Tag: Samford Bulldogs

Expert Predictions: Are the Gators up to the Samford challenge?

A look at how the Gators Wire staff sees things going down in the Swamp against Samford this Saturday.

It has been a tough go in Gainesville this past month for the Florida football team, having dropped three-straight games — and four of its last five — including a disappointing effort against the South Carolina Gamecocks last week that dropped the team to under .500 for the first time in head coach Dan Mullen‘s tenure.

The program has not been unresponsive to its ills, parting ways with much-maligned defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy, both the focus of much frustration among the Gator Nation. The changes come too late to salvage this season but at least represent some level of accountability on the coaches for the product on the field.

This Saturday, the Gators host the FCS Samford Bulldogs in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. In most other years, this matchup would represent an opportunity for the team to score an easy win, but as we learned last weekend, there is no such thing for this Florida squad.

The Gators Wire staff provided its projections for this weekend’s game. Here is a look at how our experts think things will go down.

CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee evaluates Dan Mullen, matchup vs. Samford

Sallee gave Mullen praise for the way he’s handled the pressure this week, and he doesn’t see a shocking upset in the cards for Samford.

It was certainly a tough week in Gainesville after the Gators’ 40-17 loss at South Carolina on Saturday. Coach Dan Mullen fired defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach/running game coordinator John Hevesy, the latter of which had coached under him in some capacity since 2001, in the wake of the loss.

While Mullen’s job could still be in jeopardy as the team needs to win two of its final three games to reach bowl eligibility, it seems he’s at least getting the chance to turn things around. In the coach’s press conferences this week, there seems to have been a noticeable tone shift as Mullen took responsibility for the team’s shortcomings.

CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee, who has been critical of Mullen this season, gave him credit for the way he’s handled the mounting pressure.

Mullen isn’t exactly known for his grace and comfort behind the microphone, but he did handle the pressure he’s facing relatively well during Monday’s press conference.

“I’m the head coach, so I bear all of it. It’s on my shoulders,” he said. “I’m the one that’s responsible for this program. I’m the one that’s responsible for this team and how we got to perform. That’s your job here as the head coach is to take on that responsibility. And my job is to make sure we go perform, that this team plays to the Gator Standard, which we’re not doing right now. It’s my responsibility to find a way to fix that. I’m pretty confident in myself, and I’ve won a lot of football games as a head coach, won championships here. What I’m pretty confident in is finding the solution.”

Wow. He wasn’t defensive, didn’t make it awkward and showed a little … dare I say … humility.

That, at the very least, should give Florida fans a small bit of hope that Mullen can turn this thing around. He is never one to doubt his ability, but recognizing that he is the main problem suggests that he’s more likely to expedite the rehabilitation process.

Words in a press conference are just that: words. At the end of the day, if Mullen is going to get things turned around and remain the head coach in Gainesville, those words will have to lead to actual action on the field.

Still, as Sallee notes, it’s certainly a good start and better than the alternative. UF also has a good opportunity to get back in the win column and halfway to bowl eligibility this week as the team welcomes a Football Championship Subdivision opponent in the Samford Bulldogs.

While there’s no betting line for the game, Sallee did indeed pick the Gators to win straight up.

There’s no line on this one, so I’ll take the Gators to win. It’s a huge indictment of the Dan Mullen regime that I at least thought about this game for a fleeting moment. Pick: Florida (NL)

There are no guarantees in these games of course (see: 2013 vs. Georgia Southern), but Florida has fared very well in games against FCS opponents historically, especially under Mullen. Since he took over as head coach in 2018, the Gators have outscored their FCS opponents 199-16.

He’ll hope that trend continues and that UF can get back to .500 before finishing the season with a two-game stretch at Missouri and at home vs. Florida State that looks a lot more dangerous than it did earlier in the season.

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10 fascinating facts ahead of Florida football’s meeting with the Samford Bulldogs

Pat Dooley gives his breakdown of 10 things to know ahead of the Samford game.

