WACO, Texas – Coming off a thrilling comeback win at No. 17/16 SMU last week, Baylor football will play host to Samford in its regular-season, non-conference finale, with kickoff on Saturday at McLane Stadium set for 11 a.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Baylor Sports Media Network. 
 
James Westling (play-by-play) and Legar Douzable (analyst) will have the call for ESPN+. The Voice of the Bears, John Morris (play-by-play), will be joined on the radio call by a pair of BU greats in Nick Florence (analyst) and Ricky Thompson (sideline). 
 
Baylor (1-1) and Samford (0-2) will be meeting for the third time in program history, with the Bears posting wins in each of the previous meetings, both in Waco. The teams last met in 2005, a 48-14 BU win in Floyd Casey Stadium. 
 
The matchup will feature a battle of versions of the Air Raid offensive attack, as Samford head coach Chris Hatcher is one of the founding figures in the offense that swept football by storm in the late 1990s. Hatcher was a star QB for Hal Mumme and then-OC Mike Leach at Valdosta State, winning the Harlon Hill Trophy, Division II's version of the Heisman. Hatcher played with Baylor offensive line coach Mason Miller at Valdosta State, before moving onto the coaching staff with Miller playing his final two years as a fullback under Hatcher and Samford's current associate head coach Shawn Bostick. 
 
The Bears are fresh off a thrilling comeback win at SMU on Saturday, rallying from a 38-24 hole with just over eight minutes left to force a pair of overtime periods and clip the Mustangs for the 14^th straight time in the series. BU got another historic performance from its star QB Sawyer Robertson, who threw for over 400 yards for a third straight game, slinging four TDs and 440 yards passing. He has thrown for 859 yards – leading the nation – with seven TDs and no interceptions to open his senior season. The Bears also got career highs in receiving outputs from senior WRs Josh Cameron and Ashtyn Hawkins, and the seventh 100+ yard rushing game for Bryson Washington in 16 career games. 
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Samford opened the season with a 34-3 loss vs. West Georgia in Birmingham, Ala., and suffered a loss to powerhouse The Citadel on Saturday, 40-13. Last year, Samford went 4-7 and 3-4 in Southern Conference play, averaging 358.9 yards per game, including 244.5 passing, while surrendering 346.7 yards per game and 236.6 passing. 
• The Bulldogs are averaging eight points per game, 361.5 yards, 57 rushing yards and 304 passing yards through two stiff games to open the year. Defensively, Samford is allowing 37 points per game, 370.5 yards of total offense, including 199.5 through the air and 171 on the ground. 
• RB CJ Evans leads the team with 54 rushing yards on 14 carries with a TD, while QB Quincy Crittendon has toted it a team-high 27 times for 34 yards. Crittendon has completed 62-of-85 passes for 478 yards with three interceptions. Brady Stober is 13-of-20 for 131 yards. Preston Bird has a team-high 20 catches in two games, for 160 yards, while Jaden Gibson has 16 grabs for 125 yards. Defensively, Jaden Mosley has 19 tackles, while Carson Sloan has chipped in 17. Malik Thonrton and Quantaves Gaskins each have interceptions. 
• Samford is led by a legendary figure in the Air Raid tree, Chris Hatcher, a native of Macon, Ga., who has led Samford since 2015. Hatcher previously served as the head coach at Murray State (2010-14), Georgia Southern (2007-09) and Valdosta State (2000-06). He starred at Valdosta, where he won the Division II Heisman, the Harlon Hill Trophy in 1994 as the star QB for Hal Mumme. He shattered 29 passing records as the QB at Valdosta, which is where he began his coaching career in 1995 as a student assistant. He worked on the staff at UCF in 1996, before rejoining Mumme at Kentucky as a GA in 1997-98 and as the QB/WR coach for the Cats in 1999, before taking over the Valdosta program in 2000. 
• Ricky Turner serves as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, his sixth year with the program. DC Scott Sloan is in his first season at Samford, after two seasons as the DC at App State. Shawn Bostick is in his 11th year at Samford and his fourth as the associate head coach. 
• Martin Newton, the son of longtime Kentucky Athletics Director and former Alabama head coach C.M. Newton, has been the AD at Samford since 2011. A member of the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee, Newton is on the D1 Council and Men's Basketball Oversight Committee. Newton opened his career with 13 years each as a member of the marketing staff at Converse and Nike, before working for two years on the staff at Kentucky.
• Newton is assisted by longtime Samford administrator, Deputy AD Michelle Durban, who spent four years prior to her 21 year tenure on the women's basketball staff at Alabama. First-year Executive Associate AD Corey Green and Senior Associate AD JeNorri Armstead, former administrator at powerhouse Hoover High School, round out the Samford leadership team.  
 
SERIES HISTORY
• Baylor and Samford will be meeting for the third time in series history, with the Bears winning both of the previous meetings. Both of the previous meetings were held in Waco, starting in 2002, a 56-12 win, and a 48-14 win in 2005, the last meeting. 
 
LAST MEETING
• In the last meeting in 2005, the Bears took an early 10-0 lead before Samford got on the board in the second quarter. The lead grew to 31-14, before a 17-point fourth quarter pushed the final margin out to 48-14. 
• Baylor got 166 yards passing from Shawn Bell, 48 yards rushing from Jacoby Jones, with Brandon Whitaker totaling a rushing TD. Trent Shelton had five catches for 54 yards, with Dominique Seigler, Mikail Baker and Paul Mosley each nabbing TDs. CJ Wilson and James Todd each had interceptions and Shaun Rochon took a kickoff 85 yards for a TD. 
 
CONNECTING THE TEAMS
• As one of the founding figures in the Air Raid offensive philosophy, Samford head coach Chris Hatcher has had key experience with many members of the Baylor coaching staff. The most notable however is with BU offensive line coach Mason Miller, who played the 1994-96 seasons at Valdosta State. He and Hatcher were teammates in 1994, before Hatcher was a student-assistant coach in 1995. Hatcher's historic QB season at Valdosta State came in 1994, when he won the Harlon Hill trophy.
• Samford Associate Head Coach Shawn Bostick was the graduate assistant coach for Valdosta State and Miller in 1994-96 when Miller was a fullback. Hatcher and Bostick teamed up to coach Miller in 1995. 
 
UP NEXT
• Baylor will host No. 24 Arizona State on Saturday at McLane Stadium.