SCSU Pough excited for return to Williams-Brice

By Lou Bezjak , SCnow.com

Buddy Pough knows this isn’t a normal game week.
With the extra media at his weekly press conference and practice, the S.C. State coach can sense the buildup for the Bulldogs’ first game in school history against No. 17 South Carolina on Saturday.

“It has been an unbelievable atmosphere,” Pough said Tuesday during the MEAC teleconference. “It’s neat that the kids can compete in a venue that is as exciting as Williams-Brice.”

S.C. State’s fans are sharing in the excitement. The school went through its allotted 3,000 tickets, given to them by South Carolina, very quickly. When the school received 1,500 more in August, they were scooped up in less than a week.
“It’s almost going to be like a home game for us with our fans coming there to see us,” Pough said.

Pough is no stranger to Williams-Brice Stadium. He was an assistant with the Gamecocks under Lou Holtz from 1999-2001. He was in charge of the running backs and coached Troy Hambrick and Derek Watson during his time there.

“It was an enjoyable time for me and my family to coach there,” Pough said. “I look forward to going back there this weekend.”

While Pough was at USC, the Gamecocks made back-to-back trips to the Outback Bowl and were close to competing for SEC titles both years.

Current coach Steve Spurrier, who is in his third year at USC, has said he believes he has a team that could contend for the school’s first SEC championship.
“I think so,” Pough said. “Spurrier has the best credibility and has been honest since he got there, and I think right now he believes he can do it.

“We were close, winning those two Outback Bowls. We had a shot. And when you get that close and you have been successful, it’s not a big stretch to think you can compete.”

Pough said he hopes his team can match up with the Bulldogs this weekend. S.C. State’s spread shotgun offense might give USC trouble like the team had in its opener against Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Ragin’ Cajuns racked up 315 yards of offense, including 252 on the ground. Quarterback Michael Desormeaux did most of the damage, rushing for 116 yards.
Bulldogs quarterback Cleveland McCoy is of the same mold, presenting a dual threat to the South Carolina defense. McCoy rushed for more than 400 yards and threw for more than 1,200 each of the past two seasons.

“We feel like we can go in and compete,” Pough said. “We might try and do some things that (Louisiana-Lafayette coach) Ricky Bustle did and were successful with.
“But we want to set up a scheme that will give us the best chance for success Saturday.”

Notes
Pough said safety Marshall McFadden is out for Saturday’s game. McFadden, a former Lamar standout, will miss two to three weeks after he hyperextended his knee Saturday against Bethune-Cookman. McFadden is tied for third on the team with 12 tackles. ... Pough said running back Will Ford is questionable for Saturday’s game. ... The Bulldogs will receive $230,000 from USC for playing the game. The teams will meet again in 2011.

SCSU 'X' Factor

Photo: SCSU defensive end Xavier Littleberry, a former Clemson Tiger, is looking forward to Saturday's game against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

By BRIAN LINDER, T&D Sports Editor

Remember 2004?

Xavier Littleberry does. In 2004, he was on Clemson’s sidelines when the Gamecocks and Tigers butted heads in a brawl that made national headlines. It was an ugly chapter in a rivalry that Littleberry was thrown into the middle of the second he signed on the dotted line to become a Tiger. It was a rivalry he counted on, and a rivalry that was taken away the day he was dismissed from Clemson’s team ... or so he thought.

Saturday, Littleberry, who had 1.5 sacks in last week’s 24-13 win over Bethune-Cookman, will take his first snaps against South Carolina when his South Carolina State Bulldogs take the short trip up I-26 to face the Gamecocks. If it was ever a secret that he’s not a Carolina fan, well, it isn’t anymore.

"I will tell coach (Buddy) Pough, he should know how I feel about this game," the Bulldogs’ defensive end said. "I told my position coach (David Blanchard) yesterday and my defensive coordinator (John Hendrick) ... I am ready.

"The brawl itself is a real good reason that I can’t wait for this weekend," he added. "When I first got here, I started figuring out there was a rivalry between them and South Carolina State too."

It doesn’t matter that this will be the first time the two schools have met on the football field, Littleberry said the close proximity makes it a rivalry nonetheless.

"I think (the distance) is why," he said. "And, then it’s a real big game for us. Nobody on our team likes South Carolina.

"Before I got here, they were telling me they were going to try to schedule South Carolina for this year, and I was happy about that," he continued. "I was transferring, and I had other (Division I) offers, but two of my coaches that coached me at Clemson wanted me to come here so I felt comfortable because they were here. They were telling me about South Carolina being on the schedule, and I felt real good about that because I was like, ‘Oh, I’m at Clemson now, and we don’t like them. If I go to South Carolina State, I’ll still have a chance to play them.’"

So, Saturday Littleberry will take his first snaps against South Carolina (he didn’t play in the brawl game, and sat out the 05 season), and he will take them with bad intentions.

"Saturday, I set a goal for at least four sacks," he said. "If I can go out there and get two or three sacks and maybe three tackles, that is a good game for me. I am 100 percent the whole game. I am a little messed up in my wrist, but I don’t care. As long as I beat up Blake Mitchell that is a perfect game for me. I want to shine and just put on a show.

"My true pass-rush skill is going to shine this game," he continued. "If (Mitchell) wants to have a big game, I don’t think he should hold the ball for more than three or four seconds because I am most definitely coming. I watched film on both of their tackles, I play right end, but their left tackle -- he looked athletic -- but he is still, my speed -- I am 260 pounds and I run a low 4.6 40. He is 300-something pounds, and I am going to try to make him work this game."

Bulletin board material, but Littleberry said he didn’t care about that. Everything that has happened over the past three years has built up into the perfect storm of emotion inside the former recruit from Camden Military. This was a game he was supposed to play in four times, not once. And, while he said he still has some Clemson blood running through his veins, he isn’t shy when it comes to talking about the sour taste his dismissal from the Tigers has left in his mouth.

"I am doing real good (at SC State)," he said. "I still think about what happened ... my last days at Clemson, and I don’t want to get into too much detail. But, the whole thing was a fluke. My thing was, if coach (Tommy) Bowden didn’t want me there all he had to do was tell me. I got into an incident in 04, and that kind of had some lean into him releasing me from the team, but the other incident was ‘BS’. People can think what they want and say what they want. But, unless they were actually there ... and, then all they have to do is read about what happened and pay attention."

Thankfully, that’s all behind him now and Saturday -- if things go the way he wants them to -- he could put a whole lot of "what might have beens" to rest.

"First of all, that feeling, I came from that environment," he said. "The feeling of going back to that environment ... it’s going to feel like I never left. We don’t have to worry about the options and the quarterback scrambling and all that stuff. I think my game is really going to come out.

"Everybody has been saying we could be the next App State," he added. "I really agree. I really feel like we can beat these cats."

Gamecocks not taking anything (SCSU) for granted

By THOMAS GRANT JR.. T&D Senior Sports Writer

In terms of favorable rankings, the South Carolina State football team and head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough enjoy a higher rating with Steve Spurrier these days than ESPN’s "College Gameday".

The University of South Carolina head football coach made a guest appearance on Pough’s highlight show Sunday, just six days prior to the two squaring off at Williams-Brice Stadium. On Tuesday, Spurrier said he was very much looking forward to the first-ever meeting between the two schools separated by only 40 miles.

"They’ve got a bunch of good athletes," he said. "They’ve got a bunch of guys who can play for us. I know that. And I’m sure they’re be excited to play their very best and do everything to beat us. But we’re really looking forward to the game too."

So much so that Spurrier said he would have scheduled the Bulldogs if he was Gamecocks’ head coach 10-12 years ago. Although fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference school Florida A&M never faced the University of Florida teams during Spurrier’s 11-year tenure, he did face and defeat Palmetto State Football Championship Subdivision teams Furman (27-3 in 1990) and The Citadel (49-10 in 1993).

"I think it’s a good game," he said. "Instead of bringing in a team like (Lafayette-Louisiana), bring South Carolina State, Wofford. Do we play Furman in the next year or two? If they beat us, they beat us. I see a lot of coaches always worry about somebody beating you. Everyone of the schedule can beat you just about. So, it’s in-state. What’s the difference? It doesn’t bother me the way I read it bother some other coaches.

"I think it’s a good game. Buddy Pough said it’s wonderful for their program and, shoot, whatever we can do to financially maybe help those guys out, other Division I-AA schools, heck, we should do that I think."

While the oddsmakers may see the undefeated, 17th-ranked Gamecocks (2-0, 1-0) as capable of producing such a one-sided outcome against the Bulldogs (1-1, 1-0) enroute to next week’s showdown with second-ranked LSU, Spurrier cautioned about assuming his team has reached the level where it can overlook opponents.

