2018 Samford Bulldogs football team
American college football season
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The 2018 Samford Bulldogs football team represented Samford University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Chris Hatcher and played their home games at Seibert Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place.
- Chris Hatcher (4th season)
| 2018 Samford Bulldogs football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Southern Conference |
| Record | 6–5 (5–3 SoCon) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Russ Callaway (3rd season) |
| Offensive scheme | Air raid |
| Defensive coordinator | Bill D'Ottavio (12th season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium | Seibert Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Wofford +^ | 6 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 22 East Tennessee State +^ | 6 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Furman + | 6 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samford | 5 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chattanooga | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Citadel | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mercer | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Carolina | 1 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VMI | 0 | – | 8 | 1 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason
Award watch lists
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walter Payton Award[1] | Devlin Hodges | QB | SR |
| Buck Buchanan Award[2] | Ahmad Gooden | DE | SR |
Preseason media poll
The SoCon released their preseason media poll on July 25, 2018, with the Bulldogs predicted to finish as SoCon champions.[3] The same day the coaches released their preseason poll with the Bulldogs also predicted to finish as SoCon champions.[4]
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samford | 204 (20) |
| 2 | Furman | 174 (2) |
| 3 | Wofford | 163 (1) |
| 4 | Mercer | 133 |
| 5 | Western Carolina | 114 |
| 6 | Chattanooga | 88 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 83 |
| 8 | East Tennessee State | 53 |
| 9 | VMI | 23 |
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samford | 63 (7) |
| 2 | Wofford | 53 (1) |
| 3 | Furman | 52 (1) |
| 4 | Western Carolina | 39 |
| 5 | Chattanooga | 34 |
| 6 | Mercer | 32 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 28 |
| 8 | East Tennessee State | 15 |
| 9 | VMI | 8 |
Preseason All-SoCon Teams
The Bulldogs placed seven players on the all-SoCon teams.[5] Quarterback Devlin Hodges was selected as preseason offensive player of the year and Defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden was selected as preseason defensive player of the year.
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Offense 1st team Devlin Hodges – QB Nick Nixon – OL Kelvin McKnight – WR 2nd team Chris Shelling – WR |
Defense 1st team Ahmad Gooden – DL 2nd team Christian Stark – LB Darius Harvey – DB |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 6:30 p.m. | Shorter* | No. 11 | ESPN+ | W 66–9 | 5,252 | |
| September 8 | 6:20 p.m. | at Florida State* | No. 9 | ACCN | L 26–36 | 72,239 | |
| September 15 | 2:00 p.m. | Mercer | No. 9 |
| ESPN+ | L 24–30 | 8,717 |
| September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | at Chattanooga | No. 17 | ESPN+ | L 20–27 | 10,469 | |
| September 29 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 4 Kennesaw State* | ESPN3 | L 10–24 | 4,396 | ||
| October 6 | 12:30 p.m. | Western Carolina |
| ESPN3 | W 66–28 | 3,178 | |
| October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | VMI |
| ESPN+ | W 73–22 | 4,163 | |
| October 20 | 1:00 p.m. | at Furman | ESPN+ | W 38–25 | 6,016 | ||
| November 3 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 9 Wofford |
| ESPN+ | W 35–20 | 5,821 | |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | at The Citadel | ESPN+ | L 27–42 | 11,145 | ||
| November 17 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 19 East Tennessee State | ESPN3 | W 38–27 | 8,749 | ||
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Game summaries
Shorter
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawks | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| No. 11 Bulldogs | 17 | 28 | 7 | 14 | 66 |
At Florida State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 Bulldogs | 16 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 26 |
| Seminoles | 7 | 14 | 0 | 15 | 36 |
Mercer
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 7 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 30 |
| No. 9 Bulldogs | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
At Chattanooga
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 17 Bulldogs | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| Mocs | 10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
At Kennesaw State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulldogs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| No. 4 Owls | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
Western Carolina
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catamounts | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Bulldogs | 35 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 66 |
VMI
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keydets | 9 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 28 | 24 | 7 | 73 |
At Furman
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulldogs | 10 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 38 |
| Paladins | 3 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 25 |
Wofford
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 Terriers | 7 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
At The Citadel
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAM Bulldogs | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| CIT Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 42 |
At East Tennessee State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulldogs | 7 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
| No. 19 Buccaneers | 10 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
