Samford University Athletics

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The 20^th-ranked Samford football team will travel to Lexington, Va., to take on the VMI Keydets Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (CT). Samford head coach Chris Hatcher met with the media earlier today to discuss the matchup, as well as last week's win over The Citadel. Below is a video recap of what Hatcher had to say.


 
QUOTING SAMFORD HEAD COACH CHRIS HATCHER
OPENING STATEMENT
"Last week I was really proud of our team. It was a total team effort to come off a gut-wrenching defeat at Western Carolina and play like we did versus a very good Citadel team. We had great crowd, the guys came out and hit them early and the defense played outstanding. And then offensively we got a little run game and tempo going in the first half. The way the second half played out we played with poor field position and our defense was playing unbelievable so we just kind of put it in their hands and we cruised to a big win. So we were very excited about it. The game did take its toll on us as we had a lot of guys who were banged up. It was a very physical game as it always is when you play The Citadel.
 
"So, moving forward hopefully we can build off of that ballgame. We have to go on the road this week and play a team that has not had as much success as they probably wish they have had, but we have a long ride going to a place that's on the outermost reach of our conference from us. We will have to play a lot of young guys who will have to step up this week that haven't had a lot of reps. But we need to keep the momentum that we built from the ballgame versus The Citadel and go out and play the best that we can possibly play.  It's always a tough battle in the Southern Conference and you can expect this week will be no different. Hopefully we can play well enough to win the game and then come back home to a much needed off week before we hit the final stretch."
 
ON THE DEFENSE MAKING FIVE FOURTH-DOWN STOPS VS. THE CITADEL
"They have been really good on fourth down all season. When you play The Citadel you expect them to have a lot of attempts. One thing that those guys did was we had a good game plan and played with a lot of emotion and energy. Like I've said all season long you don't win championships without having a good defense and our defense has been exceptional all season. Being able to do that gives you great confidence in those guys going out and being able to win the ballgame if need be."
 
IF THERE IS AN ADVANTAGE TO THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT BEING QUARTERBACKED BY THE BROTHER OF YOUR QUARTERBACK
"Duncan was a really good high school player but we don't know how much he has grown; we don't know what they are asking him to do other than what we see on the film. So I don't believe that there is any advantage for either team having two brothers play and one start for us and one start for them. I'm sure that they have not shared any secrets because I know each of them wants to beat the other one so we treat it just like every other game. We will go out and do the best we can and see where the chips fall."
 
ON KEEPING THE CROWD OUT OF THE GAME IN ROAD GAMES
"I don't think the noise is that big of an issue just because they have an open stadium and we have played in some really loud places. But the big thing is any time you go on the road you have to keep the momentum on your side, because when the home team gets the momentum that's when the fans start getting in there and their team feeds off the energy. Just like last week here at home you know we jumped out to a huge lead and our fans were all engaged in the game and you feel that energy. It helps propel you to do even better than you were before so we need to come out to a fast start and we need to continue to capitalize on big plays offensively and defensively. We just need to keep doing what we are doing and take the crowd out of the game and again come on back home hopefully with a big Southern Conference road win."