Aug. 23, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team practiced for about two hours in shells in a steady rain Saturday morning at Seibert Stadium.

The Bulldogs are continuing to prepare for their season-opener, scheduled for Thursday evening against the University of West Georgia.

"We went in the morning and we will give them the afternoon off," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "We will go to church tomorrow morning and have weights in the afternoon. It will be game time before you know it."

Sullivan said he has been impressed with what he has seen from Samford's opening opponent, West Georgia.

"We know West Georgia has a lot of new players," Sullivan said. "We don't know a lot about their schemes because they have a new coaching staff, so all we can do is go back and study from where their coaches have been before.

"They have some good players," Sullivan said. "I've known (West Georgia Head Coach) Daryl (Dickey) for a long time, and I know what his philosophy is on offense."

West Georgia returns 24 letterwinners and 10 starters from a team that posted a 2-9 record last season. Samford and West Georgia are meeting for the just the fifth time, with the series tied, 2-2. The home team has won every meeting in the series, with the last meeting coming in 1992, a 44-16 Samford win at Seibert Stadium.

Samford will take Sunday off from practice, and the team will attend church services at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church. The Bulldogs will return to practice Monday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.

Thursday night's season-opener against West Georgia is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff from Seibert Stadium. The game can be heard live on the Samford Football Radio Network. The flagship station for the network is WVSU-FM 91.1. The game can also be heard worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/