"We’re not good enough to be overconfident," he said. "We’re not a big powerhouse here that think we can pick our opponents.

"Every win is precious to the South Carolina football team. We don’t take anything for granted, because none of them are for granted. We have to scratch and claw and make a few goal line stands and force field goals and all that kind of stuff so far. So we’ll be ready to play Saturday night. We’re looking forward to it. We’re not very happy with the way we played and the coaches aren’t very pleased with the way their players have performed either."

So displeased with his special teams’ play against Georgia that Spurrier said he plans to use starting running backs Mike Davis and Corey Boyd and even linebackers Jasper and Casper Brinkley as part of the kick return and coverage teams. Spurrier also voiced displeasure with his team’s mistake-prone play on both sides of the football.

He was particularly vocal about his offensive line’s struggles in pass protection and whether they can be effective against SCSU and the wide receivers’ inability to get open against man-to-man coverage.

"Georgia found out they could play man-to-man on us the whole game," he said. "The whole second half, they were just bump-and-run, man-to-man saying ‘you guys can’t get away from our guys’ and they were pretty much right. So, South Carolina State, their DBs may say ‘Hey, we can cover those dudes they got. Coach, let us have a go at that. So, that maybe the plan."

Spurrier did want to clarify critical comments regarding his defense attributed to him by ESPN College GameDay’s Chris Fowler. During Saturday’s telecast, Fowler quoted Spurrier as calling his defense ‘a bunch of average stiffs’.

"I don’t appreciate the guy misquoting what I say," Spurrier said. "If he can’t get it correct, then maybe he shouldn’t talk about South Carolina. Let him talk about all them other teams. But I never called a group of our players (that). I’d call our entire team a bunch of average stiffs."

A victory would move the Gamecocks (517-517-44) to the .500 mark in its 114-year history of football, but Spurrier knows the Bulldogs are motivated to pull off what would be the biggest win in the program’s 100-year history.

"We know they want to beat us," he said. "They want to beat us badly. This is a chance to create a memory of a lifetime if they come in here and beat us and they could beat us. They could beat us. Sometimes, the way we play we could lose to these guys. We know that."

FORMER HAWK MOVED

University of South Carolina strong safety Brandon Isaac of Blackville-Hilda will back up Saturday’s defensive hero, safety Darian Stewart against SCSU.

The sophomore safety Stewart had a team-high nine tackles and two pass breakups against Georgia. Isaac, who had a stellar game in the season-opener against Louisiana-Lafayette and is making a return from a shoulder injury which sidelined him last season, injured it again against Georgia but did return.

LS-WHO?

With exception to a hand-written 2007 schedule on the board behind him, Spurrier did his best not to give an impression his team was looking ahead to Sept. 22 against Louisiana State.

"Most of my guys don’t know who we’re playing next week," he said. "Go ask a few of them."

Both Boyd and linebacker Rodney Paulk, a former Richland Northeast teammate of SCSU center Raymond ‘Duck’ Harrison, just happened to be in attendance and stood by the same company line.

"We’re definitely trying to focus on this week," Boyd said. "We’re not focusing on LSU. That’s another week ahead. But we’re going to take the South Carolina State game and we’re going sit back and see exactly what they have to offer, what they’re going to bring to the table and we’re not going to overlook them. We’re going to play to the best of our ability. We’re not going to pay attention to the rankings right now because you can be in there one time and the next week, we can be out. So we’re going to let the pollsters do what they have to do and we’re going to control what we can do on the field."

"Don’t take any team lightly," Paulk said. "We’re still trying to work, get better each day. So we’re looking forward to playing them."

NSU hits paydirt - and it hopes more - with Rutgers game

By Vicki L. Friedman, Virginian-Pilot

Rutgers will pay Norfolk State $275,000 for coming on the road for Saturday's game.

NORFOLK - The idea that Norfolk State might be overmatched against nationally-ranked Rutgers on Saturday doesn’t concern wide receiver Dario Walker.

“They bleed just like we bleed,” he said dismissively.

To Walker, this weekend’s game is about opportunity.

NSU graduate Curtis Hodge plans to be among the half-dozen busloads of fans who will make the seven-hour trek from Norfolk to Piscataway, N.J. He will be showing his colors – “I’ll be wearing green and gold from head to toe,” he said – and hopes the university will benefit, whether it be recruiting athletes or just students.

