Turkey Day Classic: Tuskegee 21, Alabama State 0

Tuskegee University's Willie Slater is 45-5 as a head coach, has won a black college national title and four SIAC conference titles in his four-year tenure as a head coach. Prior, Slater had been named the national assistant coach of the year in D-II five times and won five D-II national titles at North Alabama (3) and Troy (2). In Slater 29 year career, he has served as an offensive coordinator at the I-A, I-AA and D-II levels at Temple, Jacksonville State, North Alabama, West Alabama and Troy University.

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Tuskegee defeats ASU
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Tuskegee chows down on Hornets in Turkey Day Classic

Malcolm Crutchfield held Tuskegee's defensive log aloft, proud of what the Golden Tigers had just accomplished and eager for the next inscription that will be made on the wood. One side reads "Dirty D" and another has "we lay that wood," but the third side is where Tus­kegee has made regular marks. It's where the names of the teams the Tigers have beaten goes. "We started it two years ago and it's something we hope Tus­kegee keeps doing," said Crutch­field, a defensive lineman. "Ev­ery year, we're going to keep this legacy up." Tuskegee may need extra room to sear Alabama State's name into the lumber after a re­cord-setting 21-0 victory over the Hornets on Thursday at Cramton Bowl.

The Tigers, inspired by the controversial ending to last sea­son's Turkey Day Classic, set a school record for rushing de­fense by holding ASU to minus-57 yards rushing. Where Tuskegee saved pic­tures of a disputed last-minute play in last year's 17-13 loss, the Tigers will simply swing their stick and gloat in how they dom­inated Thursday. "How about a goose egg?" de­fensive end Darian Barnes said. "We don't make any excuses about last year, the bad call and the controversy. It was just mo­tivation for us to come out and do what we did today. "If you play like that, you don't have to worry about it coming down to one play." Tuskegee (9-2) had nine sacks, including three by Barnes, and held ASU (4-7) to 51 yards total offense. The Hornets (4-7) never crossed the Tuskegee 35-yard line.

Coaching makes Golden Tigers winners

Prior to each year's Turkey Day Classic, without fail, whoever happens to be Tuskegee's head coach will tell the media that the Golden Ti­gers' upcoming matchup with Alabama State will be a "mea­suring stick" for their program. It's not. Maybe it once was, but now, if anything, it's the other way around. Forget that Tuskegee is a Di­vision II program and ASU is a Division I-AA team. Those dis­tinctions and the scholarships that accompany each -- 36 for Division II, 63 for I-AA teams -- take a backseat to the most im­portant characteristic of an up­per-level football program.

Good coaching. Nothing matters more. Tuskegee 21, ASU 0 is all the proof you need of that. For most of the 86th Turkey Day Classic, the Golden Tigers provided an up-close look at what a fundamentally sound, well-coached college football team looks like. They rarely made dumb decisions. They did all the little things right. And they never seemed confused by a situation or unsure of how to re­act. By contrast, ASU was an ut­ter mess. There were penalties all over the place. There seemed to be mass confusion at times. And the Hornets never seemed to have an offensive clue.

TURKEY DAY CLASSIC NOTEBOOK: Tuskegee cornerback gets in second half

Tuskegee star cornerback Justin Hannah couldn't han­dle standing on the sidelines, so he convinced his coaches that his injury wasn't as bad as ini­tially believed. Hannah missed practice all week with a hip flexor injury and didn't play in the first half Thursday, but he got on the field during the second half of the Golden Tigers' 21-0 win over Alabama State. "I had to be out there," Han­nah said. "I was all about sup­porting our team and I was over there in the first half doing ev­erything I could to encourage them. I hope they fed off my en­ergy."

Hannah, a co-defensive play­er of the year in the Southern In­tercollegiate Athletic Confer­ence, recorded one tackle. Teams avoided him in Tuske­gee's first 10 games. Hannah had 38 tackles and three intercep­tions entering Thursday. "He wanted to play the first half, but we have a rule: no prac­tice, no play," Tuskegee coach Willie Slater said. "Out of re­spect to him, we let him play in the second half."

Attendance: 15,632@ Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL (ESPNU Nationally Televised Game)

Season Records: Tuskegee Golden Tigers 10-2, SIAC Champions; Alabama State Hornets 4-7, 1-6 SWAC.

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