BIRMINGHAM (Interstat) — Samford will travel to face UAB on Saturday in an NCAA Football Bowl Division game at Protective Stadium. The Bulldogs enter with a 1-3 record, while the Blazers are 2-2. UAB will be the home team in the matchup between in-state programs.

Samford is coming off a 45-7 home win over Virginia Military Institute in its most recent game. Quarterback Gabarri Johnson powered the Bulldogs, completing 22 of 26 passes for 222 yards while rushing five times for 34 yards. He threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. Coulter Cleland also saw time at quarterback, completing all four of his passes for 40 yards and rushing two times for 9 yards. Charlie Gilliam completed 1 of 2 passes for 5 yards. The Bulldogs’ 45 points against VMI marked their highest scoring output of the season.

Johnson is the player to watch for Samford. The Bulldogs opened the season with losses to North Alabama, Southern Illinois and Tennessee Tech before breaking through against VMI. The win was Samford’s first of the season. Samford fell 22-10 at North Alabama, lost 22-18 at home to Southern Illinois and dropped a 45-19 decision at Tennessee Tech. Samford will look to carry momentum from the VMI win into the matchup with UAB and secure its second straight win.

UAB enters after a 24-20 home win over Navy. Quarterback Ryder Burton completed 13 of 20 passes for 174 yards and one touchdown. Bam McReynolds rushed eight times for 71 yards and two touchdowns and recorded a tackle. Rod Robinson II added 12 carries for 38 yards.

Burton is the player to watch for the Blazers. UAB began the season with a 42-23 loss at Illinois, then beat Louisiana-Monroe 26-20 at home before falling 21-14 at Louisiana. The Blazers responded with the win over Navy to even their record. UAB will seek its third win of the season in the home matchup.

The game will feature contrasting recent results and an in-state dynamic. Samford will be the visiting team, and UAB will be the home team.

After this matchup, Samford’s upcoming schedule includes road games at Chattanooga, Furman, East Tennessee State and Auburn, along with home contests against Mercer, Wofford and Western Carolina. UAB’s future slate features road games at Memphis, South Florida, Temple and North Texas, plus home matchups with East Carolina, Charlotte and Texas-San Antonio.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of UAB 50, Samford 17. Samford has been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +30.5. The over/under for this game is 52.5.