Oct. 2, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team put the final touches on the game plan for its first Ohio Valley Conference road game this Saturday at Eastern Kentucky. The Bulldogs worked out for about two hours in cold conditions on the practice fields located on Samford's Campus Thursday afternoon.

"I thought we had a very spirited practice and we got a lot of work done," Head Coach Bill Gray said. "It was nice football weather out here today and our guys worked hard and polished up the things we have been working on. I hope they are prepared enough to go up there and give it our best shot. I know we will get a better effort out of Eastern Kentucky then they put forth against Jacksonville State last week."

This will be the first conference road game for Samford and Gray understands the importance of winning on the road in the OVC.

"It is a big measuring stick for us to play an OVC game on the road," Gray said. "We will find out a lot about our football team. It is a great environment to play in and we are looking forward to playing up there. It is still early in the season and I think the OVC is very balanced. I think you can still win the league with one loss, but it will be hard with two. This is not a make or break game for us, but we still would like to win one on the road and still be sitting in first place this time next week."

Kickoff between the Bulldogs and Colonels is set for 6:30 p.m. (EST), 5:30 p.m. (CDT) and can be heard live locally in Birmingham, Ala. on 91.1 FM.