Game Recap: Bulldogs Fall to Furman, 27-21
On a big day when Seibert Stadium was officially renamed Pete Hanna Stadium, the Samford Bulldogs FCS Playoffs hopes evaporated in a 27-21 loss to Furman.
Samford needed to run the table to get back to the playoffs but Furman had other plans. The Bulldogs were in the game until the very end and had a chance to win. With 3:22 left on the clock, the Bulldog offense needed to drive 90 yards to take the lead. Samford QB Michael Hiers used his legs to pick up a big first down on 3rd down and 8. Then picked up a first down through the air but everything after that went downhill.
This final drive summed up the day for Samford with bad penalties and terrible offensive line play. Samford finished with 9 penalties for 84 yards and allowed 9 sacks. Furman’s 9 sacks was one short of a school record. To add insult to injury, Hiers went down after a tackle on that final drive.
A few defensive penalties were questionable with multiple defensive pass interference calls that drew the much-deserved ire of the Samford coaching staff. The Samford offense had their own brutal penalties that killed drives and put them in bad spots. Coming into the week, you felt that Samford had found their ground game with RB Jay Stanton but he was just limited to 15 yards on 7 carries.
There were some bright spots as Samford has found a major weapon in freshman WR Brendan Jenkins. Jenkins had 2 TDs along with 77 receiving yards which led the team. Chandler Smith does what Chandler Smith does which is just make big plays with the ball in his hands. Smith took this reverse 22 yards to the house. QB Michael Hiers, when he had time, was 36-of-48 with 291 yards and 2 TDs. LB Noah Martin led the team in tackles with 13 and 1.5 sacks.
All in all, bad offensive penalties in addition to allowing 9 sacks, turned out to be the difference today. Samford still had every chance to win the game and we will break it down on our next episode of State of The Bulldogs.
The playoff hopes may be gone but appreciate watching this team the rest of the way. After this year, you will never get to see Michael Hiers or Chandler Smith wear a Samford uniform again. Remember that as this team still many quality players and you can also envision what breakout star WR Brendan Jenkins can become.
Up next, Samford makes the dreaded bus trip to VMI who just beat The Citadel. Furman stays unbeaten to set up a huge matchup in Cullowhee vs #9 Western Carolina who was off this week.
Follow Grant on X/Twitter at @GrantGardner_ & @SamfordScoop
