GAME NOTES

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The 19^th-ranked Samford football team began practicing for Saturday's game at Mississippi State with a 90-minute workout in shorts and helmets Monday afternoon.
 
Samford enters the week with a record of 6-1 overall and 4-1 in Southern Conference play. Samford head coach Chris Hatcher he liked the effort of his team during the workout.
 
"Today went well," Hatcher said. "We're just trying to get the soreness out from the game on Saturday. It was a late game, so we didn't get quite as much recovery time. But, I thought we had good focus. We have a lot of guys who are beat up, a lot of guys who are just tired from the grind of the season up to this point. I thought our spirits were high."
 
Samford has won its last four games in a row, and the Bulldogs are coming off a 30-17 win over Western Carolina last week. Hatcher praised the play of his defense during the Western Carolina win.  
 
"I thought defensively we played really, really well," Hatcher said of the WCU game. "That was probably the best we've played all season. On special teams, we played well, but we had some mistakes and some costly penalties that hurt us in the hidden yardage. And then offensively, as far as yardage production goes, it was the best we've played, but we just really hurt ourselves a lot in the first half with some silly mistakes."
 
Mississippi State comes into the game with a mark of 2-5 overall and 1-3 in SEC games. MSU is coming off a 40-38 loss at Kentucky last week. Hatcher said he knows his team faces its toughest test of the season this week.
 
"They're an SEC team," Hatcher said of MSU. "They've had a little bit of bad luck so far this season in a few of the games they've played. But, they're big, strong and fast, and they'll be the best team we play all season long. It will be a huge test for our football team."
 
Samford will practice again Tuesday afternoon. The workout is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. at Seibert Stadium.
 
Saturday's game at Mississippi State is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. The game will air locally on FM-99.1 The Game, and it can be seen live on the SEC Network.
 
Samford's next home game will be Nov. 12, when the Bulldogs host Mercer at 2:30 p.m. To purchase tickets for that game click here: MERCER GAME TICKETS.