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Tuskegee chasing 27th straight win, history
Roscoe Nance
BCSP Correspondent
Tuskegee coach Willie Slater isn't one given to flights of fancy.
That's why even though the Golden Tigers had 44 lettermen and 13 starters including All-American quarterback Jacary Atkinson and All-SIAC receiver Jason English returning from the Golden Tigers' unbeaten 2007 Black College National Championship squad, Slater didn't anticipate a repeat performance.
"I knew we had a chance to be pretty good," the third-year
coach says.
The Golden Tigers have been more than pretty good. They enter their Thanksgiving Day season finale against arch-rival Alabama State ranked No. 1 among HBCUs with an unbeaten record (10-0) and riding a 26-game winning streak, which ties the school record.
"It's hard to do that shooting marbles, and it's certainly hard in football,'' Florida A&M coach Joe Taylor says. "I take my hat off to them. You don't see that very often.''
Slater says he entered the season thinking the Golden Tigers' success would hinge on how well their offensive line performed after losing three starters to graduation. A trio of true freshmen, Ryan Jackson, Darius Brown and Charlie Craige stepped in without missing a beat under the tutelage of Coach Gregory Black.
"He did an outstanding job. It was the best coaching job I've been around,'' says Slater, a five-time Division II National Assistant Coach of the Year at Troy State and the University of North Alabama.
The Golden Tigers will eclipse the school record for consecutive wins set from 1925-27 with a win over Alabama State. The streak is the longest current one of its kind in the nation at any level.
"It's been a blur for us,'' he says. "When you're having fun, time flies. The streak is a tribute to our players and their willingness to work and be disciplined, and to the coaches being sure they do what they need to do each week to put them in position to win.''
Slater says one of the most difficult problems the Golden Tigers have faced this season has been playing 10 consecutive games without an open date. He says playing straight through took a physical and mental toll.
Physically, the Golden Tigers had to deal with injuries to Jackson, who missed four games with a broken hand, as well as Atkinson and English, who sustained minor nicks but didn't miss any games.
"Dealing with injuries and all that, we've really been blessed,'' Slater says. "A lot of stuff you can't explain how it happens, why it happens. We've been blessed by The Good Lord. We're thankful for that more than anything.''
Tuskegee won its third consecutive SIAC championship and has separated itself from the rest of the field in the conference. The Golden Tigers are fifth in Division II in total offense (485.7 yards a game) and rushing offense (224.6 yards), 11th in scoring (39.1 points a game) and 27th in passing offense (261.1 yards). Their average margin of victory has been 20.8 points a game.
"They're the best team in Black College Football,'' says ESPNU college football analyst Eddie Robinson, an Alabama State grad who played linebacker for 11 years in the NFL. "When you look at the winning streak, their margin of victory and the fact that they've beaten teams in the Football Championship Subdivision, you have to say they're the best team until somebody beats them.''
Atkinson has passed for 2,444 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 56.9% of his attempts. He's also rushed for 724 yards and 11 touchdowns.
"This guy, whether he has great games where he's unstoppable or an off game, he still makes enough plays to guarantee victory,'' says Robinson who compares Atkinson's impact to that of former NFL MVP Steve McNair during his time at Alcorn State in the mid '90s.
The Golden Tigers have a four-game winning streak against Alabama State have won eight of their last nine meetings. They will be overwhelming favorites to beat the Hornets (2-8) again this season and wrap up another National Championship. Slater says he won't give the Golden Tigers a pre-game pep talk about how they're playing for a place in history and the prestige that would come with another National Championship.
"We haven't talked about that all season," he says. "They understand. They know. They know what they want to do. As long as they know what they want to, we have a chance. We just want to win this game."
© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.