The Samford Bulldogs (0-1) will take on Florida (0-1) inside The Swamp on Saturday, September 9th at 7:00 pm est. Week two’s matchup marks the fourth all-time meeting between Florida and Samford and the first since 2021, where the Gators defeated the Bulldogs 72-50 in true shootout fashion.
Florida is 23-1 vs. FCS teams dating back to 1981, with the lone loss coming against Georgia Southern in 2013. The Gators have outscored their opponents in those 24 games by an average margin of 38.8 points.
Chris Hatcher’s squad lost to West Georgia 38-29 in week one despite outgaining the Wolves 465-456.
Gator Country gives you three Samford Bulldogs to watch vs Florida in week two.
R-JR QB Quincy Crittendon #2
Florida is set to face their second dual threat QB in as many weeks as redshirt junior Quincy Crittendon will start for Samford against Florida.
The 5’11, 200-pound quarterback started his collegiate career as a scout team QB with the Bulldogs in 2021 and redshirted. In 2022, Crittendon played in five games including one start, completing 38-of-63 passes for 413 yards and four touchdowns while rushing 29 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns. In 2023, Crittendon appeared in seven games, completing six of 10 passes for 72 yards.
Crittendon made just his second career start against West Geogia last week, completing 24-of-41 passes for 307 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. His performance last week marked the second time Crittendon has surpassed the 300-yard passing mark in his career. The dual-threat QB also rushed 19 times for 90 yards and two scores in week one.
Samford will utilize designed runs with Crittendon just about anywhere on the field, whether that’s on the goal line or on 3rd and long situations. Samford will also frequently utilize read option’s and RPOs. In the passing game, Samford likes to get the ball out quickly to their playmakers in space. There’re not many deep concepts in the playbook, but Crittendon has the athleticism to extend the play with his legs while keeping his eyes downfield to make ‘off schedule’ throws.
SR LB Noah Martin #5
Senior linebacker Noah Martin is probably the best player on Samford’s roster. In four seasons at Samford, Martin has tallied 37 starts and holds a laundry list of career accolades, including 2021 Spring SoCon All-Freshman Team, 2023 First Team All-SoCon,
2023 AP Third Team All-American, and 2023 FCS Football Central All-American.
In 2023, Martin led the Bulldog defense with 109 total tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss while ranking second on the squad with 3.5 sacks. The 6’2, 232-pound graduate student became the first Bulldog since 2019 to record triple digit tackles and led all SoCon defenders in tackles.
Martin was named to the 2024 preseason All Southern Conference First-Team Defense.
SO WR Brendan Jenkins #12
WR Brendan Jenkins made an immediate impact as a true freshman in 2023, appearing in all 11 games including eight starts while ranking second on the team with 41 receptions. Jenkins hauled in 312 receiving yards and four touchdowns as a rookie, earning 2023 SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2023.
The 6’1, 200-pound WR led Samford in receiving a week ago, snagging four receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown.