BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford football team will travel to Johnson City, Tenn., to take on the ETSU Bucs Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (CT) at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium.
The game can be seen live on ESPN+ with Keith Brake and Mark Hutsell 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 ETSU have met 11 previous times, with Samford owning an 8-3 series lead. Last season, Samford earned a 42-28 win over ETSU at home. The last time the teams played in Johnson City was in 2022 when the Bulldogs pulled out a 55-45 win in an offensive shootout. ETSU’s last win in the series came in 2021 when the Bucs won a 55-48 overtime thriller at Samford.
Last week, Samford opened Southern Conference play with a 27-3 win over VMI at home. In the win, Quincy Crittendon completed 26-of-30 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver E. Jai Mason hauled in seven passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns.
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 194 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 91 that have lasted one minute or less.
SAMFORD ON THE ROAD
This season, Samford has five road game on its football schedule, and the Bulldogs are 0-2 so far in road contests. Last season, the Bulldogs posted a record of 2-3 away from home.
SAMFORD AGAINST TENNESSEE TEAMS
Samford has an all-time record of 92-89-9 against teams from the state of Tennessee, including a mark of 8-3 against Saturday’s opponent, ETSU. Samford has played the following teams from Tennessee: Austin Peay (8-1), Bethel (2-0), Carson-Newman (6-11), Chattanooga (11-34-3), Cumberland (1-0), ETSU (8-3), Knoxville College (1-0), Maryville (6-3-1), Memphis Navy (2-4), Sewanee (8-7-2), Tennessee (0-2), UT Martin (16-4-1), Tennessee State (2-3), Tennessee Tech (14-11), Tennessee Tech “B” Team (1-1), Tennessee Wesleyan (1-2), Union (5-1-1) and Vanderbilt (0-2).
AGAINST SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAMS
Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has posted a record of 72-56 in conference games. All-time against each current members of the SoCon, Samford has a mark of 98-84-4, including an 8-3 record against ETSU. 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 (9-3), Western Carolina (17-4) and Wofford (16-5).
ON THIS DATE
Samford has an all-time record of 4-7 in games played on Oct. 12. The last time the Bulldogs played on Oct. 12 was in 2019, in a 48-41 overtime loss at VMI. In 2013, the Bulldogs earned a 34-10 victory at Appalachian State.
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. He then led the squad with seven tackles against VMI. 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 70 total tackles in his last four games played.
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).
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