Samford Finishes 2023 Season with Top 25 Win
If you read our Pick โEm story I asked, โWhich Samford team will show up?โ Well everyone, the good one did. Samford finishes the 2023 campaign with a 27-17 win over #19 UT-Martin and a record of 6-5. Every phase of the team was clicking with plays that included multiple forced turnovers and a 90-yard punt return for a score by Chandler Smith.
The key seniors, playing their last game on Bobby Bowden Field showed out today. RB Jay Stanton finished off his great season with 193 yards rushing and a TD. That TD was Stantonโs 35th career rushing score as he is now the Samford career record holder for rushing TDs. He even did it in style as the TD was a 61-yard run.
QB Michael Hiers finished with over 200 yards passing and a TD. He took a couple of ill-timed sacks but other than that Hiers played well. He just missed on a couple of deep throws and TE Michael Vice got interfered with on a potential TD. It is definitely going to be strange not seeing Hiers command the offense next season.
Speaking of what we are going to miss, WR Chandler Smith. There is not a single thing that Smith does not do on the football field and he showed that today. Not only is Chandler a great WR, but he is also a great return specialist. That for sure was evident with an electric 90-yard punt return for a score. Smith also finished with 86 receiving yards and this TD. To see him develop into this type of player after starting out as a walk-on, has been absolutely special.
This Samford defense turned up today also forcing four turnovers. An unexpected standout was freshman safety C.J. Douglas, from Leeds, Alabama. Douglas finished with 10 total tackles and forced two fumbles. He only had three tackles all year before today. This is very exciting having a freshman defensive back have this kind of performance. The last two seasons Samford has had to go deep into the portal for players in the secondary, and having a freshman excel is great to see.
LB Noah Martin, who will be back next season, finished with 11 total tackles. That was Martinโs fourth game this season with double-digit tackles in a game. Junior DB Jamari Cannon and junior DB Kamron Smith each had an interception. This unit also turned away UT-Martin at the goal line when the Skyhawks were trying to get back to a one score deficit.
Given the opponent, I would argue that this was Samfordโs best game they played all year. The offense moved the ball consistently and the defense played very well forcing those turnovers. Hard to think, โwhere was this team all season?โ You would be fair in that assessment as it just makes you think that this team, could have gotten back to the FCS Playoffs.
Samford will head into the offseason with major question marks for next year. Your QB, best RB, and best pass catcher will all be gone. Does current backup QB Quincy Crittendon become the starter? How does the offensive line and secondary improve? We have plenty of time to answer these questions in the offseason. For now, take a moment and appreciate what this senior class has done. They gave us a magical year last season getting to the FCS Quarterfinals. We will all remember what they gave us in 2022 for years to come.
2023 will not be a return trip to the FCS Playoffs as this team was just too inconsistent against good teams. Fitting that this Samford team finally won a game against a team with a winning record in these playoff bound Skyhawks. Michael Hiers battled injury, the offensive line play was inconsistent, and this group of secondary transfers had their trouble.
As said before, we have time to dive into what this team will look like next season. For now let us thank these 29 Samford seniors for everything they gave the Samford program. We will break it all down on a new episode of The State of the Bulldogs coming this Wednesday.
It has been a ride boys, thanks for everything.
