GAME NOTES: SAMFORD AT VMI
GAME DAY CENTRAL
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team will travel to Lexington, Va., to take on the 18
th-ranked VMI Keydets Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (CT) at Alumni Field at Foster Stadium.
The game can be seen live on ESPN+ at the following link:
WATCH LIVE. Live stats are also available at the following link:
LIVE STATS.
Samford enters the game with a record of 3-4 overall and 2-3 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs are coming off a 55-13 loss to Chattanooga Saturday.
VMI is currently 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Southern Conference play. The Keydets took last week off from competition and last played on Oct. 16, earning a 45-7 win at Mercer.
Samford and VMI are meeting for just the ninth time, with Samford holding a 6-2 lead in the series. The teams last met on March 20, 2021, with VMI taking a 38-37 overtime win at Seibert Stadium. The last two meetings have both gone to overtime. The first meeting in the series was played on Nov. 17, 2001, with Samford earning a 46-28 win in Lexington, Va.
Samford head coach
Chris Hatcher said fans will see a lot of similarities between VMI's offense and Samford's unit.
"They run a very similar offense to us," Hatcher said. "They do run the ball a little better, that's probably the biggest difference. They spread you out, heavy RPO game, kind of dink and dunk you around the field, take a shot here or there. They're sneaky when they run the ball. It's going to be a difficult task. I think they're quarterback and ours are the best two in the league in my opinion."
Hatcher said his offense will face a stiff challenge going against the Keydets' defense.
"Defensively, they're very difficult to run on," Hatcher said. "They blitz like every play. They play man free and play cover zero, which very few teams do. They're a confident group. They don't mind giving up the big play, but they just think they're going to get you behind the chains."
PUTTING UP POINTS
Over the last six-plus seasons under head coach
Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 38 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 23 times, and at least 50 points a total of 10 times.
QUICK STRIKES
In six-plus seasons under head coach
Chris Hatcher, Samford has made a habit of quick scoring drives. In Hatcher's time at Samford, the Bulldogs have had 154 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 68 that have lasted one minute or less.
WELCH A RECORD BREAKER
During Samford's 55-48 overtime loss to 15th-ranked ETSU on Sept. 25, Samford quarterback
Liam Welch set Samford and Southern Conference records for passing yards (582), total offense (655), completions (56) and attempts (73). The 582 passing yards broke the old record of 570 set by Welch last season against VMI.
IMPROVING RUNNING GAME
In three of Samford's last five games, the Bulldogs have had a running back rush for over 100 yards. In the win at Western Carolina,
DeMarcus Ware rushed 26 times for 118 yards and three touchdowns. In the game at Mercer,
Jay Stanton had 22 carries for 101 yards to lead the running game. Most recently, at Wofford, Stanton rushed for 130 yards.
BULLDOGS IN THE RED ZONE
Samford's offense leads the Southern Conference and ranks 11th nationally in red zone offense, scoring on 91.4 percent of the team's trips inside the red zone.
GRADUATE STUDENTS MAKING AN IMPACT
Samford has eight graduate students on its 2021 roster.
Dakota Chapman (RB),
Nathan East (LB),
Armond Lloyd (DL),
Coutrell Plair (CB),
Tyler Russell (LS),
Seth Simmer (DL),
Liam Welch (QB) and Deandre Williams (RB) are all earning graduate degrees at Samford.
SAMFORD AGAINST VIRGINIA TEAMS
Samford has an all-time record of 13-13 against teams from the state of Virginia, including a mark of 6-2 against Saturday's opponent, VMI.
SAMFORD ON THE ROAD
So far this season, Samford has a record of 2-2 in road games, including a 2-1 mark in SoCon road contests. The Bulldogs have earned wins at Western Carolina and Wofford and have fallen at Mercer and in a non-conference game at UT Martin.
AGAINST SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAMS
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has posted a record of 58-48 in conference games. All-time against the current members of the SoCon, Samford has a mark of 84-78-4, including a 6-2 record against VMI. Samford's all-time record against each current SoCon team is: Chattanooga (10-33-3), The Citadel (7-7), ETSU (6-3), Furman (11-12), Mercer (14-13-1), VMI (6-2), Western Carolina (16-3) and Wofford (14-5).
SPREADING THE BALL AROUND
Samford graduate quarterback
Liam Welch has done a good job of spreading the ball around so far this season. Welch has completed passes to 16 different receivers, throwing touchdown passes to six different receivers.
Montrell Washington leads the group with 39 catches for 574 yards and seven touchdowns.
WASHINGTON AMONG THE BEST
Entering Saturday's game senior wide receiver
Montrell Washington leads the nation in all-purpose yards per game (171.6 ypg.). He also leads the Southern Conference in receiving yards per game (82.0), scoring (9.4 ppg.), scoring by touchdown (9.4 ppg.) and all-purpose yards per game (171.6 ypg.).
THE LAST TIME AGAINST VMI
Samford and VMI last met on March 20, 2021, with the Keydets picking up a 38-37 overtime win at Seibert Stadium.
Liam Welch passed for a then-SoCon record 570 yards and four touchdowns in the loss.
Ty King (135 yards),
A.J. Toney (122 yards) and
Montrell Washington (108 yards) each had over 100 receiving yards for the Bulldogs in the contest.
ON THIS DATE
Samford has an all-time record of 4-4-1 in games played on Oct. 30. The last time the Bulldogs played a game on the date was in 2010, a 20-13 win at Georgia Southern. The first time a Samford football team played on the date was in 1909 when the Bulldogs played to a 0-0 tie at Chattanooga.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford football, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at
SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at
/SamfordFootball (Facebook),
@SamfordFootball (Instagram) and
@SamfordFootball (Twitter).
