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League play begins in earnest
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
Black college football officially swings into the meat of its conference schedules this week but not before a couple of non-conference games bring a rousing end to that part of the 2008 schedule.
Out in Indianapolis at the Circle City Classic, undefeated BCSP No. 1 and defending SIAC champion Tuskegee (4-0, 4-0) gets perhaps its toughest test to date as it battles against Alabama A&M (2-3, 1-0) out of the SWAC.
This black college Div. II vs. FCS matchup
is special because its one of only two games that top
dog Tuskegee plays out of the SIAC. The other is
the season-ending Turkey Day Classic against
SWAC member Alabama State that the Golden Tigers
have dominated recently.
A&M, a perennial SWAC title contender over the last seven years, has gotten off to a rather slow start while new quarterback Kevin Atkins learns the ropes. The Bulldogs dropped their first three games before winning their last two.
Tuskegee, meanwhile, coming off a 12-0 2007 black college national championship campaign, has been virtually rolling along behind senior signal-caller Jacary Atkinson well, at least until a close 20-16 win at Fort Valley State last week.
The Tigers are averaging 547 yards per game, third best in all of Div. II, and before the FVSU contest, were scoring at a 42.1 points per game clip. But FVSU may have discovered something. The Wildcats held Atkinson to an 8-of-20 passing effort (125 yards) while picking him off three times. The Tigers however rushed for 199 yards in the win.
Expect A&M to closely watch that film in order to slow Atkinson down.
Another game with a lot of interest though not in terms of championship possibilities is the North Carolina A&T vs. North Carolina Central rivalry which will be played Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. (5 p.m.).
The Aggies (2-3, 0-2) and Eagles (0-4) are both struggling for points and wins but that does not take away from the rivalry of schools separated by less than an hour on I-85.
What Counts?
The games that really count this week are in conference play and none are bigger than the battles looming in the MEAC where teams picked to finish at the top of the conference take on some of their main challengers.
Defending champion Delaware State (1-2, 1-0) hosts the team they dethroned, former three-time champ Hampton, in Dover at 1 p.m. Bethune-Cookman (3-1, 1-1), fresh off a precedent-setting win over highly regarded Norfolk State Saturday, does battle at 2-2 Morgan State (4 p.m.). Conference favorite South Carolina State (3-2, 1-0) travels to Tallahassee for a 6 p.m. tussle with the resurgent Rattlers of Florida A&M (3-1, 1-1), who knocked Tennessee State from the unbeaten ranks Saturday.
Once the smoke has cleared, we should have some indication of just where the MEAC race is headed.
Keep your eye on FAMU QB Curtis Pulley in the Tallahasee match-up. In last week's upset of TSU, the Kentucky transfer ran for 98 yards and two scores (44 and 29 yards) and threw for 110 yards (12 of 14) and another TD. He's platooning now with incumbent Eddie Battle but could be moving ahead of him on the depth chart.
SCSU counters with highly-touted sophomore Malcolm Long at the controls. In five games the two-time South Carolina high school player of the year is hitting on 61% of his passes for five TDs and six interceptions. Keep in mind however that Long has put up those numbers while facing two Div. I opponents, Central Florida and Clemson.
Over in the SWAC, Prairie View A&M has beaten everyone in the conference during head coach Henry Frazier's four-plus years on the job except Grambling State, its opponent Saturday night at the State Fair Classic in Dallas's Cotton Bowl (6 p.m.).
GSU is perhaps Frazier's and the Panthers biggest hurdle if they seriously consider themselves ready for a run at a SWAC title that has eluded them for 44 years. Frazier has the horses to get it done while GSU coach Rod Broadway appears to be searching for the right combinations, particularly on offense where the G-Men have put up 14 and 13 points over the last two games, albeit in wins.
Look for Frazier to employ his league-best defense which leads the conference in scoring (11.5 ppg.), rushing (39.0 ypg.) and total defense (186.8 ypg.), to jump on the G-Men early, and then rely on his league-best offense, which leads the SWAC in scoring (41.0 ppg.) and rushing (194.8 ypg.), to put them away.
Southern (2-2, 1-0) is at Jackson State (1-3, 0-0) in another key SWAC tilt.
In the CIAA, St. Paul's (3-2, 1-1) is at Virginia Union (4-1, 2-0) in a battle of Eastern Division contenders. Ditto for Virginia State (2-3, 1-1) at Elizabeth City State (2-3, 2-0). ECSU and VUU currently share the top spot in the East. St. Augustine's (1-4, 0-2) hosts Shaw (3-2, 2-0) Saturday in a a 4 p.m. battle of West Division rivals and Raleigh, N. C. neighbors. Shaw is the West Division co-leader along with Fayetteville State (4-1, 2-0), who hosts Chowan (1-4, 0-2) at 6 p.m.
© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.