Football 10.18.23

Samford Football Heads To VMI On Saturday For SoCon Contest

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the penultimate road game of the season, the Samford football team looks to get back in the win column as the Bulldogs head north for a showdown with the Keydets of VMI.

The ever-important Southern Conference game is slated for a 12:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium in Lexington, Virginia. Saturday's contest will be streamed on ESPN+.

For this week's complete game notes, click here.

Last time out, the Samford Bulldogs fell 27-21 to the No. 5 Furman Paladins in the debut game of the newly renamed Pete Hanna Stadium. Jerry Rice Award Watch List member caught a pair of touchdown passes from Michael Hiers in the defeat, while Noah Martin tied his career-high with 13 tackles.

Samford and VMI are meeting for the 11th time in program history. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 7-3, but the Keydets' trio of wins have all come since 2019. After winning the first six meetings between the SoCon squads, Samford has not won a game in Lexington since 2017.

Jenkins Named To The Jerry Rice Award Watch List
Freshman wide receiver Brendan Jenkins has been named to the Jerry Award Watch List. The award is given annually to the best freshman at the FCS level. Jenkins is one of 22 freshmen on the watch list and the only member from the Southern Conference. On the season, Jenkins has 28 catches for 229 yards and a quartet of touchdowns. Jenkins' four touchdowns rank him tied for first among freshman wideouts in the country.

Slippery Smith
Graduate student Chandler Smith has proven to be one of the more elusive offensive weapons in the country as Smith ranks 10th nationally averaging 13.4 yards per punt return. Smith's average is only bested by Mercer's Devron Harper, who has an average of 16.3.

Behind Enemy Lines
Entering the contest with VMI, Bulldog linebacker Noah Martin leads the SoCon with 11 tackles for loss. The next closest defender has nine TFLs. Entering the season, Martin only had 16 TFLs throughout his three-year career as a Bulldog. Martin also ranks sixth in the country with 43 solo tackles.

A Hiers Ran Nation-State
Graduate Student quarterback Michael Hiers has been stacking the yards over the first half of the season. Entering the Furman games, Hiers has thrown for 2,059 yards which is good enough to lead all the FCS and is the most yards by a Division I quarterback in the football-crazed state of Alabama.

On this Date
Samford has an all-time record of 7-7 in games played on Oct. 21 with the first game being played in 1911 against Clemson. The last time that the Bulldogs played on Oct. 21 was a 24-21 win over No. 5 Wofford in 2017.

Stanton Leaving His Mark
Despite the #HatchAttack offense being synonymous with throwing the ball all over the field, senior running back Jay Stanton has shot to leave Samford as the second-best rusher in program history. After rushing for 690 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022 and 438 yards over the first seven games of the season, Stanton needs 169 yards on the ground to surpass Jerome Russell's 3,122 yards for the second-most career rushing yards. Chris Evans holds the Bulldog record with 4,575.

Hatcher's Offenses Produce
Through his first eight 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 34.53 points per game, ahead of Bobby Bowden's 28.57 average. Terry Bowden (1987-1992) averaged 27.92 points per game during his tenure while Bill Gray (2001-06 / 25.68) and Pat Sullivan (2007-14 / 25.50) round out the top five.

Putting Up Points
Over the last eight seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 49 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 28 times, and at least 50 points a total of 14 times.

Quick Strikes
In eight seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, Samford has made a habit of quick scoring drives. In Hatcher's time at Samford, Samford has had 187 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 85 that have lasted one minute or less.

Samford Against Virginia Teams
Samford has an all-time record of 14-14 against teams from the Commonwealth of Virginia, including a mark of 7-3 against Saturday's opponent, VMI.

Samford Against Southern Conference Teams
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has posted a record of 69-53 in conference games. All-time against each current members of the SoCon, Samford has a mark of 95-83-4, including a 14-13-1 record against Mercer. Samford's all-time record against each current SoCon team is: Chattanooga (11-34-3), The Citadel (9-7), ETSU (8-3), Furman (12-14), Mercer (15-13-1), VMI (7-3), Western Carolina (17-4) and Wofford (16-5).

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).

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Players Mentioned

#32 Noah Martin: LB; 6' 1"; Junior

#0 Chandler Smith: WR; 5' 10"; Senior

#20 Jay Stanton: RB; 6' 0"; Senior

#10 Michael Hiers: QB; 6' 1"; Junior

#84 Brendan Jenkins: WR; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#32 Noah Martin
: 6' 1"; Junior
: LB

#0 Chandler Smith
: 5' 10"; Senior
: WR

#20 Jay Stanton
: 6' 0"; Senior
: RB

#10 Michael Hiers
: 6' 1"; Junior
: QB

#84 Brendan Jenkins
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: WR

Samford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned