Auburn vs. Samford by the numbers
6 p.m. CDT Saturday (ESPN+)
Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn
1 Victory for Samford against an SEC opponent: The Bulldogs beat Ole Miss 7-6 on Oct. 20, 1934. Samford has a 1-38-1 record against SEC opponents, with the tie coming against Alabama by a 7-7 score on Sept. 28, 1935. Since that game, Samford has lost 33 consecutive meetings with SEC opponents.
1 TD reception in each Auburn game this season for WR Jay Fair. He’s the first Auburn player with TD catches in consecutive games since Kobe Hudson in the final two games of the 2021 season. Fair has seven receptions for 81 yards and two TDs in two games this season after having two receptions for 34 yards in 10 games last season.
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6 Victories for NCAA FCS teams in 291 games against SEC opponents since Division I split into Division I-A and I-AA in 1978. The FCS winners have been The Citadel, which beat Arkansas in 1992 and South Carolina in 2015; Maine, which beat Mississippi State in 2004; Jacksonville State, which beat Ole Miss in 2010; Georgia Southern, which beat Florida in 2013; and East Tennessee State, which beat Vanderbilt in 2021.
12 Tackles for Auburn LB Eugene Asante in his first career start in last week’s 14-10 victory over California. He also had a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup as he shared the SEC Defensive Player of the Week Award with Mississippi State LB Jett Johnson. Asante has been Auburn’s top tackler in both games this season.
12 Seasons were spent by Auburn as a member of the Southern Conference, the league home for Samford since the Bulldogs joined in 2008. The SEC held its first football season in 1933 after the Southern Conference members west and south of the Appalachian Mountains left the league to form the new conference. Auburn had been a charter member of the Southern in 1921, joining Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Washington & Lee in leaving the 30-member Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association to form the league. The Southern later picked up Duke, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Sewanee, South Carolina, Tulane and Vanderbilt as members before the SEC split. Although Auburn posted a 5-0-1 conference record in its final season in the Southern, the Tigers had an overall mark of 20-42-7 in league play, including a 29-game streak without a victory. The Southern gave birth to another major conference in 1953 when seven schools left to form the ACC.
27 Victories without a loss for Auburn against FCS opponents since 1978, when the NCAA split Division I football into Division I-A and Division I-AA.
29 Previous games between Auburn and Samford, with the Tigers leading the series 28-0-1. The teams played to a 9-9 tie on Oct. 29, 1927, in Birmingham. Auburn and Samford most recently squared off on Nov. 23, 2019, when the Tigers took a 52-0 victory.
31 Consecutive homecoming games have been won by Auburn. The Tigers haven’t lost on homecoming since 1991, when Mississippi State spoiled things by taking a 24-17 victory. Auburn has an 84-8-4 record in the homecoming game.
48 Consecutive victories for Auburn in home games against unranked non-conference opponents. The most recent non-SEC team to come into Jordan-Hare Stadium unranked in The Associated Press poll and upend the Tigers is South Florida, which scored a 26-23 victory on Sept. 7, 2007. Both Auburn and South Florida went 9-4 that season.
62 Victories, five losses and one tie for Auburn in games against Alabama-based opponents (excluding Alabama). Those opponents have included Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Birmingham-Southern, Camp Sheridan, Jacksonville State, Marion Institute, Maxwell Field, Montgomery, North Alabama Athletic Club, Samford, Spring Hill and UAB. The most recent loss for Auburn is a 7-0 setback against Maxwell Field on Sept. 28, 1945, in Montgomery. Samford has a 96-81-20 record against Alabama-based opponents.
131 Games have been played by Auburn since it was most recently shut out, the second-longest streak in school history. Auburn’s most recent shutout loss came 49-0 to Alabama on Nov. 17, 2012. Auburn’s record scoring streak lasted 149 games, starting with a 55-16 victory over Richmond on Oct. 4, 1980, and ending with a 17-0 loss to Alabama on Nov. 26, 1992. Auburn’s current scoring streak is the 10th-longest in SEC history, and its record streak is the ninth-longest.
4,234 Passing yards and 36 TD passes in 15 games at Samford for QB Michael Hiers. In two games this season, Hiers has completed 49-of-69 passes for 690 yards with six TDs and no interceptions.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.