But the bottom line is the bottom line: More than anything, Saturday’s game at Rutgers Stadium, before a sellout homecoming crowd, is about money.

Rutgers rakes it in from being able to fill its stadium . Norfolk State collects $275,000 from Rutgers for being willing to play a I-A team on the road.

And while $275,000 isn’t exactly big bucks to the folks at major-college programs – Rutgers’ football budget exceeds NSU’s by $11 million – that kind of money is a windfall for I-AA teams like the Spartans.

NSU has struggled to meet the financial demands of Division I since it made the move up 10 years ago from DivisionII. Just as Murray State’s season-opening 73-10 loss to Louisville translated into a weight room , NSU athletic director Marty Miller has his own wish list. Some of them can be checked off through the added revenue this week.

And more is on the way . NSU has scheduled a game at Kentucky for next September, with the financial details similar to the ones with Rutgers.

The money from these games will go into the general athletic fund, but Spartans coach Pete Adrian had two requests for football and was granted both.

For one, the Spartans will not have to bus to Tallahassee, Fla., for next month’s game at Florida A&M or to next fall’s game in Daytona Beach, Fla., to play Bethune-Cookman. That’s good news considering Adrian’s bad memories from the 13-hour road trip the Spartans made two years ago to Tallahassee.

“It was 17-10 in the fourth quarter and we died,” Adrian said. “And I know why.

“It wasn’t that we couldn’t fly, but if we did, then I’d have to take $40,000 from somewhere else and say, 'We can’t do this.’”

Adrian also wanted to make sure enough money is available to cover tuition if his players choose to take summer school.

“We’ve been able to do that for the two years I’ve been here, but it puts a strain on other things,” he said. “This is more like a guarantee.”

Fifth-year seniors will also benefit from the money, Miller said.

“This game will help us with those students who come back, whether it be to finish up one semester or 23 hours or even three hours,” Miller said. “Those student-athletes are very valuable to us, and I wanted to be able to provide a way they could finish their education.”

No renovations are planned “this go-round,” said Miller, though the wish list includes upgrading NSU’s track facilities and improving all the locker rooms. Revenue from the Kentucky game may be able to provide that next fall.

So while it’s a no-brainer to figure out why I-AA schools would seek this type of payday, it is curious why NSU would be so ambitious with its first foray into I-A football. The Scarlet Knights are ranked 13th in the country, after all.

“We weren’t supposed to play this Rutgers,” Adrian said with a laugh, explaining that talk of an NSU-Rutgers game came when the Scarlet Knights weren’t so successful.

The Rutgers team the Spartans face is fresh off its first bowl appearance in 27 years and is led by running back Ray Rice, whose Heisman candidacy is touted at the university’s SeeRayRun.com Web site. More than 6,000 names are on a waiting list for tickets to home games.

The Rutgers that Adrian initially had in mind to play was a far different team. After going 7-3 in 1984, Rutgers’ next 20 years produced three winning seasons. Greg Schiano took over as coach in 2001, and the Scarlet Knights were 3-20 in his first two years. In 2004, they closed with five straight losses.

It wasn’t unusual for marketing folks at Rutgers to give tickets away to Pop Warner groups and senior citizens so the stadium didn’t appear quite so empty.

Adrian wanted a I-A game, so he started making phone calls. Flipping through a notebook recently, he reviewed some of the contacts he made:

“I was calling everybody. UCF, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Northeastern, Ohio U., UNLV, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, SMU, New Mexico, North Carolina. Those are all people I had conversation with.”

Along with Rutgers, fresh off a 7-5 season in 2005.

Any coach will tell you the trouble with scheduling is matching up dates that work for both programs.

“You latch on to somebody and bingo!” Adrian said.

Howard played the Scarlet Knights last season with Rutgers initially asking for a two-year agreement, Adrian said. When Howard didn’t want that, Adrian asked if NSU could have it and eventually ended up with Saturday’s date.

And given the attention the game is bringing to the program, he isn’t complaining.

“From a media standpoint, from a national standpoint, we heard all summer long from our boosters up there,” Adrian said. “There’s a lot of hype.”

All 1,000 of NSU’s tickets sold almost instantly, and the game is on ESPN’s Game Plan package.

