Graves-Billips and The Citadel defense score twice in 40-13 win over Samford

HOMEWOOD, Ala. (AP) — Javonte Graves-Billips caught a pair of touchdown passes and had 139 yards receiving and The Citadel beat Samford 40-13 on Saturday in a Southern Conference opener for both teams.

After a scoreless first quarter, Samford’s Jake Garner kicked field goals of 40 and 20 yards for a 6-0 lead. The Citadel (1-1, 1-0) took the lead for good when Cobey Thompkins threw a 43-yard scoring pass to Graves-Billips with 6:03 before halftime. Ben Barnes kicked a 40-yard field three seconds before the break for a 10-6 advantage.

In the third, Barnes kicked a 28-yard field goal. Later in the quarter, Sayre Smothers returned a fumble 31 yards for a touchdown to put The Citadel up 20-6. Less than five minutes later, Bradlee Jones returned a Samford (0-2, 0-1) fumble 59 yards to make it 27-6 with 13:48 remaining.

Samford’s lone touchdown came with 11:17 left when C.J. Evans ran it in from the 5 to reduce the deficit to 27-13. Graves-Billips then caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Quentin Hayes before Hayes closed the scoring with an 18-yard scoring run.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football