By REGGIE BENSON, Huntsville Times
Letdowns have plagued A&M when it's favored
It was an historic day in the annals of Alabama A&M football. Back on Sept. 14, 1996, the Bulldogs opened Louis Crews Stadium.
It was the first time an A&M football team had played on campus since the early 1970s.
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Clark Atlanta, which had never beaten A&M in 12 previous attempts, came to town. The Bulldogs were expected to make short work of the Panthers and send everybody home happy. Instead, the unthinkable happened.
Clark Atlanta won.
The Panthers came away with an improbable 20-17 victory in triple overtime to spoil the occasion.
A&M defensive coordinator Brawnski Towns remembers it as if it happened yesterday.
"We lost containment on the quarterback and he stepped outside and threw it up and we didn't attack the ball in the secondary," Towns recalled. "It was third-and-long and they could have gotten a first down, but they threw a touchdown pass and we lost the game.
"It was tough because we had the game at that point. We had made a couple of big plays and then they threw the ball up and scored. You could hear a pin drop in the stadium after that."
Saturday night, almost 11 years after that monumental victory, Clark Atlanta will return to Louis Crews Stadium for A&M's home opener. Kickoff is at 6:30.
A&M is 1-0 after a 49-23 win over Tennessee State. Clark Atlanta is 0-1 after falling 23-13 to West Georgia.
It didn't take long for A&M coach Anthony Jones to address the 1996 defeat. After a number of upsets Saturday, Jones reminded his team of Clark Atlanta's big win.
"I told them the first opponent to walk in here was Clark Atlanta and the first opponent to walk out with a win was Clark Atlanta," Jones said Monday afternoon. "We're very much aware of that. My teams aren't perfect. We try to be, but every now and then you have a letdown, and we're hoping this won't be one of them."
Jones' teams have had letdowns in recent years.
In 2004, Arkansas-Pine Bluff beat A&M 24-10. In 2005, Texas Southern downed A&M 17-7 on homecoming. Last season, the Bulldogs lost to Prairie View 13-7 after clinching the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division title.
If those games aren't enough, Jones can use some examples from last weekend.
"We've got a lot of history to go by with Appalachian State and Michigan," Jones said. "I don't know if you call that a letdown, but it was a hell of a win for Appalachian State. As a result of that, all underdogs will think they have a chance and all favorites will try to guard against having a letdown.
"Everybody will be using that game in their pre-game speech. Appalachian State will be heard about through the country."
Just like Clark Atlanta was 11 years ago.
Letdowns have plagued A&M when it's favored
It was an historic day in the annals of Alabama A&M football. Back on Sept. 14, 1996, the Bulldogs opened Louis Crews Stadium.
It was the first time an A&M football team had played on campus since the early 1970s.
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Clark Atlanta, which had never beaten A&M in 12 previous attempts, came to town. The Bulldogs were expected to make short work of the Panthers and send everybody home happy. Instead, the unthinkable happened.
Clark Atlanta won.
The Panthers came away with an improbable 20-17 victory in triple overtime to spoil the occasion.
A&M defensive coordinator Brawnski Towns remembers it as if it happened yesterday.
"We lost containment on the quarterback and he stepped outside and threw it up and we didn't attack the ball in the secondary," Towns recalled. "It was third-and-long and they could have gotten a first down, but they threw a touchdown pass and we lost the game.
"It was tough because we had the game at that point. We had made a couple of big plays and then they threw the ball up and scored. You could hear a pin drop in the stadium after that."
Saturday night, almost 11 years after that monumental victory, Clark Atlanta will return to Louis Crews Stadium for A&M's home opener. Kickoff is at 6:30.
A&M is 1-0 after a 49-23 win over Tennessee State. Clark Atlanta is 0-1 after falling 23-13 to West Georgia.
It didn't take long for A&M coach Anthony Jones to address the 1996 defeat. After a number of upsets Saturday, Jones reminded his team of Clark Atlanta's big win.
"I told them the first opponent to walk in here was Clark Atlanta and the first opponent to walk out with a win was Clark Atlanta," Jones said Monday afternoon. "We're very much aware of that. My teams aren't perfect. We try to be, but every now and then you have a letdown, and we're hoping this won't be one of them."
Jones' teams have had letdowns in recent years.
In 2004, Arkansas-Pine Bluff beat A&M 24-10. In 2005, Texas Southern downed A&M 17-7 on homecoming. Last season, the Bulldogs lost to Prairie View 13-7 after clinching the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division title.
If those games aren't enough, Jones can use some examples from last weekend.
"We've got a lot of history to go by with Appalachian State and Michigan," Jones said. "I don't know if you call that a letdown, but it was a hell of a win for Appalachian State. As a result of that, all underdogs will think they have a chance and all favorites will try to guard against having a letdown.
"Everybody will be using that game in their pre-game speech. Appalachian State will be heard about through the country."
Just like Clark Atlanta was 11 years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment