2016 Samford Bulldogs football team

The 2016 Samford Bulldogs football team represented Samford University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second year head coach Chris Hatcher and played their home games at Seibert Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 7–5, 5–3 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Youngstown State in the first round.

2016 Samford Bulldogs football
FCS playoffs first round, L 24–38 vs. Youngstown State
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 23
FCS Coaches	No. 23
Record	7–5 (5–3 SoCon)
Head coach	Chris Hatcher (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Russ Callaway (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Bill D'Ottavio (10th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Seibert Stadium
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

2016 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 10 The Citadel $^		8	–	0					10	–	2
No. 9 Wofford ^		6	–	2					10	–	4
No. 13 Chattanooga ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 23 Samford ^		5	–	3					7	–	5
Mercer		4	–	4					6	–	5
Furman		3	–	5					3	–	8
East Tennessee State		2	–	6					5	–	6
Western Carolina		1	–	7					2	–	9
VMI		1	–	7					3	–	8
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 pm	Mars Hill*		Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3	W 77–7	4,482
September 10	6:00 pm	at Central Arkansas*		Estes Stadium Conway, AR	BNN	W 35–29	9,987
September 24	1:00 pm	at No. 5 Chattanooga		Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	SDN	L 21–41	8,714
October 1	2:00 pm	Wofford		Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3	W 28–26	8,509
October 8	12:00 pm	at Furman		Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN3	W 38–21	4,587
October 15	2:00 pm	VMI	No. 24	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3	W 55–21	4,085
October 22	6:00 pm	Western Carolina	No. 21	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ASN	W 30–17	4,031
October 29	2:30 pm	at Mississippi State*	No. 20	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	L 41–56	58,019
November 5	1:00 pm	at No. 5 The Citadel	No. 20	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN3	L 34–37 OT	15,015
November 12	2:30 pm	Mercer	No. 22	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3	W 24–19	8,379
November 19	2:30 pm	at East Tennessee State	No. 18	Kermit Tipton Stadium Johnson City, TN	SDN	L 14–15	5,752
November 26	4:00 pm	at No. 13 Youngstown State*	No. 23	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH (NCAA Division I first round)	ESPN3	L 24–38	5,322
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

Mars Hill

Mars Hill @ Samford

1 2 3 4 Total Mountain Lions 0 7 0 0 7 • Bulldogs 14 14 21 28 77 Date: September 1 Location: Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 4,482 Television network: ESPN3

See also: Mars Hill University

At Central Arkansas

Samford @ Central Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 7 21 7 0 35 Bears 3 7 0 19 29 Date: September 10 Location: Estes Stadium Conway, AR Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 9,987

See also: 2016 Central Arkansas Bears football team

At Chattanooga

Samford @ Chattanooga

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 7 7 7 21 • #5 Mocs 7 14 10 10 41 Date: September 24 Location: Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN Game start: 1:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 8,714 Television network: SDN

See also: 2016 Chattanooga Mocs football team

Wofford

Wofford @ Samford

1 2 3 4 Total Terriers 7 10 3 6 26 • Bulldogs 7 14 0 7 28 Date: October 1 Location: Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL Game start: 2:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 8,509 Television network: ESPN3/SDN

See also: 2016 Wofford Terriers football team

At Furman

Samford @ Furman

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 14 10 7 7 38 Paladins 0 14 0 7 21 Date: October 8 Location: Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC Game start: 12:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 4,587 Television network: ESPN3

See also: 2016 Furman Paladins football team

VMI

VMI @ Samford

1 2 3 4 Total Keydets 7 7 7 0 21 • #24 Bulldogs 28 10 0 17 55 Date: October 15 Location: Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL Game start: 2:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 4,085 Television network: ESPN3

See also: 2016 VMI Keydets football team

Western Carolina

Western Carolina @ Samford

1 2 3 4 Total Catamounts 7 0 3 7 17 • #21 Bulldogs 7 6 14 3 30 Date: October 22 Location: Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL Game start: 6:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 4,031 Television network: ASN

See also: 2016 Western Carolina Catamounts football team

At Mississippi State

Samford @ Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total #20 Bulldogs (SAM) 13 7 13 8 41 • Bulldogs (MSU) 21 7 21 7 56 Date: October 29 Location: Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS Game start: 2:30 PM CDT Game attendance: 58,019 Television network: SECN

See also: 2016 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

At The Citadel

Samford @ The Citadel

1 2 3 4 OT Total #20 Bulldogs (SAM) 7 13 0 14 0 34 • #5 Bulldogs (CIT) 7 7 7 13 3 37 Date: November 5 Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC Game start: 1:00 PM CDT Game attendance: 15,015 Television network: ESPN3

See also: 2016 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

Mercer

Mercer @ Samford

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 0 10 0 9 19 • #22 Bulldogs 21 0 0 3 24 Date: November 12 Location: Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL Game start: 2:30 PM CST Game attendance: 8,379 Television network: ESPN3

See also: 2016 Mercer Bears football team

At East Tennessee State

Samford @ East Tennessee State

1 2 3 4 Total #18 Bulldogs 7 0 7 0 14 • Buccaneers 0 3 6 6 15 Date: November 19 Location: Kermit Tipton Stadium Johnson City, TN Game start: 2:30 PM CST Game attendance: 5,752 Television network: SDN

See also: 2016 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team

FCS playoffs

First round – Youngstown State

Samford @ Youngstown State

1 2 3 4 Total #23 Bulldogs 7 0 0 17 24 • #13 Penguins 7 3 14 14 38 Date: November 26 Location: Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH Game start: 4:00 PM CST Game attendance: 5,322 Television network: ESPN3

See also: 2016 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	21	20	20	22	18	23	23
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	20	19	18	21	18	24	23

References