2018 Samford Bulldogs football team explained

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.

Preseason

Award watch lists

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]

Media poll

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

Coaches poll

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.

Offense

1st team

Devlin Hodges – QB

Nick Nixon – OL

Kelvin McKnight – WR

2nd team

Chris Shelling – WRDefense

1st team

Ahmad Gooden – DL

2nd team

Christian Stark – LB

Darius Harvey – DB

Schedule

^[6]

Game summaries

Shorter

At Florida State

See also: 2018 Florida State Seminoles football team.

Mercer

See also: 2018 Mercer Bears football team.

At Chattanooga

See also: 2018 Chattanooga Mocs football team.

At Kennesaw State

See also: 2018 Kennesaw State Owls football team.

Western Carolina

See also: 2018 Western Carolina Catamounts football team.

VMI

See also: 2018 VMI Keydets football team.

At Furman

See also: 2018 Furman Paladins football team.

Wofford

See also: 2018 Wofford Terriers football team.

At The Citadel

See also: 2018 The Citadel Bulldogs football team.

At East Tennessee State

See also: 2018 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team.

Notes and References

1. Web site: FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list. August 1, 2018. August 1, 2018.
2. Web site: FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced. August 2, 2018. August 2, 2018.
3. Web site: Media picks Samford to win 2018 SoCon football title. July 25, 2018 .
4. Web site: Football coaches select preseason all-conference teams, poll. July 25, 2018 .
5. Web site: Football coaches select preseason all-conference teams, poll. July 25, 2018 .
6. https://samfordsports.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=388 Schedule