SU, TSU unfamiliar opponents

Photo: Southern free safety Jarmaul George is on the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List.














By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter

An interesting part about Saturday’s game between Southern and Tennessee State could be in the programs not having played each other since 1996.

In football terms, that means these teams and coaching staffs have not seen one another.

Take note as well, that both SU (3-0) of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and Tennessee State (2-1) of the Ohio Valley Conference, who meet at 6 p.m. Saturday in A.W. Mumford Stadium, have been at their best in the second half, usually when teams make adjustments.

“Most teams you play, you have folders on, but when you don’t play them in so long you might as well throw that stuff away,” Southern coach Pete Richardson said. “In the conference, you can pull out the tendencies and they’re not going to change that much, if the same guy is calling offense and defense. They may put a wrinkle in here and there, but they won’t change.

“But this is weird because you never get a chance to see them that much. It’s hard to get tendencies on them. You have to spend a lot of time watching film.”

Game tempo will be something to watch.

Southern has scored just six points in the first quarter of its first three games, with that coming on a 90-yard touchdown run on the first play of the season. SU’s best quarter is the second, with 26 points, and the Jaguars have 36 points after halftime.

Tennessee State has 23 first-half points, and just one second-quarter touchdown, this season. The Tigers are best in the fourth quarter, with 27 points, and have 49 of their 72 points (68.1 percent) after halftime (including overtime).

Tennessee State won its last two games by coming back in the fourth quarter.

“That’s a tribute to the coaching staff,” Richardson said. “They have them playing hard for 60 minutes. &hellip Things aren’t going to work out well at times, but you find a way to win. They believe in what they’re doing. &hellip The longer the game goes on, the more physical they are and they turn games around.”

Southern hasn’t allowed a score in the third quarter and just nine points (one TD) in the second half so far.

On Rodgers-Cromartie
There’s a lot of interest in seeing Tennessee State senior cornerback Dominic Rodgers-Cromartie, who, like Southern free safety Jarmaul George, is on the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List. That honor goes to the Football Championship Subdivision’s top defensive player.

“He’s an outstanding football player,” Richardson said. “He’s instinctive, very physical and he also has outstanding speed because he’s a track guy.”

More than just a defensive standout, Rodgers-Cromartie has blocked a field goal and a PAT late to help the Tigers win games.

Both sides of the ball are curious.

Said SU wide receiver Gerard Landry, who is suspended for the first half, “I’m very excited about it. I want to try to go against the best.”

Said George, “This is one of the games I circle, because they have a DB that is up for the same award that I am.”

Talking turnovers
Tennessee State lost four of its six fumbles and had two passes intercepted in a 33-32 overtime win over Austin-Peay. The Tigers, who have lost five fumbles and have been intercepted five times this season, are 108th of 116 FCS teams in turnover margin (minus-2.0).

Said Richardson, “We’re working on stripping the ball out. &hellip I’m quite sure they’re working on ball security, too, to keep that ball off the ground. We have to get it out. That’s the name of the game: turnovers.”

TSU has four takeaways (three fumble recoveries, one interception).

Said TSU coach James Webster, “We cannot continue to commit turnovers and win football games. We must positively get our turnover margin back on the positive side.”

Kick it
Tennessee State junior kicker Eric Benson is 4-for-4 on FGs, with a game-winner and one to send a game into overtime at the end of regulation, and 6-for-8 on PATs, with a game-winner in overtime.

Meanwhile, SU true freshman Josh Duran is 1-for-2 on FGs (good from 30, missing from 37) and 5-for-8 on PATs. SU has gone 0-for-2 on two-point conversion passes from quarterback Bryant Lee. The Jaguars were good on a fake field-goal Saturday against Prairie View, getting a 12-yard TD pass from holder Nick Benjamin to tight end Evan Alexander at the start of the fourth quarter. Had that gamble not worked, SU’s lead would have been 6-0.

“We have to work on (PATs/field-goals/conversions) because we cannot afford to lose points that are free points,” Richardson said. “Eventually, it’s going to come back to haunt you.”

Thoughts on Tenn. State
“If you look at their team play, they’re fundamentally sound,” Richardson said. “They’re aggressive on defense. They play with a lot of energy. A real physical type of football team. Offensively, they have an outstanding quarterback in (Antonio) Heffner. He can really throw the football and cause some problems, because he can also run with it.

“It’ll be tough for us to try to control them.”

Notes
Though Tennessee State is known as the “Big Blue,” Southern is asking its fans to wear blue to the game. Against Prairie View on Saturday, SU fans wore white. Tennessee State has won 14 black college national titles. SU averages 13.0 yards per punt, second to last among FCS teams. SU’s scoring defense of 11.7 ppg is eighth-best nationally, while its pass efficiency defense is ninth best.