Oct. 19, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
The Samford football team practiced for about two hours in shells Wednesday afternoon at Seibert Stadium. The Bulldogs are preparing for Saturday's Southern Conference game at sixth-ranked Appalachian State.
Appalachian State (4-2, 2-1 SoCon) is the third top-10 ranked team the Bulldogs have faced so far this season. Samford took on then-third-ranked Georgia Southern in the season-opener on Sept. 3, and the Bulldogs played at then-eighth-ranked Wofford on Sept. 24.
ASU has won or shared in the last six SoCon titles. Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said this team looks to be just as strong as the previous Mountaineer teams.
"They're a typical App. State team," Sullivan said. "They're sixth in the country, they have great athletes and they're well coached. They've won or shared in the last six conference championships and they're in position to do it again. They have a great atmosphere. I know our guys are excited about going up there.
"They're probably the best kicking team, overall, that we've gone against and that is something we'll have to be concerned with," Sullivan said. "They have two quarterbacks and both of them are good.
"Defensively, they've gone away from their four down linemen scheme to a 50 front," Sullivan said. "So now they are big up front with their down linemen and then they have all of their skilled athletes behind them that can run."
Sullivan said he liked the way his team worked Wednesday to get ready for the Mountaineers.
"I thought we had a good practice today," Sullivan said. "They're working hard and trying to get better and as long as we have that going, hopefully we'll continue to improve. We've improved every week and we're certainly going to have to improve this week if we're going to have a chance."
Samford will practice again Thursday. The practice is scheduled to start at 4:50 p.m. at Seibert Stadium.
Saturday's game at Appalachian State is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. (CT) start from ASU's Kidd Brewer Stadium. The game can be heard live on the Samford Sports Network, including Samford's on-campus station, WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.
