GAME NOTES--SAMFORD VS. VMI (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team will play host to the VMI Keydets in the Southern Conference opener for both teams Saturday at 2 p.m. at Pete Hanna Stadium.
 
The game can be seen live on ESPN+ with Blake Gardner, Damian Mitchell and Justin Stuckey calling the action. For links to follow all of Samford's games this season, click here: 2024 SCHEDULE.
 
For a full set of this week's game notes click here: GAME NOTES.
 
Samford and VMI are meeting for the 12th time, with Samford owning an 8-3 series lead. Last season, Samford earned a 27-14 win over VMI in Lexington, Va. Since VMI entered the SoCon in 2014, Samford is 7-3 against the Keydets. The only meeting prior to being conference foes came in 2001, with Samford earning a 46-28 win at VMI.
 
HATCHER'S OFFENSES PRODUCE
Through the last nine-plus seasons, Samford head coach Chris Hatcher's offenses have averaged more points than under any other head coach in program history. Entering the week, Hatcher's teams have averaged 33.39 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 nine-plus seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 50 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 the nine-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 192 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 90 that have lasted one minute or less.
 
SAMFORD IN SOCON OPENERS
Samford has an all-time record of 6-10 in Southern Conference openers since joining the league in 2008. The Bulldogs are 2-5 when opening SoCon play on the road. This is only the second time that Samford has played Furman for its first league game, with the first time coming in 2012, with Samford earning a 24-21 win at Pete Hanna Stadium. Under head coach Chris Hatcher, Samford is 3-6 in SoCon openers.
 
SAMFORD AGAINST VIRGINIA TEAMS
Samford has an all-time record of 14-10 against teams from the state of Virginia, including a mark of 8-3 against Saturday's opponent, VMI. Samford has played the following teams from Virginia: Emory & Henry (1-4), Ferrum (1-0), James Madison (1-0), Liberty (2-2), VMI (8-3), Washington & Lee (0-1) and William & Mary (1-0).
 
SAMFORD AGAINST SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAMS
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has posted a record of 71-56 in conference games. All-time against each current members of the SoCon, Samford has a mark of 97-84-4, including an 8-3 record against VMI. Samford's all-time record against each current SoCon team is Chattanooga (11-34-3), The Citadel (10-7), ETSU (8-3), Furman (12-14), Mercer (15-14-1), VMI (8-3), Western Carolina (17-4) and Wofford (16-5).
 
ON THIS DATE
Samford has an all-time record of 6-11-1 in games played on Oct. 5. The last time the Bulldogs played on Oct. 5 was in 2019, in a 58-14 loss to a highly-ranked Furman team. In 2013, Samford earned a 44-34 win over Georgia Southern on Oct. 5.
 
MISTER MARTIN
Noah Martin, a consensus first team All-SoCon defender in 2023, led the SoCon with 109 and became the first Bulldog defender to eclipse 100 tackles since John Staton had 115 in 2019. Martin's 109 tackles were good enough to rank him 13th nationally.
 
Heading into the 2024 season, Martin was named a preseason All-American by FCS Football Central, Stats Perform and Phil Steele while landing on the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List.
 
Martin picked up right where he left off in 2023 with a game-high 11 tackles in each of the first three games against West Georgia, Florida and Alabama State. With these performances, Martin became the first Bulldog defender in the Hatcher era to open the season with three-straight double-digit tackle games. Dating back to last season, the Chattanooga native has 63 total tackles in his last four games played.
 
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