Thursday, September 3
Birmingham, Ala.
6 PM
Samford University
vs
Southern Illinois
Bulldogs Host Salukis For Home Opener
9.2.26 | Football
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team returns home tomorrow night to host Southern Illinois for its second game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside Pete Hanna Stadium as Coach John Grass leads his Bulldog side at home for the first time as Samford and Southern Illinois meet for the first time ever.
The Dogs are coming off a 22-10 defeat against North Alabama in Huntsville on Saturday. Gabarri Johnson got the start and played throughout for the Bulldogs as quarterback after having an open competition in camp. He went 19-for-33 passing with 245 yards and one touchdown. The Samford passing game looked explosive at times as Johnson connected with Marquise Henderson on an 86-yard touchdown and another 40-plus-yard catch.
The issue for the Bulldogs came at the line of scrimmage, as they ran for -8 yards on 25 rushes against UNA. Johnson was sacked six times for a loss of 44 yards. Safety Jalen Nelson led the way with 14 tackles for the Bulldogs, 10 solo, which was a game-high. Fellow safeties Lashon Young and Noah Holten had eight and seven tackles, respectively.
Southern Illinois opened the season ranked but fell on their opening night last Thursday at West Florida, 34-31. The Salukis outgained their opening opponents but threw three interceptions as they were forced to a backup quarterback early on the night. SIU was selected to finish sixth in a strong nine-team Missouri Valley Football Conference.
The game can be seen on ESPN+ and live stats can be followed with links here.
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).
The Dogs are coming off a 22-10 defeat against North Alabama in Huntsville on Saturday. Gabarri Johnson got the start and played throughout for the Bulldogs as quarterback after having an open competition in camp. He went 19-for-33 passing with 245 yards and one touchdown. The Samford passing game looked explosive at times as Johnson connected with Marquise Henderson on an 86-yard touchdown and another 40-plus-yard catch.
The issue for the Bulldogs came at the line of scrimmage, as they ran for -8 yards on 25 rushes against UNA. Johnson was sacked six times for a loss of 44 yards. Safety Jalen Nelson led the way with 14 tackles for the Bulldogs, 10 solo, which was a game-high. Fellow safeties Lashon Young and Noah Holten had eight and seven tackles, respectively.
Southern Illinois opened the season ranked but fell on their opening night last Thursday at West Florida, 34-31. The Salukis outgained their opening opponents but threw three interceptions as they were forced to a backup quarterback early on the night. SIU was selected to finish sixth in a strong nine-team Missouri Valley Football Conference.
The game can be seen on ESPN+ and live stats can be followed with links here.
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).
Players Mentioned
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