2008 Woodie Awards
These are not the same old Bulldogs
Ben Hankins
Issue date: 9/12/07 Section: Sports
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All right, so Samford got beat up by those pesky bees from Georgia Tech this weekend. I bet you're thinking, "Here we go again!" OVC cellar coming through, right?
Oh, ye of little faith.
The fact of the matter is, this isn't the same old "roll over and play dead" Samford football club. Sure the score sounds pretty abominable, and the Bulldogs did take a thumping, but let's be positive.
Believe it or not, it could have been a lot worse.
Tech Head Coach Chan Gaily didn't have to bench his starters during the entire second half, and Samford didn't have to keep all of its starters in the game. Sullivan said after the game that he chose to keep the Bulldog starters in the game in order to build confidence.
I think it worked.
The Bulldog offense was also able to finish strong with two touchdowns late in the second half. That's two more touchdowns than last year. Also note that Samford's 14 points out-matched the Samford offense in its last two chances against Tech combined.
You also can't forget that Samford played, without a doubt, the best team on its schedule. Not only that, they played and scored against a team featuring one of the most unearthly defenses in the country. The Dogs also got up-close and personal with a likely Heisman trophy candidate in Tashard Choice, who is illusory to say the least.
So how, you may ask, can all these ferocious encounters be considered a good thing? Can something constructive possibly be derived from complete annihilation?
Just out of curiosity, let's take a look at Samford's 2007 schedule. Now let's find a team on the radar that's half as good as Georgia Tech.
Still looking?
Bottom line: Samford received much more than a $250,000 pay-out this weekend. The supernatural forces that knocked the Bulldogs cold on Saturday can now be inscribed in the season resume.
"They were by far the best team we'll play this year," senior quarterback Jefferson Adcock said. "Every team we face for the rest of the season, we can look back at this game and say, 'We put up a few points against one of the best teams in the nation.'"
Oh, ye of little faith.
The fact of the matter is, this isn't the same old "roll over and play dead" Samford football club. Sure the score sounds pretty abominable, and the Bulldogs did take a thumping, but let's be positive.
Believe it or not, it could have been a lot worse.
Tech Head Coach Chan Gaily didn't have to bench his starters during the entire second half, and Samford didn't have to keep all of its starters in the game. Sullivan said after the game that he chose to keep the Bulldog starters in the game in order to build confidence.
I think it worked.
The Bulldog offense was also able to finish strong with two touchdowns late in the second half. That's two more touchdowns than last year. Also note that Samford's 14 points out-matched the Samford offense in its last two chances against Tech combined.
You also can't forget that Samford played, without a doubt, the best team on its schedule. Not only that, they played and scored against a team featuring one of the most unearthly defenses in the country. The Dogs also got up-close and personal with a likely Heisman trophy candidate in Tashard Choice, who is illusory to say the least.
So how, you may ask, can all these ferocious encounters be considered a good thing? Can something constructive possibly be derived from complete annihilation?
Just out of curiosity, let's take a look at Samford's 2007 schedule. Now let's find a team on the radar that's half as good as Georgia Tech.
Still looking?
Bottom line: Samford received much more than a $250,000 pay-out this weekend. The supernatural forces that knocked the Bulldogs cold on Saturday can now be inscribed in the season resume.
"They were by far the best team we'll play this year," senior quarterback Jefferson Adcock said. "Every team we face for the rest of the season, we can look back at this game and say, 'We put up a few points against one of the best teams in the nation.'"
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