Tickets are not hard to come by for Florida’s first game in the Swamp in over a month.

That’s what happens when you’re 4-5 and have already clinched a losing SEC record.

Florida will face Samford at noon on Saturday in front of what likely will be a restless crowd if anything goes wrong. With Florida’s performances over the last three games, Gator fans are looking at a game that was expected to be a sure win and are wondering if this team has any gas left in the tank.

Two coaches fired. Head coach answering tough questions. Recruiting slipping.

Florida could use a feel-good day. But with this team, nothing is guaranteed.

Let’s talk some Samford football (and quit calling it Stanford or Sanford):

Anthony Richardson could play against Samford after returning to practice

Anthony Richardson is back on the practice field for Florida after hurting his knee dancing last week.

On Monday, Dan Mullen revealed that quarterback Anthony Richardson injured his knee dancing Friday night, keeping him out of Saturday’s game against South Carolina. Richardson joked about the dancing with a post on social media, and it seems that he’ll be good to go on Saturday barring any setbacks.

Mullen said that Richardson returned to practice on Tuesday and is on track to get cleared to play against Samford, according to 247Sports. The freshman got his first college start two weeks ago against Georgia but a concussion ended his night early. Many assumed it was the concussion that kept Richardson from playing against South Carolina since it had stopped him from practicing during the week.

If he’s available, Richardson could have another chance to start. Emory Jones didn’t do himself any favors with a loss to the Gamecocks, and he upped his interception total to 10 on the year. He did manage to throw for 258 yards and two touchdowns, but the turnover problem is hard to overlook.

Richardson isn’t less prone to turning the ball over, but his freshman status and explosive potential offer more upside for a struggling Gators team. Samford is an ideal opponent to ease Richardson back in, especially after facing No.1 Georgia in his first start. Richardson exploded onto the scene against a weak USF team, completing all three of his attempted passes for 152 combined yards and two touchdowns. He tacked on an 80-yard touchdown run (115 on the day), and everyone suddenly realized what could be with AR-15 under center.

Well, everyone but Mullen. To his credit, Mullen did see Richardson’s shortcomings before everyone else, but he may have stuck with Jones a bit too long. Health will be the deciding factor on Saturday as Florida would like to have Richardson for Missouri and Florida State.

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Did you know Florida football has played Samford twice? Well, kinda.

Some interesting history ahead of the Samford game that Pat Dooley dug up.

Florida has never played Samford before Saturday’s game in the Swamp. Well, they did play against the school when it was named Howard College. So, we do have a little history to explore this week as we take a look back:

Florida baseball walks off in Game 3 against Samford Bulldogs

UF surrendered the lead twice in the back half of Sunday’s game vs Samford, but behind Young’s hot bat, Florida survived to get the sweep.

It was a sloppy game, certainly one the No. 7 Gators won’t be particularly proud of, but they survived to take Game 3 of their weekend series against the Samford Bulldogs in walk-off fashion. Florida already secured a series victory with its win on Saturday, and it completed the sweep behind the bat of Jacob Young, who hit a game-ending single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to give UF a 10-9 win.

Hunter Barco took the mound for his second appearance of the season hoping for a better outcome than in his disastrous outing against Miami last Sunday, but early on, it looked to be more of the same. He gave up a two-run homer in the top of the first, allowing Samford (3-4) to take the early lead. Luckily for the Gators (6-2), things weren’t clicking for Bulldogs starter Zach Hester, either. He allowed his own two-run homer from Jud Fabian, and a balk later in the inning allowed Florida to take the lead.

Barco was much better after the first, pitching clean through the second and third. Meanwhile, UF added to its lead. Young hit an RBI single in the second, and a single from Colby Halter in the third inning off new pitcher Hamp Skinner brought two runners home. Florida led 6-2 just a third of the way through the game.

Barco was three-up, three-down again through the fourth, but in the fifth, he gave up another home run. After a hit-by-pitch and single to lead off the sixth, Barco was pulled, allowing four hits and five earned runs. He struck out 10 batters in his five innings of work.

