. 7 Mercer (55-35) and No. 19 Chattanooga (36-13).
 
TAKING ON THE BEST
This season, Samford has two games on its schedule against Power Four conference teams. On Sept. 13, the Bulldogs played at Baylor of the Big XII and on Nov. 22 Samford will play at Texas A&M of the SEC. The Texas A&M game marks the sixth-straight fall season Samford has played a members of the SEC, playing SEC teams in 2024 (Florida), 2023 (Auburn), 2022 (Georgia), 2021 (Florida) and 2019 (Auburn). Samford played a SoCon-only season in the spring of 2021 in place of the 2020 fall season due to the CoVID-19 pandemic
 
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).