Conference games take center stage
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
The SWAC vs. MEAC and CIAA vs. SIAC cross-conference challenges are over and were a stalemate with the match-ups ending in 1-1 ties.
Now, more attention turns to the conference races.
SWAC
Mississippi Valley State (1-0, 1-0 SWAC
E) will get a chance to gauge its championship
aspirations in a key 7:30 p.m. date at Southern
(1-0, 0-0 W).
MVSU head coach Willie Totten's program took a big step last season with a 31-28 win over the Jaguars, the program's first over the Jags in 11 years en route to a 6-5 finish, the first winning season for the Delta Devils in nine years. MVSU QB Aries Nelson threw for a career-high 343 yards in that win. The Delta Devils will have to find a way to contain dangerous Southern QB J.C. Lewis who threw for 271 yards and four TDs in the Jags' win last week over Bethune-Cookman. Southern must get a running game going which garnered only one yard in 20 carries vs. B-CC.
Alabama A&M (1-0, 0-0 E) also gets a chance to gauge its progress in conference play when it takes on defending champion Grambling State (0-1, 0-0 W) in a rematch of last year's SWAC title game. GSU dominated the Bulldogs 89-6 in two games last year, winning 44-0 in the season's second week and 45-6 in the title game.
Texas Southern (1-0, 1-0 W) got a win over Prairie View last week, the first opening-season win in three seasons for head coach Steve Wilson. They play at Alabama State (0-1, 0-0 SWAC E).
MEAC
Defending champion Hampton (1-0, 0-0) hosts
Howard (0-0), a team that last year played the Pirates as close as any
conference team before losing 22-12. This is what's
called "The Real HU Battle."
South Carolina State (0-1, 0-0) and Winston-Salem State (1-1) go to war in a non-conference tilt in Winston-Salem (6 p.m.) coming off quite different results. SCSU had a disappointing 28-21 out-of-conference loss to Wofford while WSSU ran over triad rival NC A&T, 41-14.
SIAC
Unbeaten Lane (2-0, 1-0), who was winless (0-10) last season, travels
to Morehouse (1-1, 1-1) in a key tilt in Atlanta
on Thursday that will be aired live on CSTV. Morehouse outscored the Dragons 52-37
last season. Defending champion Albany State
(0-2, 0-0) looks for its first win hosting
Kentucky State (1-1, 0-0). Tuskegee (1-0, 1-0)
is hosting Miles (0-1, 0-0).
In a non-conference game, Fort Valley State (2-0, 2-0) puts its unblemished record on the line at No. 7 Valdosta State (1-0). The game will be streamed live on the internet at CSTV.com.
CIAA
Johnson C. Smith (2-0, 0-0), who
also went 0-10 last season, has started the season with two wins and hosts defending East
Division champ Bowie State (1-0, 0-0) in
Charlotte (6 p.m.). Virginia State (0-1) hosts
St. Augustine's (0-1) in Petersburg (6 p.m.).
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