Golden Rams head into uncharted Div. II waters
ROSCOE NANCE
Special to the BCSP
Albany State storms into the Division II playoffs this weekend as the No.1 seed in the Southeast Region, No. 1 in the BCSP Top Ten with an unbeaten record (10-0) and an 18-game winning streak.
That's all well and good. But Golden Rams coach Mike White says all that won't mean diddly when they host Arkansas Tech Saturday.
"Now is the time to go undefeated and go on a winning streak,'' says White, whose team is ranked No. 2 in Division II.
The Rams, the SIAC champions for the second consecutive season, received a first-round bye virtue of their No.1 ranking in the Southeast Region.
They put the finishing touches on their first unbeaten season since 1997 with a 20-19 victory against in-state rival Fort Valley State on Nov. 6 in the Fountain City Classic in Columbus, Ga. They are the only undefeated team in black college football. As impressive as their perfect season has been, White says going undefeated wasn't the team's goal at the beginning of the season.
"Our goal going into the season was to win the conference,'' White says.
The Rams didn't want to merely win the SIAC title. They also wanted to spare themselves the anxiety they experienced en route to winning the crown last season when the championship wasn't decided until the final game.
"This year we wanted to stay in the driver's seat, so you almost had to stay undefeated'' White says, alluding to how Tuskegee lurked in the Rams' shadow the entire season. "We didn't want to have to hope that Tuskegee lost or Morehouse won or anything like that.''
Albany State gave itself some breathing room with a heart-stopping 33-29 victory at Tuskegee. White says that Albany State's season-opening victory against Valdosta State, an in-state rival and Div. II power that the Rams had never beaten, and the win against Tuskegee were the turning points in the season
"The Valdosta win was huge,'' he said. "It gave us momentum. Beating Tuskegee (on a last-second Hail Mary pass), coming back the way we did, gave us a lot of confidence. We thought this could be a pretty good year.''
Still, the idea of an undefeated season didn't enter into the Rams' thinking.
"Going undefeated wasn't a big thing for us,'' White says. 'We just wanted to stay in the driver's seat. Coming down to the last few games we felt we could pull it off. We had enough juniors and seniors on the team to stay focused game-by-game the whole year. No matter what we did the week before, we were able to concentrate on what was ahead of us. That was huge, to stay committed and stay focused.''
White says the same type of commitment and focus is needed to get the Rams through the playoffs.
Defense has been the Rams' strong suit this season. They are No. 5 in total defense (251.7 yards a game) and No. 4 in scoring defense (13.7 points a game). They are led by tackle Walter Curry, a candidate for the Harlon Hill Award, which goes to the top player in Division II. Curry had eight and half sacks this season and 18.5 tackles for losses.
Albany State's offense, keyed by QB Uyl Joyner, ranks 21st in the nation putting up 428.5 yards per game and averaging 38.2 points per game, 12th best nationally.
Albany State, 1-5 all-time in the playoffs, is venturing into uncharted waters as the top seed in its region. But White says the Rams won't buckle under the pressures of their No.1 ranking and the fact that since black colleges usually don't fare well in the playoffs, that they are representing more than Albany State and the SIAC. .
"I tell them all the time about the positive pressure the predominantly black colleges carry with them into the playoffs,'' White says. "You have the weight of the conference. It's a good thing to be challenged. Some people go through life and are never challenged. We thank God for the challenge. We want to be up for it and be ready for whoever we play.''
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.