As far as the X’s and O’s, despite the mismatch in budgets, size of linemen and depth, Adrian likes to remind his Spartans that they play 11 guys at a time, just like the Scarlet Knights, and that Rutgers Stadium is still 100 yards from goal line to goal line.

“You prepare the best you can,” he said. “We’re going to give it the best shot we’ve got.”

SSU needs good running game to beat Bethune-Cookman

By Noell Barnidge, Savannah Morning News

During halftime of Savannah State's game against Johnson C. Smith last Saturday, SSU coach Theo Lemon reminded his Tigers that the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats were coming to Memorial Stadium at 1 p.m. this Saturday.

"Coach (Lemon) stressed that we make sure we get a win so we can have more confidence going into the Bethune game," SSU quarterback JaCorey Kilcrease said.
The Tigers listened and produced a 24-10 victory over the NCAA Division II Golden Bulls.

SSU rushed for 328 yards and three touchdowns on 53 carries, the most yards rushing since the Tigers ran for 330 yards at Division II Fort Valley State in 1999.
SSU (1-1) hopes it can be as productive running the ball against Bethune-Cookman (1-1), but playing the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) Wildcats should be more challenging than playing a Division II team.
Bethune-Cookman beat SSU 55-6 last season. The Wildcats are 29-8 in the series, and have not lost to SSU since 1992, when the late Bill Davis coached the Tigers to a 31-21 victory.

But Bethune-Cookman (1-1) is beatable.
Last Saturday, the Wildcats lost 23-14 to South Carolina State in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Last season, the Wildcats finished 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

If SSU has any shot at beating Bethune-Cookman, the Tigers must produce a running game like they did against JCSU. SSU can not afford to run the ball like it did in the season opener at Morgan State, when the Tigers gained 29 yards on 32 carries in a 47-7 loss.

As SSU's running game blossoms so, too, will the passing game.
"Our running game opens the passing game," Lemon said. "I think our offensive staff did a good job preparing our players (for JCSU). JaCorey was on target. He did really well."

Kilcrease was 7-for-11 passing for 47 yards against the Golden Bulls. He did not throw a touchdown, but he did not make any turnovers and he was not sacked.
"We were pretty effective when we did pass," Kilcrease said. "We were just nickel-and-diming, not trying to go for the home run all the time. Just take what they give you."

Defensive standouts
Overshadowed by SSU's dominant running game against JCSU was the stellar play of the Tigers' defense.

SSU sacked JCSU quarterback Carlton Richardson three times and intercepted him twice. SSU strong safety Antwan Allen registered a sack and picked off a pass. Allen fumbled after the interception, but only after returning the ball 65 yards to the Golden Bulls' 15-yard line.

SSU free safety Javorris Jackson made seven tackles. He also intercepted a pass for the second consecutive game. Weak-side linebacker Chris Herans made a game-high 10 tackles and recovered a fumble.

Middle linebacker Calvin Leonard forced a fumble and made six tackles, including a sack. Defensive end Dominique Clark registered a sack, and cornerback Marcus Darrisaw made seven tackles.

This and that
SSU must reduce its penalties. The Tigers were penalized 10 times for 115 yards against Morgan State, and they were flagged 10 times for 96 yards against JCSU. ...SSU did not have any red-zone scoring chances against MSU, but the Tigers were 3-for-3 against JCSU. ...SSU is 6-50 since leaving Division II in 2002, and 1-40 against its Football Championship Subdivision peers. In 2004, the Tigers defeated Norfolk State, 41-34, in double overtime in Norfolk, Va.

Bethune-Cookman (1-1) at Savannah St. (1-1)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

Where: Memorial Stadium

Delaware State Hornet women to host Michigan State

Delaware State News

DOVER — A visit to the University of Delaware in the opening round of the Preseason National Invitation Tournament and a home contest against national power Michigan State highlights the 2007-08 Delaware State University women’s basketball schedule released Tuesday.

DSU, the defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champ, opens its title defense in the opening round against Delaware on Nov. 9. It will be the first intra-state game between the two since 2001 and the ninth meeting overall.

The Delaware State/Delaware winner will take on Maryland or Princeton in the NIT’s second round.

DSU’s regular-season schedule features 12 home games, including an appearance by Big 10 powerhouse Michigan State on Nov. 26. The Spartans, led by 6-9 sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan, were 24-9 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Michigan State has made eight NCAA Tournament appearances, and reached the Final Four in 2005.


