TIGER FOOTBALL SEPT. 7

West Alabama (1-0) at Samford (1-0)

THE SERIES
This is the 18th meeting between the Tigers and Samford. The Bulldogs lead the series 10-6-1.

WEST ALABAMA
West Alabama is 1-0 after winning, 46-7, at Lenoir-Rhyne last Thursday.

SAMFORD
Samford is 1-0 after defeating Kennesaw State, 28-23, last Thursday.

THE COACHES
Brett Gilliland is 20-14 in his fourth season at UWA, his fourth as a head coach. Chris Hatcher is 14-10 in his third season at Samford. He is 135-67 in his 18th year  as a head coach.

COVERAGE
TV:             ESPN3
Radio:         ESPN 104.9, or TwinStatesMedia.com or on the ESPN1049 App. Kyle Beede & Robert Upchurch on the call.
Twitter:     @UWAAthletics

BREAKING DOWN THE SAMFORD SERIES
Samford leads the overall series with West Alabama 10-6-1. The Bulldogs lead 7-2-1 in games played in Birmingham. UWA leads 3-2 in Livingston. Games have also been played in Meridian, Mississippi and Talladega, Alabama.

LAST TIME
The Tiger and Bulldogs last met on Sept. 8, 2012 at Samford, with the Bulldogs taking a convincing 34-6 win over UWA.

BULLDOGS RANKED IN FCS, 10 FOR TIGERS IN HERO SPORTS
Not only is West Alabama stepping up a class to an FCS opponent, but the Tigers are traveling to Birmingham to face a ranked FCS foe. Samford is 17th in both the FCS and the STATS FCS polls. Despite a convincing opening week win West Alabama is not ranked in this week's AFCA national poll, but jumped to No. 10 in the HERO Sports poll.

FIVE ON THE 53
West Alabama will be well represented when the NFL season opens this weekend with five former Tigers on 53-man rosters. Cornerbacks Malcolm Butler and Dee Virgin are with the Patriots and Texas, respectively. Receiver Seth Roberts just signed a new deal with the Raiders and Tyreek Hill was a Pro Bowler as a rookie with the Chiefs a year ago. Linebacker Deon Lacey is now with the Buffalo Bills.

CHASING 100
UWA receiver Donta Armstrong is closing in on 100 receptions as a Tiger despite the game at Samford just being his 13th in a Tiger uniform. The senior from Bruce, Mississippi has 94 receptions after transferring from Northeast Mississippi Community College.

LAST WEEK
West Alabama won its opener, causing to a 46-7 win at Lenoir-Rhyne, giving the Tigers an NCAA Division II South Region win. Samford came from behind to beat Kennesaw State 28-23.

NO. 10 IN HEROES POLL
The University of West Alabama football team is ranked No. 10 in the HERO Sports NCAA Division II Preseason Top 30. The Tigers are one of three Gulf South Conference team in the top 10. Florida Tech is No. 4 and North Alabama No. 5.

FROM THE 'HAM
West Alabama has six players who come from Birmingham area high schools. Defensive back Torrence Willis played at Clay Chalkville, running back Derrick Underwood at Homewood, offensive tackle Brandon Anderson at Shade Valley, punter Zach Gaines at Calera, along with twins Kejuan and Dejuan Feagan from Pleasant Grove. Kejuan is a wide receiver and Dejuan a defensive back.

DAVIS ON SENIOR BOWL WATCH LIST
Receiver Corey Davis is one of just three NCAA Division II wide receivers on the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List. From Meridian, Mississippi, Davis caught 47 passes for 538 yards and eight touchdowns in nine games as a junior last season. Despite not playing the in second half, he had three receptions for 33 yards in UWA's season opener at Lenoir-Rhyne.

FROM FBS TO UWA
Several players who transferred from FBS programs are expected to see action for the Tigers against Samford. Among those are offensive tackle Dontavius Blair (Tennessee), linebacker Khalia Hackett (Arkansas), cornerback Tevin Madison (Texas Tech), defensive end Caleb Butler (South Alabama) and receiver Broc Malcom (Idaho State).

BIG DEBUT FOR COLIN
Colin Douglas made the most of his debut as the Tiger place kicker, making four field goals in as many attempts last week. Douglas unseated returning All-GSC PK Jordan Bennett for the position. Bennett is still handling kickoff duties for the Tigers.
 
NEXT WEEK
West Alabama plays at home for the first time on Saturday, Sept. 16, opening Gulf South Conference play against Mississippi College. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Samford travels between the hedges in Athens to take on Georgia.

11 MORE FOR COACH G
Coach Brett Gilliland is 20-14 since taking over the Tiger program in 2014. Gilliland needs just 12 wins to become the all-time winningest coach in UWA football history. Frank North won 31 games from 1979-84 to hold that record. Micky Andrews, who won the school's only national title in 1971, won 75 percent of his games (23-7-2) from 1970-72.