GAME NOTES: Samford @ Furman (3.6.21)
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Fresh off a thrilling 55-27 win over Western Carolina, the
Bulldogs (1-1, 1-1 SoCon) of
Samford University travel to Greenville, S.C., on
Saturday, March 6 to face the No. 17
Paladins (1-1, 1-1 SoCon) of
Furman University. Kickoff is set for Noon at Paladin Stadium and the game will be broadcast on
ESPN+.
Samford and Furman are meeting for the 23rd time on the gridiron this Saturday with the series tied at 11-11. Chris Hatcher is 4-4 against Furman in his career while SU is 6-5 overall on the road in Greenville. A complete breakdown of the series is located on page five.
No. 17 Furman (1-1, 1-1 SoCon) is coming off a 14-13 loss at VMI (2-0, 2-0 SoCon) last Saturday in Lexington, Va., despite out-gaining the Keydets 358-268. VMI quarterback Reece Udinski completed 27-of-38 for 258 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. Hamp Sisson threw for 232 yards and two scores to lead Furman.
Liam Welch, who was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, had a career day for the Bulldogs, leading Samford to an impressive 55-27 win over Western Carolina last week. The Augusta, Ga., native completed 26-of-36 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns while rushing 18 times for 83 yards and three scores. Jay Stanton rushed 23 times for a season-high 135 yards and a score as well.
Samford enters Saturday's game at Furman leading the SoCon in scoring (36.0), total offense (475.0), and passing offense (271.0).
Junior defensive tackle Nelson Jordon has totaled 3.0 sacks and 5.0 tackles-for-loss to rank 2nd in both categories within the SoCon.
SERIES NOTEBOOK: FURMAN
- Samford and Furman are meeting for the 23rd time on the gridiron this Saturday at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, S.C. The series is tied 11-11, including a 4-4 mark under head coach Chris Hatcher and a 6-5 overall road record in Greenville.
- The two teams last met on Oct. 5, 2019, with Samford falling 58-14 to No. 14 Furman at Seibert Stadium in Birmingham. The Paladins out-gained the Bulldogs 647-342 behind 460 yards rushing. Devin Wynn rushed 14 times for 218 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Furman. Samford finished the day 29-of-43 for 200 yards passing, including 129 yards by Chris Oladokun.
- No. 10 Furman (1-1, 1-1 SoCon) is coming off a 14-13 loss at VMI (2-0, 2-0 SoCon) last Saturday in Lexington, Va., despite out-gaining the Keydets 358-268. VMI quarterback Reece Udinski completed 27-of-38 for 258 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. Hamp Sisson threw for 232 yards and two scores to lead Furman.
- The Paladins enter Saturday's game with Samford allowing a mere 188.5 yards per game and a conference leading 43.5 yards rushing.
- Hamp Sisson (6-0, 190, Soph.) has completed 31-of-48 passes for 432 yards with five touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.
- Devin Wynn (6-0, 216, Sr.) has rushed for 199 yards and a touchdown in the Paladins first two games.
- Nick Kuzemka (6-0, 212, Fr.) leads the Paladins defense with 12 tackles this season after a career-high eight at VMI.
BALANCE IS KEY: In Saturday's 55-27 win over Western Carolina, Samford had 319 rushing yards and 311 passing yards for a total offense of 630 yards. The performance marked the first time since the 2015 win over Florida A&M that Samford rushed for over 300 yards and passed for over 300 yards in a game.
SPREADING THE BALL AROUND: A total of 12 different players have caught passes through Samford's first two games of the 2021 spring season. A.J. Toney leads the group and the SoCon with 17 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown. Ty King has 10 catches for 99 yards so far.
WELCH HAS CAREER DAY IN WIN: Senior quarterback Liam Welch had a career day in Samford's 55-27 win over Western Carolina Saturday afternoon. Welch completed 26-of-36 passes for a career-high 311 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. He also rushed 18 times for 83 yards and three touchdowns.
DEFENSE COMES UP BIG: Heading into the locker room at halftime with a one-point lead (21-20) last Saturday, the Samford defense turned in an impressive second-half performance, limiting the Catamounts to seven points and 159 yards of total offense.
QUICK STRIKES: In last week's win over Western Carolina, six of Samford's eight scoring drives took two minutes or less, and two of those drives took less than a minute. In five-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 116 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 52 that have lasted one minute or less.
STANTON TURNS IN BIG DAY: Samford sophomore running back Jay Stanton turned in an impressive performance, rushing 23 times for 135 yards and one touchdown, in Saturday's 55-27 win over Western Carolina. He had a long run of 23 yards and averaged 5.9 per carry.
