CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel held the high-powered Samford offense in check for most of the day until a pair of huge pass plays in the final minute spelled doom for the Bulldogs in a 20-17 loss in the 2014 home finale at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

The Citadel (4-7, 2-4 SoCon) took a 17-13 lead with 1:57 remaining in the fourth quarter when Aaron Miller went in from four yards out for his second touchdown of the game. Samford (7-3, 5-2) got one first down on its ensuing drive but three incomplete passes resulted in a fourth down at its 43 with 51 seconds left.

After calling timeout, Michael Eubank hooked up with Karel Hamilton in front of the Samford bench for 29 yards to The Citadel 28. On the next play, Robert Clark took a short pass and raced down the middle of the field to the Bulldog 2, setting up a two-yard scoring plunge by Denzel Williams that put Samford back ahead with 17 seconds left.

The Citadel got off three passes in the final 13 seconds in an attempt to pull out the win. Alex Glover hauled in a 41-yard pass but was well out of bounds. After a nine-yard completion to DeAndre Schoultz, a Hail Mary pass was knocked down just shy of the end zone as time ran out.

Miller rushed for 125 yards on 20 attempts and went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season, finishing the day with 1,042. He also completed 5 of 12 passes for 60 yards. Tyler Renew had his second straight 100-yard game, gaining 102 on 23 attempts.

That marked the fourth time this season that The Citadel has had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game. Miller's two rushing touchdowns give him 23 in his career and moved him into a tie for seventh in school history with Terrance Rivers and Stanley Myers.

The Citadel outgained Samford 419-360 and held the ball for a whopping 37:42. Samford came into the game averaging 36.4 points and 421.6 yards of total offense per contest.

The 55 passing yards on the final two throws of the game by Eubank enabled the Arizona State transfer to finish with 228 yards on 18 of 28 accuracy. Williams led the Samford ground game with 88 yards on 19 carries.

A 31-yard touchdown pass from Eubank to Tony Philpot provided the only scoring of the first half, a 30-minute stretch that included missed field goals by both teams, a combined six punts and three failed fourth down tries.

The teams exchanged punts to start the third quarter before The Citadel embarked on its first scoring drive of the afternoon, marching 91 yards on 14 plays. Runs of 16 yards by Jake Stenson and 11 by Renew along with a substitution infraction against Samford led to Miller's first touchdown of the game, a two-yard run that tied it with 1:21 left in the quarter.

A 54-yard run by Miller, the longest of the senior's career, highlighted a drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal by Eric Goins and a 10-7 Citadel lead 2:21 into the fourth quarter. Samford bounced right back to drive 75 yards, mostly on the right arm of Eubank. He completed passes of 15 and 11 yards to Hamilton and 24 yards to Philpot to move the ball to the Bulldog 14.

Samford then lined up in a bunch formation, and Krondis Larry came out of the pack with a short handoff and raced to The Citadel end zone to put the visitors back ahead at the 8:39 mark. A 21-yard pass to Vinny Miller on fourth down sparked the following drive that temporarily put the Bulldogs back in front.

Walker Smith led The Citadel defense with 11 tackles, while Justin Oxendine recorded a sack, moving him into a tie for ninth in school history with 12 in his career. Justin Cooper and Omari Williams were all over the field for Samford, making 17 and 13 tackles, respectively.

The Citadel wraps up its season next week at VMI in The Military Classic of the South and the battle for the coveted Silver Shako. Game time in Lexington, Va., is at 1:30 and will be shown on ESPN3.