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Grambling takes SWAC title; Shares top spot
Lut Williams
BCSP Editor
Grambling State did its part Saturday, thrashing Jackson State 41-9 to claim the Southwestern Athletic Conference football championship before a crowd of over 25,000 at Birmingham's Legion Field. But even with that dominating victory, the Tigers did not overtake Mid Eastern Athletic Conference champion South Carolina State in the final Black College Sports Page Top Ten for 2008.
Grambling quarterback Greg Dillon was the difference in Saturday's SWAC title game. The 6-foot, 200-pound junior signal-caller completed 13 of 19 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another as the West Division champs (11-2) pulled away from a 13-0 halftime lead to the decisive win.
After being held scoreless in the first half, East Division champ JSU (7-5) appeared to gain some life when they recovered a GSU fumble early in the third quarter and converted a 42-yard field Eric Perri field goal to pull within 13-3 with 10:57 left in the period. But Grambling's David Stuckman return the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a score and a 20-3 Grambling lead.
Moments later, Grambling got the ball back on T. J. McCord's interception and needed just three plays to score, this time with Dillon connecting on his third TD pass of the day of seven yards to Kiare Thompson. Thompson also caught a five-yarder from Dillon to open the scoring in the first quarter.
McCord's interception was one of five takeaways for the Grambling defense which held JSU to 56 rushing yards in 30 attempts while picking off three passes. GSU closed out the scoring on an 85-yard interception return late in the fourth quarter.
"We controlled the game from start to finish and really never let them get into it," said victorious second-year coach Rod Broadway, who lost to JSU 42-31 in last year's title game.
"In some ways, it was a good, old-fashioned butt-kicking," said JSU head coach Rick Comegy.
The dominating championship game win and Grambling's 10-0 record against SWAC teams gives the G-Men a strong case for first place in the final BCSP Top Ten, but the relative weakness of the SWAC this season opened the door for a equally dominant South Carolina State team to join them at the top.
After repeated second-place finishes, the Bulldogs finally got it done this year in head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough's seventh season, running the table (8-0) in the much stronger Mid Eastern Athletic Conference and earning the league's automatic FCS playoff bid. A strong showing in a 37-21 first round loss to three-time defending FCS champion Appalachian State proved the Bulldogs' mettle as did a 17-0 regular season loss to Div. I Central Florida that opened the season. Their only other loss was to Clemson of the ACC.
Behind the two top teams in third in the final BCSP ranking is resurgent Prairie View A&M (9-1) who finished behind Grambling in the SWAC West and whose only loss was to the G-Men, 40-16. In his fifth season, Henry Frazier now has the one-time moribund Panthers as defensive terrors and legitimate SWAC title contenders.
SIAC champion Tuskegee (10-1) was poised to win its second straight final BCSP No. 1 ranking before they stumbled in its season finale at Alabama State, 17-13. That loss to a then 2-8 team dropped them to fourth in our final Top Ten.
Everyone knew that head coach Joe Taylor's move from Hampton to Florida A&M would spell good things for the Rattlers. Nobody, however, expected it to pay dividends so soon. Taylor rejuvenated the proud Rattler program, finishing 9-3 and as the hottest among four teams that tied for second in the MEAC behind SC State. Florida rival Bethune-Cookman (8-3) was perhaps more of a surprise. Alvin Wyatt's squad also tied for second after being picked seventh by league coaches in the preseason.
After leading the Ohio Valley Conference race thru the middle of the season and earning a spot in the FSC Top 25, Tennessee State (8-4) closed out the season with two tough losses to knock them out of championship and postseason berths. Still, with wins over Southern, Alabama A&M and Jackson State, they earned a seventh-place finish in our final ranking.
Morgan State and Southern both posted 6-5 records and finished just out of the money in the MEAC and SWAC. MSU was the last team with a shot at SC State but stumbled before their game against the Bulldogs at Norfolk State giving the Bulldogs the title. They went on to knock off Hampton to gain a share of second place in the MEAC.
Southern kept its hopes for a SWAC title alive until the season-ending Bayou Classic, where they suffered a 29-14 loss to Grambling.
CIAA champ Shaw (8-3) and SIAC co-runners-up Albany State round out the final Top Ten.
© 2008 Azeez Communications, Inc.