The Gators replaced him with Franco Aleman, but perhaps they should have let Barco continue. In Aleman’s first at-bat, he allowed a run to score off a passed ball, and a walk scored another run. He was pulled after just a third of an inning pitched, and though Chase Centala got Florida out of the inning, he couldn’t do it without allowing two of Aleman’s runners to score off a pair of RBI singles.

In just one inning, the Gators surrendered their lead and now trailed 8-6. Centala and Bulldogs pitcher Carson Hobbs both pitched clean through the seventh, and Centala allowed just one hit in the eighth. But going into the bottom of the inning, Hobbs was pulled for Carson Cupo, and he ran into immediate trouble.

He loaded the bases, and though he managed to get a strikeout against Young, Samford replaced him with Chase Isbell. He allowed a two-RBI single from Fabian, and a sacrifice groundout from Nate Hickey later in the inning gave UF the lead.

Just three outs away from a win, pitcher Brandon Sproat couldn’t close it out for UF. He gave up just one hit in the ninth, but it was a costly one: a home run from Sonny DiChiara. Samford tied the game, and if Florida couldn’t find a way to score in the ninth, it was looking at extras.

Things started out well — Josh Rivera reached base on a throwing error, then second on a balk, and then third on a passed ball. All of the sudden, the winning run was at third with no outs. But Sterlin Thompson and Kris Armstrong struck out, and UF’s options became much more limited. Two walks from Isbell (one intentional) loaded the bases with lead-off hitter Young coming up to bat.

He crushed a single to left-center field, scoring Rivera and winning the game in walk-off fashion. Despite allowing the home run, Sproat managed to vulture a win away from Centala, earning his first on the season.

With a sweep in the weekend series under their belt, the Gators will return to the field on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. EST for a midweek matchup against FAU at Florida Ballpark.

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Florida baseball takes series against Samford in blowout fashion

Florida Gators baseball took the series against Samford on Saturday in dominating fashion, beating the Bulldogs 18-2.

What looked like it would be a low-scoring affair erupted in the fifth and sixth innings into an all-out beatdown. Florida’s baseball team managed 13 runs between the two frames, and it won its second game against Samford, clinching the weekend series with an 18-2 victory.

Jack Leftwich took to the mound following a blistering performance from Tommy Mace in the victory on Friday, and he was sharp as well. He didn’t allow any hits in the first four innings, though he did walk three batters which didn’t result in anything for the Bulldogs.

Samford starter Jesse McCord, on the other hand, had a rough start. Jacob Young led off with a double in the first, and an RBI groundout from Nate Hickey brought him home after he advanced to third off a failed fielder’s choice. A Jordan Butler single in the next at-bat brought another run home, and later in the inning, an RBI single from Mac Guscette scored Butler, giving the Gators a 3-0 lead after one.

McCord calmed down after that, getting out of the second, third and fourth without surrendering another hit or any more runs. That’s when Leftwich began to lose it a bit. He gave up a home run in the fifth and another one in the sixth, the only hits he allowed all game. He was pulled after that following 5.2 innings pitched with six strikeouts.

In the meantime, the Gators managed to add one run in the bottom of the fifth after a fielding error that brought Hickey home after he hit a triple the previous at-bat.

Christian Scott took over for Leftwich in the sixth, and he got Florida out of the inning without allowing any more runs. Samford pulled McCord for Blake Bortak going into the bottom of the inning, and that proved to be a mistake. He managed to get two outs with just one on base, but a single from Jordan Carrion that allowed him to reach third after an error scored a run. Bortak was pulled for Charles Crosby after just 18 pitches, and he didn’t do much better. After two walks and a steal, the bases were loaded for Hickey.

He absolutely crushed one to left-center field for a grand slam, breaking the game wide open for Florida, whose lead was extended to 9-2 by the end of the inning. Things didn’t get any better for Samford in the seventh.

