By Mike Marzelli, Pine Bluff Commercial
LORMAN, Miss. — Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s unorthodox victory over Alcorn State Thursday night was just another indication that the Southwestern Athletic Conference is still a week-to-week league.
Much like in 2006, when all five teams in the Eastern Division finished within one game of each other and the traditional powers in the Western Division surprisingly fell off the pace, the SWAC appears to be defined by parity and an unpredictable nature again this season. Case-in-point: the defending West champion Lions, the highest scoring team in the league last season, pulling the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year and using its defense to grind out a victory over the Braves.
Alcorn coach Dr. Johnny Thomas might say that the start of the season is merely a feeling-out period for each team as the league gauges who its powers will be. The Braves have started poorly in nearly every one of Thomas’ seasons, including a 1-4 start last season, but have never finished under .500 during his tenure.
Last season it was UAPB that limped out of the gates 1-3 before ripping off seven straight wins. Jackson State also turned things around from a fourth-place finish the year before to a division title run that finished just one game short of Alabama A&M.
What that means is that the SWAC season may not have started in earnest yet, but each week is now another piece to each team’s puzzle as they try to piece together the clearest picture they can of the weeks to come.
The games for Week Two:
Grambling State (1-0 1-0 SWAC) at Pittsburgh (1-0)
Appalachian State has made believers out of every small school in the country following its victory at Michigan, but for the majority of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) schools, that does not mean that they are ready to go out and grab their own piece of the Top 25.
Grambling looked like the Tigers of old in last week’s trouncing of Alcorn, then again the Braves didn’t look all that powerful against UAPB. Even if Grambling is heading back to glory under new coach Ron Broadway, there will be no glory against a Big East opponent on this night. The Tigers have no chance to win this game but they will at least leave Heinz Field with one victory for the SWAC, as the Pitt Marching Band has no idea what type of beating it is about to take. Pittsburgh 43, Grambling 14
Southern University (1-0) vs. Mississippi Valley State (1-0 1-0 SWAC) at Chicago
The Delta Devils have won two consecutive Chicago Classics, with both wins coming over UAPB. Meanwhile Southern brought the MEAC-SWAC Challenge home to the SWAC for the first time ever by beating Florida A&M last week. When combined, the two teams have played close games in five straight years, with three of those being decided by a touchdown or less.
Here’s where the questions begin to arise. Does Southern’s performance last week mean that the mighty Jaguars are back after two straight down years? Is Valley’s sluggish victory over UAPB an indication that the Devils will struggle this season or was it just the first step on the way up this season?
The former sounds good. Jags coach Pete Richardson is too proud to let his job fizzle away without a fight. Southern 30, Valley 16.
Prairie View A&M (1-0 1-0 SWAC) vs. North Carolina A&T (1-0) at Los Angeles
Traditionally a SWAC doormat, the Panthers have actually become quite formidable under Henry Frazier over the past few seasons. They are a physical, hard-nosed running team that excels on defense and in special teams. While they still struggle mightily to throw the ball, they don’t roll over for anyone, especially rival Texas Southern. PVU defeated the Tigers 34-14 in last week’s Labor Day Classic.
Nevertheless, that preceding paragraph was fairly meaningless when you consider the fact that North Carolina A&T hasn’t won a game since 2005. If Prairie View fancies itself as anything other than the Panther teams that lost an NCAA record 80 consecutive games in the 1990’s, it has no business whatsoever losing to the Aggies. Prairie View 31, North Carolina A&T 6.
Jackson State (0-1) vs. Tennessee State (0-1) at Memphis
Jackson State fell to Division II Delta State in last week’s opener and word out of the Mississippi capital is that the Tigers’ faithful, who just two weeks ago were overflowing with enthusiasm about coach Rick Comegy’s second campaign, have already begun to spit fire.
Last year this contest was decided when Tennessee State missed a game-tying extra point, picked up what had been a bad snap and tossed a stunning two-point conversion pass to win the game by a point. If that, or anything like it, happens to JSU again, Jackson may implode into the Earth. Jackson State 33, Tennessee State 24.
Alabama A&M (1-0) at Clark-Atlanta (0-2)
The Bulldogs scored 49 points in their season opener. Clark has averaged 10 points a game in two previous contests this season. Even the wild and crazy SWAC can’t get its hands on this one. Alabama A&M 49, Clark 10.
Alabama State (1-0) vs. Texas Southern (0-1 0-1 SWAC)
One of the great mysteries of this season is what will come out of Montgomery.
‘Bama State has a strong nucleus, led by tailback Jay Peck, and the early returns on new coach Reggie Barlow have been positive. What the Hornets need to do now is show what they can do, which shouldn’t be hindered in the slightest by the lowly Tigers. Alabama State 24, Texas Southern 9.
