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Black College Football This Week
LUT WILLIAMS The biggest surprise of the Labor Day weekend was North Carolina Central's thrilling come-from-behind win over rival North Carolina A&T at the 9th Aggie-Eagle Classic. Before a crowd of just over 25,000, NCCU, who had not beaten A&T in 12 years and never in the history of the Raleigh Classic, overcame a 27-0 first quarter deficit to pull out a 33-30 overtime win. New head coach Buddy Pough at South Carolina State got his first win in his first game, 26-20, over highly regarded Tennessee State. The Bulldog defense picked off six Blue Tiger passes, five thrown by TSU starter Bryan Rosser. Two new coaches were rudely welcomed to play in the SIAC. Fort Valley State made sure Willard Scissum's debut at Morehouse was a dud, as the Wildcats shutout the Maroon Tigers, 23-0. Tuskegee spoiled the premier of head coach Tracy Ham's option attact at Clark-Atlanta in a 28-0 whitewash. Week two will provide plenty of cross-conference action. The largest crowd of the day could be at 80,000-seat William Brice Stadium on the campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia. That's where S. C. State and Benedict will renew their longtime rivalry in the Capitol City Palmetto State Classic. The game will be carried live by the Major Broadcasting Cable Network (MBC) beginning at 6:00 p.m. This will be the 38th meeting between the two largest historically black colleges in the state who last tangled two years ago (1999), the first meeting since Benedict revived its grid program in 1996. That game, which drew a standing-room-only crowd of over 22,000 at SCSU's Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, was won by the Bulldogs in the last minute, 26-23. Officials say over 50,000 tickets have already been sold for this year's Classic. Two hot matchups are scheduled for the North Carolina Triad, only 30 miles apart. Defending SIAC and Pioneer Bowl champion Tuskegee travels to Camel City to take on defending CIAA West Division champs, the Winston-Salem State Rams. The two Div. II black college powers hooked up in Tuskegee last year with the Golden Tigers coming out on top, 30-23. And just over in Greensboro, star quarterback Robert Kent leads the Jackson State Tigers into a SWAC/MEAC matchup at N. C. A&T. Both teams are smarting from tough losses in week one and should be geared up for an exciting affair. Too bad the schools couldn't arrange for these games to be played at different times. It would have made for a nice early season doubleheader for the true black college football fan. Down in Louisiana, Doug Williams will find out whether his Tigers are ready for a SWAC three-peat when they tangle with the resurgent Braves of Alcorn State. ASU quarterback Donald Carrie had four touchdown passes last week in a win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff but will have a tough test against the veteran GSU secondary. The outcome of this game should give us a clue as to how the SWAC will shake out. In Classic news, the Skyway College Football Classic scheduled for this weekend in Chicago between Albany State and Miles has been switched back to Albany's Mills Memorial Stadium. Game sponsors and administrators apparently did not meet financial obligations in a timely manner. © 2002 Azeez Communications, Inc.
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