Get to Know Samford:
- Location: Homewood, Alabama
- Established: 1841
- Enrollment: 6,324
- Mascot: Bulldogs
- Colors: Blue and red
- Conference: Southern
What You Need to Know:
- Texas A&M is 10-0 (7-0) and ranked No. 3 in the country. This is the first time A&M has started a season 10-0 since 1992 (they went 12-0 that season) and the first time they’ve won seven conference games since joining the SEC.
- Samford is 1-10 (1-7) and is playing their season finale on Saturday. Their lone win came against VMI, who is 1-10 themselves and had their only win against a Div. III school.
- When A&M has the ball, they’ll take their No. 19 rushing offense and No. 42 passing offense against a Gamecock defense ranked No. 83 against the run and No. 32 against the pass.
- When South Carolina has the ball, their No. 128 rushing offense and No. 104 passing offense will face an A&M defense ranked No. 43 against the pass and No. 31 against the pass.
Betting Lines:
- No betting info this week, as sportsbooks traditionally don’t put out numbers for games against FCS opponents.
Historical Notes:
- Texas A&M and Samford have never played each other in football
- The most obvious connection between the two schools is that the Aggies hired away Samford’s basketball coach, Bucky McMillan, this past spring.
- Famous Samford alumni include Bobby Bowden, Jimbo Fisher and a bunch of people I’ve never heard of.
What To Watch For:
- Backups. All due respect to Samford, but this definitely feels like a game where the starters play the first half and then you get the backups/seniors some reps. If it’s not, heaven help us.
- Other games. With the Aggies (and a good chunk of the SEC) playing cupcakes, it’s a good time to see what’s going on around the rest of the country. USC at Oregon, Pitt at Georgia Tech and BYU at Cincinnati all have pretty significant Playoff implications. Also feel free to pop over to Mizzou at Oklahoma during the commercial breaks of the A&M game to see if we can get an unexpected strength of schedule boost.
- Traditional uniform combo? As crazy as it seems, Texas A&M has only worn their tradition maroon helmet/maroon jersey/white pants combo one time this season (against Utah State). With this being the final home game, certainly we see a return to form there, right?
Media Blitz:
- Venue: Kyle Field (College Station, TX)
- Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22
- TV: ESPN+/SEC Network+
Weather:
- Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Thunder possible. High 76F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
