Baylor vs Samford Scouting Report: Breaking Down the Bulldogs Ahead of Week 3
The Baylor Bears are coming out of the first two weeks of college football 1-1 after facing two high-end opponents. After initially losing Week 1 to the Auburn Tigers, the Bears rallied back the next week, upsetting the No. 17-ranked SMU Mustangs.
Baylor will get a bit of a break after their initial rough start. The Bears will be facing the Samford Bulldogs, a 0-2 FCS opponent.
Samford has been outscored 74-16 to start the season after big losses to West Georgia and The Citadel. Part of the Bulldogs' struggles is their inconsistency at quarterback. Starting quarterback Quincy Crittendon has yet to throw for a touchdown in the early season and has failed to keep the ball out of harm's way, throwing three interceptions.
Samford has benched Crittendon in both of their losses, giving way for backup Brady Stober a chance to see the field. While Stober hasn't turned the ball over through the air, he has also yet to throw for a touchdown.
Despite the lack of scoring, the Bulldogs have found success getting yards through the air. Samford's quarterbacks average 297 passing yards per game and have found their way to the red zone plenty of times. In their 40-13 loss to the Citadel, there were three separate occasions on which the Bulldogs were in the red zone and came away with zero points.
Samford's offense has struggled significantly more on the ground, however. The Bulldogs have only logged 119 yards on the ground through two weeks, averaging just 2.0 yards per carry.
The Bulldogs' defense also hasn't fared well. In allowing 74 points in two weeks, the Samford run defense has struggled to stop the run, allowing 342 yards on 4.5 yards per carry. Opposing quarterbacks haven't been too eager to throw the ball against the Bulldogs, but they've found success when they did. Citadel quarterback Cobey Thompkins only threw for 11 passes on Saturday, but completed nine of them for 155 yards and a touchdown. Of Thompkins' nine completed passes, six of them were to wide receiver Jay Graves-Billips, who ended the day with 139 yards and two touchdowns.
The Baylor offense will have the opportunity for a big day, especially quarterback Sawyer Robertson. The 6-foot-4 signal caller has had an explosive start to the 2025 season and is hearing his name thrown around as a potential Heisman candidate. Going against an FCS opponent who has struggled to stop the pass will allow the redshirt senior to pad his stats some more before conference play begins.
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Kyle is a writer for the Baylor Bears on SI. He is a student at the University of New Orleans and studies journalism. He also covers the New Orleans Saints and has previously covered the LSU Tigers football team. Kyle loves all aspects of sports and has used that to pursue a career as a writer.