LORMAN, Miss. — Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s unorthodox victory over Alcorn State Thursday night was just another indication that the Southwestern Athletic Conference is still a week-to-week league.
Much like in 2006, when all five teams in the Eastern Division finished within one game of each other and the traditional powers in the Western Division surprisingly fell off the pace, the SWAC appears to be defined by parity and an unpredictable nature again this season. Case-in-point: the defending West champion Lions, the highest scoring team in the league last season, pulling the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year and using its defense to grind out a victory over the Braves.
Alcorn coach Dr. Johnny Thomas might say that the start of the season is merely a feeling-out period for each team as the league gauges who its powers will be. The Braves have started poorly in nearly every one of Thomas’ seasons, including a 1-4 start last season, but have never finished under .500 during his tenure.
Last season it was UAPB that limped out of the gates 1-3 before ripping off seven straight wins. Jackson State also turned things around from a fourth-place finish the year before to a division title run that finished just one game short of Alabama A&M.
What that means is that the SWAC season may not have started in earnest yet, but each week is now another piece to each team’s puzzle as they try to piece together the clearest picture they can of the weeks to come.
The games for Week Two:
Grambling State (1-0 1-0 SWAC) at Pittsburgh (1-0)
Appalachian State has made believers out of every small school in the country following its victory at Michigan, but for the majority of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) schools, that does not mean that they are ready to go out and grab their own piece of the Top 25.
Grambling looked like the Tigers of old in last week’s trouncing of Alcorn, then again the Braves didn’t look all that powerful against UAPB. Even if Grambling is heading back to glory under new coach Ron Broadway, there will be no glory against a Big East opponent on this night. The Tigers have no chance to win this game but they will at least leave Heinz Field with one victory for the SWAC, as the Pitt Marching Band has no idea what type of beating it is about to take. Pittsburgh 43, Grambling 14
Southern University (1-0) vs. Mississippi Valley State (1-0 1-0 SWAC) at Chicago
The Delta Devils have won two consecutive Chicago Classics, with both wins coming over UAPB. Meanwhile Southern brought the MEAC-SWAC Challenge home to the SWAC for the first time ever by beating Florida A&M last week. When combined, the two teams have played close games in five straight years, with three of those being decided by a touchdown or less.
Here’s where the questions begin to arise. Does Southern’s performance last week mean that the mighty Jaguars are back after two straight down years? Is Valley’s sluggish victory over UAPB an indication that the Devils will struggle this season or was it just the first step on the way up this season?
The former sounds good. Jags coach Pete Richardson is too proud to let his job fizzle away without a fight. Southern 30, Valley 16.
Prairie View A&M (1-0 1-0 SWAC) vs. North Carolina A&T (1-0) at Los Angeles
Traditionally a SWAC doormat, the Panthers have actually become quite formidable under Henry Frazier over the past few seasons. They are a physical, hard-nosed running team that excels on defense and in special teams. While they still struggle mightily to throw the ball, they don’t roll over for anyone, especially rival Texas Southern. PVU defeated the Tigers 34-14 in last week’s Labor Day Classic.
Nevertheless, that preceding paragraph was fairly meaningless when you consider the fact that North Carolina A&T hasn’t won a game since 2005. If Prairie View fancies itself as anything other than the Panther teams that lost an NCAA record 80 consecutive games in the 1990’s, it has no business whatsoever losing to the Aggies. Prairie View 31, North Carolina A&T 6.
Jackson State (0-1) vs. Tennessee State (0-1) at Memphis
Jackson State fell to Division II Delta State in last week’s opener and word out of the Mississippi capital is that the Tigers’ faithful, who just two weeks ago were overflowing with enthusiasm about coach Rick Comegy’s second campaign, have already begun to spit fire.
Last year this contest was decided when Tennessee State missed a game-tying extra point, picked up what had been a bad snap and tossed a stunning two-point conversion pass to win the game by a point. If that, or anything like it, happens to JSU again, Jackson may implode into the Earth. Jackson State 33, Tennessee State 24.
Alabama A&M (1-0) at Clark-Atlanta (0-2)
The Bulldogs scored 49 points in their season opener. Clark has averaged 10 points a game in two previous contests this season. Even the wild and crazy SWAC can’t get its hands on this one. Alabama A&M 49, Clark 10.
Alabama State (1-0) vs. Texas Southern (0-1 0-1 SWAC)
One of the great mysteries of this season is what will come out of Montgomery.
‘Bama State has a strong nucleus, led by tailback Jay Peck, and the early returns on new coach Reggie Barlow have been positive. What the Hornets need to do now is show what they can do, which shouldn’t be hindered in the slightest by the lowly Tigers. Alabama State 24, Texas Southern 9.
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