GAME NOTES: SAMFORD AT WCU
 
GAME DAY CENTRAL

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team will travel to Cullowhee, N.C., to open Southern Conference play against Western Carolina Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (CT) at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
 
The game can be seen live on ESPN+ at the following link: WATCH LIVE. Fans can also follow the game online at the following link: LIVE STATS.
 
Samford enters the game with a mark of 1-1 after a 33-27 loss at UT Martin last Saturday. Western Carolina is currently 0-2 following a 76-0 loss at No. 4-FBS Oklahoma.
 
Samford and Western Carolina are meeting for the 19th time, with Samford holding a 15-3 series lead. The squads last met on Feb. 27, 2021, with Samford earning a 55-27 win at Seibert Stadium. Since Samford joined the SoCon in 2008, the Bulldogs are 11-2 against the Catamounts. The programs first met in 1969, with WCU taking a 47-13 win at Seibert Stadium. 
 
CREATING TAKEAWAYS
The Samford defense continued its trend of creating takeaways in last Saturday's game at UT Martin. The Bulldogs caused five turnovers by the Skyhawks, three interceptions and two fumbles. Ty Herring, Hakeem Johnson and Lamar Anderson had an interception each, with Herring returning his 61 yards for a touchdown. Dakota Chapman and Nick Jackson each recovered a fumble for the Bulldogs.
 
PUTTING UP POINTS
Over the last six-plus seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 35 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 20 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, Samford has had 143 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 65 that have lasted one minute or less.
 
EDMONDS STRIKES AGAIN
During the 2021 spring season, Samford safety Chris Edmonds led the SoCon and tied for third nationally in total interceptions with four. Edmonds picked up where he left off in the team's season opener on Sept. 2, picking off a pass on the final play of the third quarter and returning it to the Tennessee Tech two-yard line.
 
EAST HAS A BIG DAY
In last week's game at UT Martin, graduate linebacker Nathan East turned in a big performance. He led the team with 13 tackles, including seven solo stops. For the season, he leads the team and is tied for the SoCon lead with 21 tackles.
 
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 NORTH CAROLINA TEAMS
Samford has an all-time record of 37-22-1 against teams from the state of North Carolina, including a mark of 15-3 against Saturday's opponent, Western Carolina. Saturday's game marks the lone game on Samford's 2021 schedule in the state of North Carolina.
 
SAMFORD AGAINST SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAMS
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has posted a record of 56-45 in conference games. All-time against each current members of the SoCon, Samford has a mark of 82-75-4, including a 15-3 record against Western Carolina. Samford's all-time record against each current SoCon team is: Chattanooga (10-32-3), The Citadel (7-7), ETSU (6-2), Furman (11-12), Mercer (14-12-1), VMI (6-2), Western Carolina (15-3) and Wofford (13-5).
 
WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE
So far this season, Samford has won the turnover battle in both of its first two games. For the season, Samford is tied for the Southern Conference lead with a +4-turnover margin.
 
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 11 different receivers, throwing touchdown passes to four different receivers. Montrell Washington leads the group with 12 catches for 200 yards and one touchdown. 
 
THE LAST TIME AGAINST WCU
Samford and Western Carolina last met on Feb. 27, 2021, with Samford earning a 55-27 win at Seibert Stadium. In the win for Samford, quarterback Liam Welch passed for 311 yards and two touchdowns. Jay Stanton rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown. Chris Edmonds and Coutrell Plair had an interception each to lead the Samford defense.
 
FINDING DIFFERENT WAYS TO SCORE
In each of Samford's first two games, the Bulldogs have scored a non-offensive touchdown. In the season opener against Tennessee Tech, Montrell Washington returned a punt for a touchdown, and Ty Herring had an interception return for a touchdown last week at UT Martin.
 
ON THIS DATE
Samford has an all-time record of 4-0 in games played on Sept. 18. The last time the Bulldogs played a game on the date was in 1999, a 32-7 win over UT Martin. The first time a Samford football team played on the date was in 1965 when the Bulldogs earned a 37-6 win over Troy.
 
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).