Game Recap: Bulldogs BACK in the Win Column
To quote Kevin Malone from The Office, βItβs just nice to win one.β The Samford Bulldogs make the long trip up to Lexington and respond after last weekβs loss with a 27-14 win. Neither team scored in the second half but Samford controlled the game throughout as the win moved Samford to 4-4.
A Samford win meant another episode of The Jay Stanton Show with Stanton finishing with 152 yards and two TDs. His two TDs were both 30 plus yards as he excelled against the VMI defense and averaged 7.6 yards a clip. 152 rushing yards is a career high for the senior running back.
We questioned on the State of the Bulldogs Podcast about the health of Samford QB Michael Hiers and he did not look 100%. However, Hiers battled through the pain and was 36-of-47 with 217 yards. Hiers got knocked down on the penultimate Samford possession and got up gingerly. In the ensuing possession after a Samford timeout, he did not look comfortable over on the sideline trying to stretch out that shoulder.
A major credit to Hiers for playing through the pain for his team even with a return to the FCS Playoffs out of reach.
In our game preview, we mentioned that VMI struggled to move the ball on offense but they were able to find the end zone twice. The Keydets had success on the ground with RB Hunter Rice who had 129 yards along with a TD. After giving up 2 first half TDs, the Samford defense responded and held VMI to 0 points in the second half. LB Jaden Mosley led the way with 11 total tackles and LB Noah Martin had 9.
How about the Samford special teams? Samford ran a beautiful fake punt with a snap to DL Joseph Mera. Mera had green grass in front of him and picked up 35 yards. Samford capitalized on the fake ending the drive with the TD. The Bulldogs also blocked a FG.
All in all, was it a perfect game? No, but a win is a win. At this point in the season, every win feels great.
The Samford Bulldogs are back home next week against The Citadel for Homecoming at 2:00.
