Pioneer Bowl on; More work for Grambling
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
SWAC West Division champion Grambling State (9-1) moved into the top spot of the BCSP Top Ten after its impressive 50-35 win over Southern in Saturday's Bayou Classic.
MEAC champion Hampton (11-1), who had
held the top spot since the beginning of the season, had
its undefeated season spoiled when it dropped its
first game of the season Saturday, a 38-10 decision
to Richmond (see story below) in a first round
I-AA playoff game.
The G-Men, whose only loss this season was to Div. IA Washington State (48-7) back on Sept. 17, are now in position to claim the top spot in the final ranking but they still have some work to do.
The quest for head coach Melvin Spears' troops continues this week when they travel to Alcorn State to face the 6-4 Braves in a make-up game postponed on Sept. 3 by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The Tigers then have a rematch with SWAC East Division champ, 9-2 Alabama A&M, the following Saturday (Dec. 10) at the SWAC Championship Game in Birmingham. In their first meeting on Sept. 10, Grambling dominated the Bulldogs in a 44-0 win.
Grambling enters Saturday's game as the most prolific offensive team in all of I-AA football. The G-Men lead the nation in total offense at 489.8 yards per game, lead in passing at 364.8 yards per game and are scoring leaders averaging 43.8 points per game. Senior Bruce Eugene is the trigger-man of the offense. He has passed for over 3,600 yards with 46 touchdowns and only four interceptions and leads the nation in total offense (379.1 ypg.) and passing efficiency (176.9).
The Tigers' defense has been the second most stingy in the SWAC giving up just 21.1 points per game.
Alcorn State counters with the SWAC's top rusher in Jeremy McCoy, who has amassed 931 yards in eight games, averaging 116.4 yards per game and 6.0 yards per carry. Freshman Tony Hobson (201-95-14, 1,506 yds., 10 TDs) calls the signals for the Braves.
The only other game on this week's schedule pits the runners-up from the two black college Div. II conferences, 8-3 Bowie State of the CIAA vs. 10-1 Tuskegee of the SIAC, at the 8th Pioneer Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., the annual bowl game between the conferences. The SIAC leads the series 5-2.
Tuskegee and head coach Rick Comegy will be making their fifth trip to the Pioneer Bowl where they have posted a 3-2 mark including last year's last-minute 30-28 loss to CIAA champ Shaw. BSU, the CIAA East Division champ, is making its first appearance in the game.
BSU fought through a four-team race to claim the CIAA East Division title this year before dropping a 20-17 last-second heartbreaker to North Carolina Central in the conference's championship game on Nov. 5. Third-year coach Mike Lynn's Bulldogs are led on offense by QB Lamar Manigo (1,256 yds., 15 TDs, 11 ints.) and all-conference stars in RB Isaac Redman (1,305 yds., 11 TDs, 118.6 ypg., 5.3 ypc.) and WR Glenn Thomas (38 rec., 906 yds., 14 TDs).
For the second year in a row, the only blot on Tuskegee's record is a loss to SIAC champ Albany State. This season it was a 31-21 loss to the Golden Rams on Oct. 1. SIAC MVP QB Kevin Huff (311-181-9, 2,511 yds., 13 TDs) leads the charge for the Golden Tigers. Richard Fitzhugh (166 car., 870 yds., 7 TDs) leads the ground attack while all-conference WR Kenneth Henderson (67 rec., 1,023 yds., 6 TDs) is the chief weapon through the air.
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