Sept. 16, 2002

Samford worked out Monday evening in Seibert Stadium. The Bulldogs returned to the practice field after falling to Nicholls State last Saturday. Samford hosts UT-Martin Saturday night at 6 p.m. in their second straight home game.

"We went out on a rainy day and began to correct the mistakes that we made Saturday," head coach Bill Gray said. "We made enough mistakes where we could have stayed out there all night correcting them. But at the same time, we're not going to be gloomy because of the weather or what happened Saturday. We're going to bounce back and work hard this week."

The Bulldogs will have their hands full with a UT-Martin team that is averaging 226 rushing yards per game. The Skyhawks are off to their best start at 2-1 since 1995.

"UT-Martin has got the best personnel they've had in a long time. They're off to a roaring start and have played three games at home. They've got a new building plan going on up there and they're excited," Gray said. "It's going to be a big challenge for our kids. We're also going to count this as a conference game for our kids. I know we're not in the OVC yet, but I've already told the seniors and the whole team that this is our first conference game. We're ready to win our first conference game."

The Bulldogs will continue to put in their game plan for the Skyhawks over the next three days. Defensively, Samford looks to get better after allowing 287 rushing yards to Nicholls State triple option attack.

"We have played hard every week. Now, we have to start executing and that's what I told our kids. It wasn't a question of whether we've been playing but it's been a question of our execution," Gray said. "We've got to start executing. We've continued to make mistakes that we can't afford to make."

Samford will practice Tuesday through Thursday starting at 3:45 p.m. on the school's practice fields. The Bulldogs will go through a walk-through Friday afternoon in Seibert Stadium.