Sept. 11, 2001

Saturday's game features teams trying to rebound from losses in their last games, Samford a 28-14 home loss to Chattanooga, and Tennessee Tech a 42-0 decision at Air Force.

Samford is led by junior quarterback Josh Kellett, who completed 20 of 38 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns against UTC. Sophomore Fred Gilliam leads the Bulldogs' injury-riddled backfield with 65 yards on 15 attempts, and converted tailback Gary Reed is the leading receiver with 10 catches for 61 yards. Samford's big-play receiver Aryvia Holmes snagged four balls for 34 yards and a score in the last game. Samford's offense will need to be more consistent to avoid droughts like the one in the second half against UTC when it could not achieve a first down in the third quarter. Tech's strength is its offense, so the Bulldog defense must tackle better to combat the Golden Eagle talent.

Tennessee Tech returns 10 offensive starters from last year's record-setting unit. The Golden Eagles are led by senior quarterback Grant Swallows, who has completed 27 of 41 passes for 293 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Sophomore Oscar Bonds is TTU's leading rusher with 155 yards on 26 attempts with one score, surpassing the talented Walter Payton Trophy-candidate Travis Rogers. Other players to watch for the Golden Eagles are returning All-OVC players, DE D.J. Bleisath, C Joey Bishop and K David Collett.

Samford has won two of the last three meetings, including a 19-15 win in Birmingham. TTU won last year's contest 29-0 in Cookeville.

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