BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Wofford College football team could not overcome penalties in a 28-26 loss at Samford on Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium. The Terriers committed a season high ten penalties, while the Bulldog offense scored four passing touchdowns.
 
Wofford moves to 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Southern Conference, while Samford is 3-1 and 1-1 in the league. Wofford was led by Lorenzo Long with 117 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, while Will Gay had 81 receiving yards on three catches. The Bulldogs were led by Devlin Hodges who was 28-of-32 passing for 315 yards and four touchdowns.
 
"We made it tough on ourselves due to lack of execution," said head coach Mike Ayers. "The early decision to go for it on fourth down, that is on me and not a good decision at the time. We came back and tied the game and felt good with what we were doing on both sides of the ball. Samford is a good football team and we knew they would not go away. They did a better job at the end moving the sticks and burning the clock and didn't give us a chance at the end. We are still a good football team and we need to get on to Western because that game is coming in a hurry and on the road as well."
 
The Bulldogs went three-and-out and punted on the opening drive of the game. Wofford faced a fourth-and-two and failed to convert, giving Samford the ball at the 28-yard line. After a first down, Samford scored on a two-yard touchdown pass to Karel Hamilton for a 7-0 lead at 11:31 in the first quarter. With the ball back, a first down pass to Chandler Gouger was followed by a 38-yard run by Brandon Goodson. After a first down by Lorenzo Long, Will Gay scored on an eight-yard run to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:33 left in the first quarter.
 
After a first down, the Bulldogs punted back to the Terriers. Wofford and Samford both went three-and-out and traded punts. Ellis Pace picked up a first down with a 42-yard run on the next drive by the Terriers. A holding penalty stopped the drive and David Marvin kicked a 48-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead with 13:14 on the clock in the second quarter. Samford then used a 38-yard reception by Emmanuel Obajimi to move across midfield and Andrew Harris capped the drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Devlin Hodges. The Bulldogs had a 14-10 lead with 11:35 left in the second quarter.
 
Wofford gained a first down before back-to-back false starts on the offense forced a punt. Samford then added a touchdown on a 51-yard reception by Karel Hamilton to take a 21-0 lead with 6:52 remaining in the first half. The Terriers then picked up five first downs and capped the drive with a one-yard run by Lorenzo Long to cut the lead to 21-17 with 13 seconds left. Samford ran one play to end the first half.
 
To begin the second half, Wofford converted a fourth-and-one and then Will Gay caught a 47-yard pass from Brandon Goodson. David Marvin hits a 34-yard field goal with 10:26 on the clock in the third quarter to make it a 21-20 game. The Bulldogs went three-and-out and punted on their next drive, but a roughing the kicker call gave Samford a first down. The Bulldogs were unable to get another first down and punted back to the Terriers.
 
Wofford gained a first down, but then punted. The Bulldogs had two first downs and added 15 yards on a personal foul by the Terriers. A 51-yard field goal try by the Bulldogs was just short with 1:39 left in the third quarter and Wofford took over. On a fourth-and-one, Lorenzo Long gained two yards for the first down. An offensive pass interference call erased a long catch by Will Gay and the Terriers had to punt.
 
Samford took over at the six yard line and went three-and-out and punted. Wofford was unable to gain a first down and punted with 8:20 left in the fourth quarter. With the ball back, Samford gained four first downs to move the ball inside the 15-yard line. A fade pass to the corner of the end zone was caught by Emmanuel Obajimi for a 13-yard touchdown and Samford had a 28-20 lead with 5:05 left in the game. Will Gay gained 25 yards on a pass play and added 15 yards on a roughing the passer call. A pass interference call on Samford gave Wofford a first down on the 20-yard line. Lorenzo Long capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion pass was tipped at the line and Wofford trailed 28-26 with 3:24 left.
 
The Bulldogs converted a third down with 2:25 remaining, but had to punt back to the Terriers who took over at the 29-yard line with 14 seconds on the clock. After an incomplete pass, Brandon Goodson was sacked while scrambling on the final play.
 
Wofford had 399 total yards, with 291 rushing. Samford had 345 total yards, 315 of which were passing. Wofford had a 20 to 17 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 9-of-18 on third downs and 2-of-3 on fourth down. Samford was 4-of-12 on third down. Samford was called for nine penalties, while Wofford was whistled eleven times. Wofford had a 38:35 to 21:25 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Samford Post-Game Notes
The Terrier defense has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in a game this season. They allowed only 30 rushing yards by the Bulldogs, but gave up 315 passing yards.
 
Lorenzo Long had 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns. It marked his eleventh career 100 yard game and third this season. He now has 2,597 career rushing yards to rank 9^th in school history.
 
The 11 penalties for 111 yards by the Terriers are a season high.
 
David Marvin had a 48-yard field goal in the second quarter, the seventh longest in school history.
 
Brad Butler will miss the remainder of the season due to a knee injury suffered against ETSU. He did not make the trip to Samford. Chris Boudreaux and Devin Watson left the game due to injuries.
 
Game captains were JoJo Tillery, Dylan Young, Mike Jones and Brandon Goodson.
 
Attendance was 8,509 at Seibert Stadium.
 
Wofford will remain on the road for a Southern Conference game at Western Carolina on October 8. The game will air on ASN at 7:00 p.m.