Early showdowns in SWAC, SIAC
MEAC teams hit the road to take on three BCS foes
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
There's an early season showdown in the SIAC and between unbeatens in the SWAC West, while three MEAC teams hit the road to face BCS teams as the September football schedule hits the halfway point this weekend.
In the SWAC, Henry Frazier's upstart
Prairie View (2-0, 1-0 SWAC W) squad travels
to Baton Rouge to take on fellow unbeaten Southern
(2-0, 1-0 SWAC W) with the early season West
Division lead at stake.
Frazier, in his fourth year at Prairie View, got his first win over Southern last season, a 26-23 home win in overtime. While the Southern game was a breakthrough win for the Panthers, they went on to drop seven straight games before a season-ending victory over eventual conference champ Alabama A&M. Five of those seven losses however were by less than a touchdown with three three-point decisions.
Two early season wins have the Panthers on a three-game winning streak headed into this weekend's match-up. They're giving up just 10.5 points per game, second-best in the SWAC, but are last in total defense giving up 382.5 yards per game.
Those are not good numbers headed into a road game against Southern whose offense has been rejuvenated behind a strong running game and the passing of QB Bryant Lee. Both teams are averaging 28 points per game.
Thru two games, Southern is averaging a league-best 265.5 rushing yards per game while Lee has thrown for 421 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.
PREDICTION: Southern by 10.
In other SWAC contests, both reigning division champs have conference tests against opponents that knocked them off last season. Unbeaten Alabama State (2-0, 1-0 SWAC E) is at defending SWAC West Division champ Arkansas-Pine Bluff (6 p.m.). Last year, the Hornets beat UAPB 31-13. Defending East Division and conference champ Alabama A&M hosts Mississippi Valley State (6:30 p.m.) in a key division match-up. MVSU beat A&M last season 23-20.
Also, Alcorn State (0-2, 0-2 SWAC W) is at Alabama-Birmingham Saturday while winless Texas Southern (0-2, 0-2 SWAC W) and Jackson State (0-2, 0-0 SWAC E) meet Thursday in a 7 p.m. contest carried live on ESPNU.
Three MEAC teams have the unenviable task of facing BCS opponents this weekend with two of them ranked in the AP and USA Today Top 25.
Norfolk State (1-0, 0-0 MEAC) travels to Piscataway, N.J. for a 3:30 p.m. game vs. unbeaten (2-0) No. 13 Rutgers. South Carolina State, faces its second BCS opponent in three weeks when it travels to Columbia to face Steve Spurrier's South Carolina (2-0) team, ranked 17th in the latest AP poll.
The only one of the three MEAC squads not facing a ranked team is unbeaten Delaware State (2-0, 1-0 MEAC), who has risen to 24th in the latest NCAA FCS poll. The Hornets will still have their hands full playing at Kent State. The Flashes (1-1) have a win over Iowa State of the Big Ten. They lost 56-20 last week to Kentucky despite rushing for 324 yards.
Elsewhere in the MEAC, three-time defending champ and BCSP No. 1 Hampton (1-0, 1-0 MEAC) is at North Carolina A&T (0-2, 0-0 MEAC) in a 6 p.m. game to be carried by tape delay at 10 p.m. on ESPNU. The Aggies increased the nation's longest losing streak to 18 games with its loss to Prairie View last week. Hampton is up to 13th in the latest FCS poll. Howard (0-1, 0-1 MEAC) travels to Tallahassee, Fl., to take on Florida A&M (0-2, 0-1 MEAC), Bethune-Cookman (1-1, 0-1 MEAC) is at Savannah State (1-1) and Morgan State (1-1, 0-1 MEAC) hosts Winston-Salem State (1-1) in non-conference action.
There's also a showdown in the SIAC when four-time defending champion Albany State (2-1, 1-0 SIAC) travels to Tuscaloosa, Al. to face Stillman (3-0, 0-0 SIAC).
The Stillman challenge will be led by quarterback Charles McCullum, who currently leads the SIAC in passing averaging 295 yards per game with nine TDs. ASU won last year's matchup 14-7. Elsewhere in the SIAC, Tuskegee (1-0, 1-0 SIAC) is at Benedict (0-1, 1-2) and Miles (1-2, 0-1 SIAC) is at Fort Valley State (1-0, 2-1). Morehouse (2-1, 2-1) is at Shaw (0-0, 1-1 CIAA W) and Lane (0-1, 0-1) hosts Langston (1-1) in out-of-conference play.
There are mostly non-conference games for CIAA schools this weekend with the exception of Virginia Union (2-0, 0-0 CIAA E) playing at Livingstone (6 p.m.).
In a rematch of last year's CIAA title game, N.C. Central (2-1), now out of the conference, faces reigning East Division champ but struggling Elizabeth City State (0-2, 0-0 CIAA E) at the New Jersey Meadowlands in the 37th annual New York Urban League Classic.
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