The Hornets’ home opener is Nov. 20 against St. Peter’s. The Hornets, who went 20-13 in 2006 and will return all five starters, will also welcome first-time opponent Army to Memorial Hall on Dec. 1.

Later in December, DSU will head to the University of Alabama-Birmingham tournament and the University of Virginia tournament.

The Hornets also travel to Colonial Athletic Association power Old Dominion for the second straight year on Dec. 20. Old Dominion has won the last 16 CAA Tournament titles.

The MEAC opener is Jan. 12 at South Carolina State, and the Hornets’ first MEAC home game is Jan. 19 against Norfolk State.

DSU Lavan gets reacquainted with MAC

Photo: Delaware State Head Football Coach Al Lavan

DSU at KENT STATE, Saturday, 4 p.m., WXXY/1660 AM

By KRISTIAN POPE, The News Journal

Hornets coach recalls being snubbed at Eastern Michigan for full-time post.

DOVER -- Al Lavan had just led Eastern Michigan to a 2-1 record as interim football coach when he made one last attempt to secure the full-time job.

After the 2003 season finale, Lavan walked from his office to the school's secretary for athletics and turned in a job application.

He knew it was a fruitless gesture. If he was wanted, Lavan thought, EMU surely would have asked him to apply. "You kind of know the handwriting is on the wall at that point," Lavan said Tuesday.

On Saturday, Lavan, now Delaware State's coach, is heading back to the Mid-American Conference, which includes Eastern Michigan.

The Hornets will visit Kent State, their first NCAA Division I-A opponent since 1987. DSU, 2-0 and ranked No. 24 in Division I-AA by The Sports Network, plays the Golden Flashes (1-1) at 4 p.m. at Dix Stadium.

Lavan vividly remembers his MAC experience. After starting the 2003 season 1-8, Eastern Michigan fired Jeff Woodruff and turned to Lavan, the running backs coach.

As interim coach, Lavan's team beat Central Florida and Ball State before losing to Northern Illinois.

Even so, Lavan was not considered for the full-time job, he said. Had he been hired, it would have been his first full-time head coaching job at any level. He had been a I-A and NFL assistant since 1970.

"I was given the opportunity to be a head coach, and I did what I thought should be done," Lavan said. "They chose to go in another direction. It turned out to be more experience that I can put in my pocket."

Instead, Eastern Michigan hired Northwestern assistant Jeff Genyk, who has gone 9-27 over four years. Lavan, in his fourth year at DSU, is 21-14.

"This conference is tough; everyone is on the same playing level," said Kent State coach Doug Martin, who was hired in 2004, the same year Lavan took over at DSU. "There isn't anyone who has a talent disadvantage. It makes you be sharp as a player, especially watching a team like Delaware State. They have a lot of guys who could play in the MAC."

During the offseason, Lavan said, DSU had "multiple offers" to play Division I-A opponents more successful than Kent State.

But it was Lavan's previous MAC experience that proved to be the clincher in deciding to accept the Golden Flashes' offer. DSU will receive about $100,000 to play at Kent State.

"It was an opportunity we couldn't pass up," Lavan said. "You don't get them very often. This was an opportunity to play a team that's going to challenge for the MAC title."

The Hornets' only other game against a I-A foe was a 1987 win over current MAC member Akron.

Kent State was picked to win the league's East Division in several preseason guides. So far, it has a 23-14 victory at Iowa State and a 56-20 loss last weekend at Kentucky.

Lavan said he will reinforce to his players what lies ahead in facing a Division I-A opponent.

"The quality of preparation is always king," Lavan said. "Emotionally, we're trying to teach them to appreciate the caliber of opponent. It's always different when you play someone new."

Hornets buzz

DSU running back Kareem Jones (knee) and receiver Shaheer McBride (shoulder) are listed as day-to-day, but should be ready to play against Kent State, Lavan said. Jones was held out of the starting lineup in last Saturday's 20-7 win at Florida A&M to protect his knee, which was injured in the season opener. McBride hurt his shoulder late in the FAMU game and was held out of practice for precautionary reasons. ... The Golden Flashes defense is allowing 35 points a game, but the offense features two players averaging more than 100 yards rushing a game. Running back Eugene Jarvis averages 122 yards, while spread-offense quarterback Julian Edelman adds 105 yards per game. Edelman has 290 yards passing with two touchdowns.