Coming off their final Southern Conference game of the season in which they secured a 31-13 win over the Catamounts of Western Carolina, the Samford Bulldogs will head into what will be their final game of the season, as well as their biggest test.
Traveling to Jordan-Hare Stadium on any given Saturday to face the Auburn Tigers is no easy task for any team. After coming off a 21-14 home loss to No. 4 Georgia, the Tigers come into the matchup ranked No. 16 with a record of 7-3 overall (5-3 SEC).
Auburn is clearly out of both the SEC championship race as well as College Football Playoff conversation after many considered them to be a dark horse contender, with an offense full of potential and one of the most dominant defenses that no one talked about. The Tigers will be looking to take their frustration out on the Bulldogs from Birmingham before head-ing into their meeting with Alabama in the Iron Bowl.
On offense for the Tigers, one of their biggest questions heading into the season was the quarterback position. With Jarrett Stidham moving on to the NFL and a lack of experience on the roster, coach Gus Malzahn went with true freshman Bo Nix.
That decision proved to be productive, as Nix
The Bulldogs will be searching for an SEC upset to finish the 2019 season.
Brown having four sacks and nine tackles for loss, while Davidson leads the team with 6.5 sacks and ten tackles for loss. Other key contributors in this stacked unit include senior cornerback Jeremiah Dinson, senior defensive back Daniel Thomas and junior linebacker KJ Britt. This unit ranks fourth in the SEC in scoring defense and 13th in the nation.
Nix’s main targets have been sophomore receiver Seth Williams (48 catches for 680 yards), sophomore receiver Anthony Schwartz (30 catches for 351 yards) and junior Eli Stove (30 catches for 267).
All three have contributed to Nix’s development as well as the offense’s ability to be successful in both the screen game and downfield passing.
On the ground for the Tigers, sophomore running back Jatarvious “Boobee” Whitlow leads the team in rushing with 124 carries for 576 yards and seven touchdowns as the team’s featured back. Also contributing
run game this season have been Nix, freshman DJ Williams, and senior Kam Martin. Williams and Martin, with 329 and 293 yards respectively, each serve as change-of-pace backs to spell Whitlow.
The defense for the Tigers has beenone of the best in the country this sea-son, both statistically and by pure eye test. The unit boasts multiple future NFL Draft picks as well as up and coming stars.
It all starts
Whether it’s Oladokun or Welch at the helm for the Bulldogs, expect them to be under a good bit of pres-sure as the Tigers love to get after the quarterback and wreak havoc with opposing offenses. The game is set for an 11 a.m. (CST) kickoff and will air on the SEC Network. It can also be streamed live on ESPN+.
Collin is a sports writer for The Crimson. He is a senior finance major.
