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VMI

· 0-3 · power -22.1 · #384
Our numberSAM -8.9 no book has priced this game

Samford

· 0-3 · power -17.0 · #359
Our side
MoneylineSAM to win ours 69%
Projected score 20–29 VMI – SAM
2026-09-26 · 3:30 PM Seibert Stadium · Birmingham, AL Conference game Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series Samford lead 9–3 · 12 meetings since 2014
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game even 38 ranks apart
VMI Keydets #256 rush offense Samford Bulldogs #218 run defense
Pass game even 4 ranks apart
VMI Keydets #188 pass offense Samford Bulldogs #192 pass defense
Run game edge VMI Keydets 99 ranks
Samford Bulldogs #263 rush offense VMI Keydets #164 run defense
Pass game even 15 ranks apart
Samford Bulldogs #242 pass offense VMI Keydets #257 pass defense
VMI Keydets Balanced · 50% run Ball-control Samford Bulldogs Pass-heavy · 39% run Ball-control

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
VMI Keydets
DB Nic Land 22 tkl · 1 PD · 1 INT #74 DB
DB Robert Powell 13 tkl · 2 PD #345 DB
DB EJ Wilborne 12 tkl · 1 INT #522 DB
DB Anthony Allen 10 tkl #876 DB
Samford Bulldogs
DB LaShon Young 21 tkl · 1 PD #53 DB
DB Jalen Nelson 25 tkl #101 DB
WR Marquise Henderson 9 rec · 218 yds · 1 TD #92 WR
LB Spencer Conn 23 tkl · 2.5 TFL #90 LB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
VMI Keydets -22.1 -14.8 -7.3 #384
Samford Bulldogs -17.0 -11.6 -5.4 #359

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
VMI offense vs Samford defense-9.4 pts
Samford offense vs VMI defense-4.3 pts
Efficiency adjustment · EPA, success rate, explosiveness+0.8 pts
Power projection before adjustment+8.1
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 510 mi
Rest · context onlyHome team on 7 more days rest

The projection carries an efficiency adjustment — a residual from season-to-date EPA, success rate and explosiveness, which earned its place by walk-forward test (margin error 12.90 → 12.72 across seven held-out seasons).

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.