Gene Hurst entered the game and allowed two RBI singles with one out. With the bases loaded, he then walked a batter home and brought another one in the next at-bat with a hit-by-pitch. The Bulldogs tried to make another pitching change for Jacob Cravey, but the answer to Florida’s onslaught continued to elude them.

Kris Armstrong hit an RBI single, and a walk on the next at-bat scored a second run. An RBI single from Sterlin Thompson and sac-fly from Guscette finally capped off Florida’s production in the inning at eight runs, which it scored on eight consecutive at-bats.

For good measure, UF tacked on one more for good measure in the eighth off another RBI from Armstrong, and the Gators managed to close the game out with Carrion on the mound, who started the game at second base.

Though the series is already locked up for Florida, it will go for the sweep against Samford in the finale on Sunday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. EST at Florida Ballpark.

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Dominant performance from ace Tommy Mace leads Gators passed Samford

Florida baseball’s ace dominated in the first game of the weekend series against the Samford Bulldogs as the Gators won 8-4.

Florida pitcher Tommy Mace returned to the mound on Friday night against Samford with a gem. The junior earned his second win of the year pitching a six-inning shutout against the Bulldogs in which he allowed just three hits and struck out 11 batters.

Between his performance and another good night from their bats, the Gators (4-2) powered past Samford (3-2), 8-4, to win the opening game of the weekend series.

Mace pitched a clean opening inning, but Samford starter Samuel Strickland also fared well. He gave up one hit in the first to Jud Fabian, but nothing came of it for Florida. The second inning was a different story.

In the top of the frame, Mace was perfect once again. But at the bottom, Strickland struggled to finish it off after opening with two outs. He walked Sterlin Thompson, and then Kris Armstrong and Colby Halter reached on errors. A single from Jordan Carrion scored two runs before Strickland finally got out of the inning,

Mace found himself in some danger in the third after allowing two hits, but he managed to evade it. Fabian led off the bottom of the inning with a homer, and Florida’s lead was pushed to 3-0.

Things continued to go off the rails for Strickland in the fourth, as he gave up an RBI triple to Armstrong followed by another RBI from Halter on a double. Another double from Jacob Young later in the inning gave the Gators their third run in the frame.

The barrage continued into the fifth, as Thompson hit an RBI triple and then scored himself off a fielding error, and Florida was now up 8-0.

The Bulldogs managed to chip away at that lead after Mace was pulled. Reliever Brandon Sproat gave up a homer in the seventh and allowed another run to score in the eighth off a wild pitch. Hunter Mink eventually finished off the eighth, and though he only gave up one hit, Samford managed a small rally in the ninth. It scored two runs off fielder’s choices, but Florida managed to put the game away with a fly-out.

The Gators return to the field on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST, where they will try to take the series against the Bulldogs.

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Series Preview: Florida baseball hosts Samford Bulldogs this weekend

UF now looks to its current weekend opponent the Samford Bulldogs, who they will play against in Gainesville as part of a 13-game homestand.

After a sluggish start to the season against the Miami Hurricanes last weekend, the Gators baseball team got its footing back in a mid-week home-and-home series against the North Florida Ospreys that helped the team right the ship. Now, the team looks to its current weekend opponent the Samford Bulldogs, who they will play against in Gainesville as part of a 13-game homestand for Florida.

The Bulldogs arrive in town carrying a 3-1 record thus far in this nascent 2021 season, winning its first three games of the season in their home-opening series against the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks before dropping their last game to the Alabama State Hornets on Tuesday. Their meeting with UF these next three days is likely the most difficult series on its schedule.

The Gators are 3-1 in the all-time series between the two schools, going a perfect 3-0 at home while dropping its one road game against the ‘Dogs. Those previous matchups came in 2000 when UF took both games in Gainesville and then in 2012 when the two squads split a home-and-home series.

Here is a look below at the starting pitchers lined up for the series as well as details on how to follow all three games, along with the projected starting lineup. Scroll down further for interesting excerpts from the media guide.