Sept. 4, 2002

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford enters its first game against a Division I-A opponent since 2000 with a sense of excitement.

"Our kids know this is an opportunity to test themselves against players at the highest level of college football," said coach Bill Gray. "They're fired up, which is great because they have worked hard to get to this point."

The Bulldogs are trying to make the seemingly daunting task of facing a Big XII team as fun and loose as possible. Equipment manager James Carlson put together a mix of Texas-themed country songs that played at the beginning of Wednesday's practice. The set included Alabama's "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band" and "God Blessed Texas" by Little Texas.

The music served to lighten the mood a bit, but the coaching staff and 67 Bulldog players traveling to Waco are realistic about the game.

Junior running back Fred Gilliam runs through the "Blaster" at practice on Wednesday.

"We know that (Baylor) coach (Kevin) Steele will have his guys ready to play," Gray said. "They want to beat us as bad as they can, especially after what happened last weekend." Baylor lost at the University of California 70-22, but Gray insists he gets no comfort in that fact.

"If anything, it makes our job tougher," Gray said. "They are going to be bigger than us physically, we know that. But we're going to go in with our heads held high and try and make plays."