Know Your Foe: ETSU Bucs
2024 record: 3-3 (1-1 SoCon)
Last week: L vs Chattanooga, 17-10
Head Coach: Tre Lamb (1st season)
Last Meeting: Samford W, 42-28 (2023)
Spread: ETSU -5.5, Total: 54.5
TV: ESPN+
Kick Off: 2:30pm CT
Fun Fact: Chris Hatcher once recruited ETSU head coach Tre Lamb during Lamb’s recruitment as a player.
Samford was back to playing football last week and handled business. The Bulldogs started fast and VMI could not keep up with Samford securing the 27-3 home win. The Samford defense limited the VMI rushing attack to just 1.4 yards a carry. Then the Samford offense tallied over 300 total yards and QB Quincy Crittendon just had four incompletions on 30 attempts.
Now it is time to go on the road for the first time in Southern Conference play. The next challenger is the ETSU Buccaneers who might as well just be called the Gardner-Webb Bucs. ETSU head coach Tre Lamb, who is in his first season in Johnson City, brought over 23 transfers from Gardner-Webb.
ETSU has had an up-and-down season to this point which is as to be expected with a first year head coach. They took now #2 North Dakota State to the wire in week three. Two weeks later they spent the night on their bus en route to The Citadel during Hurricane Helene and went on to beat The Citadel the next day.
Both teams know that this game is very important. For Samford, it will mean a 2-0 start in SoCon play before hosting Mercer who sits atop the SoCon standings. For ETSU, it would be a great bounce back opportunity after the close loss to Chattanooga.
Let’s dive into the ETSU Bucs and what Samford can expect from them.
ETSU struggled on offense last week only scoring 10 points and being held to just 225 total yards against Chattanooga. By his own admission, ETSU head coach Tre Lamb, as the offensive play caller, said he called “one of the worst games of his career.”
ETSU does sit atop the Southern Conference in total yards per game with 412 and 231 rushing yards per game.
However, the Bucs did have just over 100 passing yards between starting QB Jaylen King and backup QB Gino English against Chattanooga. Both quarterbacks transferred in from Gardner-Webb this offseason.
English replaced King and finished three-for-eight with 57 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Lamb said it will be an open competition this week for who will start behind center against Samford.
The starter has been Gardner-Webb transfer Jaylen King. In six games, he has thrown for over 857 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. He has also ran for 240 yards and three touchdowns. King has completed just 52% of his passes.
One player for this Bucs offense that Samford is very familiar with is RB Bryson Irby. The senior running back was ETSU’s leading rusher in 2023. When these teams met last season, Irby ran for 126 yards and three touchdowns.
This season, Irby is off to another great start with 515 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He ran for just 35 yards last week but does have two games with over 120 rushing yards and one with 96 yards. His 7.3 yards per carry ranks 10th in the FCS this season.
TE Cameron Lewis leads the team in receiving yards with 207 yards and two touchdowns. At WR, watch out for Gardner-Webb transfer AJ Johnson who had 70 yards along with a touchdown in the loss to Chattanooga.
The ETSU defense did play well enough last week to win against Chattanooga. The two UTC TDs happened in the second half. They did allow almost 400 yards of total offense but ETSU has only allowed the second fewest yards (338.5) per game in the SoCon.
This side of the ball is led by, yes you guessed it, a Gardner-Webb transfer. LB William McRainey leads the Bucs defense in total tackles with 39. McRainey was a member of multiple preseason All-SoCon teams. He had 12 tackles against Chattanooga and also has 4.0 tackles for loss on the season. McRainey is the Noah Martin of this ETSU defense.
Two Alabama natives are tied for second in total tackles in LB Ray Coney and DB Chris Hope. Coney from Fairfield High School and Hope from James Clemons High School each have 38 total tackles.
Ray leads the defense in tackles for loss with 6.5. The Bucs as a unit lead the SoCon with PBUs with 28 so this defense will cover well and challenge pass catchers.
Samford has a challenge ahead of them against ETSU in what could be a defensive battle. Both defenses are playing well so it will be a matter of which offense plays better. Lamb mentioned in his weekly press conference that he and Samford head coach Chris Hatcher probably expected to be scoring more points.
The main key will be whichever team’s offense plays up to their potential and keeps the opponent’s defense on the field longer. Every game is a must win but Samford would be set up nicely if they get this win before hosting Mercer next weekend.
October is when we find out what teams are made of. It’s time for Samford to take this show on the road.