SOCON LEADERS: After the first two weeks of the spring season, as a team, Samford leads the Southern Conference in a few statistical categories. The Bulldogs lead the league in scoring offense (36.0 ppg.), total offense (475.0 ypg.), passing offense (271.0 ypg.), kickoff returns (27.6 ypr.) and opponent third-down conversion (25.0%). Individually, a few players rank at the top of the league as well. A.J. Toney leads the conference in receptions per game (8.5), while Ty King is the league-leader in kickoff return average (30.0 ypr.). Nelson Jordan ranks second in the league in both sacks (3.0) and tackles for loss (5.0).
OFFENSE PRODUCES BIG PLAYS: During last week's 55-27 win over Western Carolina, the Samford offense produced nine plays of at least 20 yards. Three of those plays went for at least 30 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown run by Ty Boles.
BOLES HAS SAMFORD CAREER FIRST: Junior running back Ty Boles scored his first touchdown in his time at Samford late in Saturday's 55-27 win over Western Carolina. On his lone carry of the game, Boles went 57 yards for the touchdown for the final score of the game.
PUTTING UP POINTS: Over the last five-plus seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 31 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 18 times, and at least 50 points a total of nine times.
EDMONDS MAKES BIG PLAYS: In the first two games of the season, sophomore safety Chris Edmonds has produced a pair of turnovers. In the season opener at ETSU, he forced a fumble and recovered it, ending the Bucs' first offensive drive. In last week's win over Western Carolina, he got his first interception of the season against the Catamounts.
SAMFORD AGAINST SOUTH CAROLINA TEAMS: Samford has an all-time record of 37-27-1 against teams from the state of South Carolina, including an 11-11 mark against Saturday's opponent, Furman.
AGAINST SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAMS: Now in its 13th season as a member of the Southern Conference, Samford has a record of 53-43 in league games. Last season, the Bulldogs went 4-4 in league contests..
WASHINGTON NAMED WINNER OF CHARLES WILLIAMS MEMORIAL JERSEY: Senior Montrell Washington has been named the 16th recipient of the Charles Williams Memorial Jersey. The jersey, the No. 5, is given each year to a senior leader. The jersey honors former Samford player Charles Williams, who died in a car accident on May 23, 2003.
CHARLES WILLIAMS MEMORIAL JERSEY RECIPIENTS
2005 Ossie Buchannon
2006 T.C. Myers
2007 Jay McCurty
2008 Rodney Shepherd
2009 Jon Weber
2010 Bryce Smith
2011 Sean Thompson
2012 Ryan Dudchock
2013 Justin Shade
2014 Brinson Porter
2015 Carson Barnett
2016 Devon Schmitt
2017 Shaheed Salmon
2018 Tyler Queen
2019 Nick Barton
2021 Montrell Washington
WASHINGTON NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Samford senior Montrell Washington has been selected as a preseason All-American as a punt returner by both HERO Sports and Athlon. Washington returned 15 punts during the 2019 season for an average of 21.9 yards per return. He returned one punt for a 59-yard touchdown late in the first quarter of the team's game at Western Carolina, turning the momentum and helping lead the Bulldogs to a 31-13 win.
HATCHER'S OFFENSES PRODUCE: Through his first five seasons, Samford head coach Chris Hatcher's offenses have averaged more points than under any other head coach in program history. Entering the season, Hatcher's teams have averaged 33.6 points per game, ahead of Bobby Bowden's 28.57 average. The average is also the highest in the SoCon during the last five seasons. Below is a list of the top five head coaches in points per game in school history.
1. Chris Hatcher (2015-Pres.) 33.6
2. Bobby Bowden (1959-62) 28.57
3. Terry Bowden (1987-92) 27.92
4. Bill Gray (2001-06) 25.68
5. Pat Sullivan (2007-14) 25.50
SAMFORD WELCOMES SEVERAL NEW COACHES: The Samford football coaching staff received a major overhaul in the offseason. The defensive side saw the most changes, with Nick Benedetto coming in as the new defensive coordinator. Additionally Kevin Corless was hired as the team's linebackers coach and Alex Garcia will coach the team's defensive tackles. Offensively, Mitch Stewart will serve as the team's offensive coordinator, coaching the wide receivers, while Mack Helms will coach the team's offensive tackles.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: The Samford football team ranked in the top 10 nationally among FCS programs in four categories during the 2019 season. The Bulldogs led the nation in punt returns, averaging 19.4 yards per return. The team ranked second nationally in fewest penalties per game (3.58), third in fewest penalty yards per game (34.0) and seventh in 4th-down conversions (67.6%).
