The following was contributed by Sam Ford, reporter for FSPN. Follow him on Twitter @SamFSPN.

HOMEWOOD, Al. — Anticipation for the kickoff of a new football season was high in F. Page Seibert Stadium yesterday. The Samford fateful have high expectations this season, Head Coach Smamy Ford’s second, following a 7-5 year in which the Bulldogs were not eliminated from ASUN North, now the ASUN Dusk, contention until the very last week of the season. Hopes were high, the crowd was loud, football and joy filled the air. Then, kickoff. Samford had won the toss and deferred to the second half. SIU was a big underdog in this one under first-year Head Coach, Hamb, however, they quickly looked to establish that they were there to win. The Salukis quickly marched down the field with a ruckus crowd behind them the entire way. Then, on SIU’s fourth play from scrimmage, a 69-yard bomb silenced the crowd. SIU had established early dominance and taken a 7-0 lead.

The Bulldogs’ sideline even looked worried, would they be able to answer? Senior leader and pre-season All-ASUN guard, Brock Brockton IV, was seen motivating his team before the ensuing kick. Brockton yelled, “THIS IS OUR YEAR!” Following a kick that was returned to the Samford 20, the Bulldog offense trotted onto the field to a still stunned crowd. The entire world knew what play was coming next… and it did not matter. Jet Sweep. Ty Smoke. 80 Yards. Touchdown. Crowd goes wild. The sensational sophomore and All-ASUN wide receiver took it to the house and there was no looking back. After trailing 7-0, the Bulldogs would go on to score 51 unanswered points, including 34 in the first quarter. Mostly off the legs of the redshirt junior tailback, LaMichael Dyer, who rushed for 174 yards on 12 carries with 3 touchdowns in the first half.

After a 51-7 halftime lead, the starters did not return to the field. However, that did not slow down Samford. The Bulldogs would continue to lay down a barrage of points that would not stop. Back up QB, Ben Benson, would throw a perfect 5 for 5 for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns for an absurd QBR of 318.88. Samford set an ASUN record for most points in a single game and largest margin of victory as they would go on to win 101-21, just 13 points shy of the NFCAA FCS Record. The Samford offense would put up 727 total yards, with 222 coming through the air and 505 on the ground with three backs rushing for 100+ yards. When asked about the game, Samford Head Coach, Smamy, stated, “Nothing but respect for Coach Hamb and SIU. They’re a great team, and today we were fortunate that everything went our way and we were able to make history.”

When asked about what this means for the future of the program, Smamy stated, “Hopefully, it’s a sign of things to come, but who knows. The important thing is we are 1-0 and next week we have Holy Cross. It was a great win, and I’m proud of my boys, but we have 11 games left. We could go 1-11, that’s not our goal. Our goal is to make the playoffs, and that’s what we are focused on.”

Smamy may be right, but this certainly did not curb any expectations in Homewood as they look poised for a great season. In Samford’s two years in the ASUN, they have gone 1-5 and 7-5 last year under Smamy. They have never been ranked in the coach’s poll, something Smamy hopes to change soon, as last season he secured Samford’s first-ever ranking in the Week 12 committee poll at #24. 101 points into the season and Samford suddenly looks set for a great run.

BOX SCORE

TEAM 1st 2nd 3rd 4th FINAL Southern Illinois University 7 0 7 7 21 Samford University 34 17 14 36 101

September 5, 2020, F. Page Seibert Stadium, Homewood, AL, 2:30 PM CST

SAMFORD UNIVERSITY BOX SCORE

PASSING

Pos./Name Completions Attempts Completion % Yards TD INT QBR QB Nick Nix 10 15 66.67 131 2 0 184.03 QB Ben Benson 5 5 100 91 1 0 318.88 TOTAL 15 20 75 222 3 0 323.65

RUSHING

Pos./Name Carries Yards YPR TD Fumbles Long 20+ Yard Rush HB LaMichael Dyer 12 174 14.5 3 0 61 3 HB James McGrady 6 104 17.33 2 0 62 1 HB Judge Law 6 101 16.83 2 0 58 2 WR Ty Smoke 1 80 80 1 0 80 1 QB Ben Benson 4 25 6.25 1 0 20 1 QB Nick Nix 3 7 233 1 0 8 0 FB John Jon Jr. 4 8 2 0 0 3 0 HB Andrew Anderson 4 6 1.5 0 0 2 0 TOTAL 40 505 12.63 10 0 80 9

Receiving

Pos./Name Receptions Yards YPC TD Drop WR Blake Brooks 1 80 80 1 0 HB Ty Smoke 4 60 15 1 0 WR Orlando Champagne 2 35 17.5 1 1 WR AJ Jones 3 23 7.67 0 0 TE Phillip Wozniak 2 15 7.5 0 0 HB LaMichael Dyer 3 9 3 0 0 TOTAL 15 222 14.8 3 1

Defense

Pos./Name Tackles TFL Sacks FF Int TD PBU LB Will Westlake 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 CB Tyson Wiliams 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 DE Co Vid 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 FS Kyler Hand 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 CB Shad Sanders 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 LB Lloyd Bryant 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 SS Kyle Hand 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 DT Morris McBay 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 DT Cole Constantino 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 LB Juan Rodriguez 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 DE Dennis Duckett 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 CB Ed DuCation 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 FS Jalen Thorne 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 LB Frank Franks 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 LB Silo Jones 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 SS Doug Lowe 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 DT Randall Cornelius 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 CB Adonis Apollo 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 SS Chandler Rowe 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTAL 39 6 5 2 1 1 6

Kicking

Pos./Name FG FG% PAT PAT% Long K Vince Vinson 1/1 100 12/13 92.3 50 TOTAL 1/1 100 12/13 92.3 50