BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team held its final full practice for its SoCon opener against VMI with a 90-minute workout in shorts and helmets Thursday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
 
The Bulldogs practiced Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, working on the game plan for Saturday's contest against the Keydets. Associate Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach Brandon Herring said VMI has been a tough team to prepare for.
 
"It's been pretty good," Herring said of the week of preparation. "We're preparing for a team in VMI that plays an even front and an odd front. That makes it a little bit of a challenge, but I thought the week has been pretty good."
 
Samford comes into the game with a record of 1-1. The Bulldogs opened the season with a 48-14 loss at TCU Aug. 30. The Bulldogs earned their first win with a 52-0 shutout of Stillman Sept. 11. Herring said the biggest thing he wants to see is improvement in the team's execution each week.
 
"Every single week you want to make sure that the execution improves tremendously," Herring said. "We thought coming out of TCU we left a lot of yardage out on the field by not executing. This past week the execution was a little bit better, but we still feel like we left a lot of points on the board. So, every week you have to make sure your execution level goes up, and now that we're starting SoCon play, the execution level has to be pretty good."
 
VMI comes into the game with a record of 1-2. The Keydets are coming off a 52-24 win at Davidson last Saturday. This will mark just the second ever meeting between Samford and VMI. The teams last met in 2001, with Samford winning at VMI, 46-28.
 
Saturday's game against VMI is scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. at Seibert Stadium. The game will air live on ESPN3. In addition to the ESPN3 broadcast, the game can be heard locally on FM 99.5 Nash Icon, or worldwide on the internet at www.995nashicon.com.