Samford game-planned in the first half of its game Saturday against University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to stop preseason All-America running back Derrick Craine, and quarterback Alejandro Bennifield burned the Bulldogs.
They chose to honor Bennifield’s passing ability in the second half, and it was Craine’s time to shine.
The 5-foot-10, 205-pound senior running back finished with a career-high 222 yards rushing and two touchdowns as the third-ranked Mocs won 41-21 in front of 8,714 at Finley Stadium. UTC is 4-0 for the first time since 1979.
The Mocs (2-0 in the Southern Conference) travel to East Tennessee State for a noon kickoff this Saturday.
“We beat a good football team today,” UTC coach Russ Huesman said. “I think Samford is really good. They have unbelievable skill kids that are hard to tackle, and I think the quarterback is excellent. Thank goodness we ran the football like we did.