By REGGIE BENSON, Times Sports Staff
Inexperience on field, sidelines worries Jones as 'Dogs go to Tennessee State
NASHVILLE - There was a time when Tennessee State dominated Alabama A&M, winning the first 15 meetings.
But since the series was renewed in the late 1990s, it has been dead even. In fact, A&M has held the upper hand in recent years, winning four of the last five.
That doesn't sit well with TSU coach James Webster, who is 0-2 against the Bulldogs. A&M and TSU will meet tonight in the John Merritt Classic at LP Field. Kickoff is at 6.
"This is the most important game of the season," Webster said earlier this week. "It's our Classic. We've lost two years in a row. We've got to get off to a positive start.
"With us being in our third year, it's important for us to win the football game and prove to ourselves and our fans that we've made progress."
A&M coach Anthony Jones is 4-1 against TSU, but he says none of that will matter tonight.
Jones' lone loss came in 2004 when he took a young bunch of Bulldogs to Nashville and got embarrassed 42-7.
Jones will send yet another young football team on the field against the Tigers.
"We're going to have new guys all over the place - particularly on offense," said Jones, who will have six players on offense making their first career starts.
"We're confident with what we've been doing with those guys, but we'll just have to see what happens when the lights come on."
In addition to his young team, Jones also has three new offensive assistant coaches.
"This will be their first real test as far as coaching on the run and making adjustments," Jones said.
The Bulldogs also lost five players, including three critical ones, earlier this week when wide receiver Anthony Mitchell, offensive linemen Anquez Jackson and Antonio Regist and defensive end Jonathan Jones were declared academically ineligible. Running back Max Martin has yet to be cleared pending an NCAA issue.
"I anticipated we might have a problem, but some of those guys were still working and making plays," Jones said. "Then, all of a sudden, they're gone. That makes a difference.
"TSU is a good football team, and when you play a good football team, you want to go in there full tilt. When you lose guys, it hurts."
However, the Bulldogs have moved on and Jones said they've made the necessary adjustments.
But he knows the Tigers will be sky high come game time.
"You don't appreciate the value of some of these Classics until you lose," Jones said. "I know they appreciate the value of their Classic because that's all they've talked about. When they come out of that tunnel, their intensity will be off the charts. They have a lot of guys coming back that have experienced losing this game. We've got a lot of guys that don't have a clue what they're getting into.
"The intensity they're going to bring is going to be so high that if we don't match it or exceed it, it may be more than we can handle."
Inexperience on field, sidelines worries Jones as 'Dogs go to Tennessee State
NASHVILLE - There was a time when Tennessee State dominated Alabama A&M, winning the first 15 meetings.
But since the series was renewed in the late 1990s, it has been dead even. In fact, A&M has held the upper hand in recent years, winning four of the last five.
That doesn't sit well with TSU coach James Webster, who is 0-2 against the Bulldogs. A&M and TSU will meet tonight in the John Merritt Classic at LP Field. Kickoff is at 6.
"This is the most important game of the season," Webster said earlier this week. "It's our Classic. We've lost two years in a row. We've got to get off to a positive start.
"With us being in our third year, it's important for us to win the football game and prove to ourselves and our fans that we've made progress."
A&M coach Anthony Jones is 4-1 against TSU, but he says none of that will matter tonight.
Jones' lone loss came in 2004 when he took a young bunch of Bulldogs to Nashville and got embarrassed 42-7.
Jones will send yet another young football team on the field against the Tigers.
"We're going to have new guys all over the place - particularly on offense," said Jones, who will have six players on offense making their first career starts.
"We're confident with what we've been doing with those guys, but we'll just have to see what happens when the lights come on."
In addition to his young team, Jones also has three new offensive assistant coaches.
"This will be their first real test as far as coaching on the run and making adjustments," Jones said.
The Bulldogs also lost five players, including three critical ones, earlier this week when wide receiver Anthony Mitchell, offensive linemen Anquez Jackson and Antonio Regist and defensive end Jonathan Jones were declared academically ineligible. Running back Max Martin has yet to be cleared pending an NCAA issue.
"I anticipated we might have a problem, but some of those guys were still working and making plays," Jones said. "Then, all of a sudden, they're gone. That makes a difference.
"TSU is a good football team, and when you play a good football team, you want to go in there full tilt. When you lose guys, it hurts."
However, the Bulldogs have moved on and Jones said they've made the necessary adjustments.
But he knows the Tigers will be sky high come game time.
"You don't appreciate the value of some of these Classics until you lose," Jones said. "I know they appreciate the value of their Classic because that's all they've talked about. When they come out of that tunnel, their intensity will be off the charts. They have a lot of guys coming back that have experienced losing this game. We've got a lot of guys that don't have a clue what they're getting into.
"The intensity they're going to bring is going to be so high that if we don't match it or exceed it, it may be more than we can handle."
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