Bulldogs Start Fast, Beat VMI 27-3
After longer layoff between football games, Samford was finally ready to hit someone else. In their Southern Conference opener, the Bulldogs left no doubt in giving the VMI Keydets their fifth straight home loss, 27-3.
Samford played complementary football with the defense holding VMI to just 131 yards of total offense. On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs offense finished with 312 yards of total offense.
The Samford defense did not let the VMI rushing attack get going either. VMI RB Hunter Rice was limited to just 58 rushing yards and the Keydets just rushed for 1.4 yards a carry. The attacking Bulldogs defense was doing just that all afternoon.
Through two home games, the Samford defense has only allowed two scoring drives against Alabama State and VMI today. Samford head coach Chris Hatcher was very pleased with the effort defensively.
βThey are playing really well on that side of the football,β said Hatcher. βThen that kind of changed the game plan a little bit there in the fourth quarter. As good as they were playing on that last drive, the six minute drive that ended in a field goal for the final margin of victory was big, especially the way we were playing defense. Weβre going to have to be able to do that in close games down the stretch."
LB Noah Martin led the team with seven total tackles and half a tackle for loss. S CJ Douglas and LB Jaden Mosley also finished with six total tackles.
We have always been told that nothing good happens after midnight, well it might be time to adjust that. Samford S Midnight Steward had a second half interception which almost resulted in six points for Samford.
Back to the offense, Samford QB Quincy Crittendon was decisive and accurate. Crittendon finished 26-of-30 with 196 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Against VMI, he had complete control of the offense and made the correct decisions. Crittendon had some great throws and completed passes to eight different receivers.
Crittendon also believed that he is becoming more comfortable being the starter and leading this offense.
βSomeone asked me if I was nervous, I told them no I was just ready to playβ, said Crittendon. It has been awhile since we played, coming out here and having fun is the main thing. So once you do that, all the worries go out the window.β
Samford head coach Chris Hatcher felt that Crittendon controlled the offense and made the right decisions.
βWe went back and just ran base playsβ, said Hatcher. βHe executed them really well, of course heβs got to play well for us to be successful. We (on offense) caught the ball well, we ran it, and more importantly we made a lot of yards after contact there on the perimeter.β
WR E. Jai Mason had his best day in a Samford uniform finishing with 76 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Those 76 yards were the most from Mason since transferring into Samford last season.
In the second half, Samford played more conservatively on offense knowing that VMI did not have the offensive firepower to keep up. This is exactly what Samford needed off of this long stretch of not playing.
When teams are playing complementary football, they are almost unstoppable. Samford did exactly that against VMI. Then as the saying goes. Good teams win while great teams cover.
Samford moves to 1-0 in SoCon play and 2-2 overall. Next up is at ETSU, who had their bye week this week.
