Week 10: Pretenders vs. Contenders

Honoring the man that set the bar so high for all of us to meet, took center stage yesterday at South Carolina State University, Oliver C. Dawson Stadium at Willie Jeffries Field. On "Willie Jeffries Day", the legendary, iconic coach was presented a Plaque by the College Football Hall of Fame representative, and the football field at the Stadium was officially named "Willie Jeffries Field" in his honor.

More important, Coach Jeffries watched the Bulldogs thump the Howard Bison 54-14, the other team that he lead to the 1987 MEAC championship. Jeffries clearly enjoyed the camaraderie of generations of former Bulldogs and Bison players that he coached, that came to see him honored.

Read the following stories on how Coach Jeffries was honored:

• Jeffries gets one final ride on his day, on his field
• Bulldogs close out home slate with 54-14 win over Bison
• Bulldog Stadium playing surface to be named after Willie Jeffries
• Talented group of seniors happy to win final home game

In a made for television game, that was not televised, Albany State fans came out in droves to overflow A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Georgia in the 20th Fountain City Classic. The 14,000 seat stadium, also site of the12th annual Pioneer Bowl (Dec. 4, 2010), packed in 23,966 fans to watch a defensive battle between Albany State and Fort Valley State. The ASU Golden Rams prevailed over their rivals, 12-7 to win the SIAC championship and a bye in next weeks NCAA Division II Playoffs.

The #25 ranked Fort Valley State (8-2, 7-2 SIAC) has a slim chance of being selected to an at-large berth in the Division II playoffs. The pairings will be announced on Monday.

Jackson State fans are disappointed this morning, as the Alabama State Hornets claimed first place in the SWAC East with a 32-30 win at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. The Tigers didn't help themselves with four turnovers and 17 penalties for -143 yards.



Bethune-Cookman rolled over the best defense remaining on its 2010 schedule and defeated the Hampton Pirates on their homecoming 23-18 before 12,244 at Armstrong Stadium. The Pirates offense sputtered in the second half and did not have enough firepower to overtake the undefeated Wildcats (9-0, 6-0 MEAC). With only a home date with Howard and FAMU (Florida Classic) remaining on the Wildcats schedule, there is a 99% probability the Wildcats will end the regular season undefeated, win the MEAC title and the automatic berth into the FCS playoffs.

Florida A&M Rattlers had to go into overtime to beat the same North Carolina A&T (1-9, 1-6) team that B-CU walloped 67-17 on Oct. 28. The Rattlers offense, with Redshirt freshman quarterback Austin Trainor in his first start, was able to overcome the Aggies 22-19.

Coach Joe Taylor has apparently dumped his starting quarterback sophomore Martin Ukpai after eight games and senior Eddie Battle, due to unspecified reasons.

Let's be honest here--Joe Taylor is not talking yet, but it's clear to the blog that Ukpai has fallen far short of expectations in the passing game. When provided the opportunity to play, senior Eddie Battle also has killed drives and momentum with untimely interceptions. He has been nailed to the bench and rightfully so, by Taylor.

We wrote about this lack of experience issue back in April 2010, under the blog "Help Wanted (FAMU): Division I Transfer QB", regarding the forthcoming deficiencies at quarterback for this season.

Trainor is not the answer. Ukpai and Battle weren't the answer! Trainor lacks game experience and will need more time to develop, as a redshirt freshman.

Too bad for the Rattlers, they had all the other pieces in place necessary to compete for the MEAC championship this season, except a serviceable quarterback. But--there is always next year to look forward to and the opportunity for another Tallahassee area star quarterback like Savannah State's Antonio Bostick and Norfolk State's Chris Walley to go totally unnoticed by the Rattlers recruiters.

T.J. Lawrence appears to be one of the best athletes on the FAMU team. A good offensive coordinator would give him a try for a few series in the "Wildcat" at QB with the speedsters, Jerral Stewart and Philip Sylvester as the running backs. If nothing else, it would be entertaining to see an offense series with these three talented players handling the ball.

Now the rest of the story...



MEAC
Bethune-Cookman 23, Hampton 18
South Carolina State 54, Howard 14
Florida A&M 22, North Carolina A&T 19 (O.T.)
Delaware State 29, North Carolina Central 7
Norfolk State 37, Morgan State 25
Old Dominion 57, Savannah State 9

SWAC
Grambling State 35, Concordia 0
Alabama State 32, Jackson State 30
Texas Southern 54, Southern 7
Arkansas Pine Bluff 49, Mississippi Valley 20
Alcorn State 41, Alabama A&M 24

CIAA
Shaw 10, Saint Augustine's 6
Fayetteville State 44, Virginia Union 27
Virginia State 34, Saint Paul's 14
Elizabeth City State 36, Lincoln (Pa.) 6
Bowie State 59, Chowan 19

SIAC
Albany State (Ga.) 12, Fort Valley State 7
Morehouse 13, Miles 3
Tuskegee 28, Lane 6
Stillman 23, Kentucky State 12
Benedict 20, Clark Atlanta 17

OVC
Eastern Illinois 31, Tennessee State 28 (O.T.)

OTHERS
Azusa Pacific 59, Lincoln (Mo.) 14
Urbana 40, Central State (Oh.) 12
West Virginia Wesleyan 50, West Virginia State 28
LIU-C.W. Post 63, Cheyney 28
Lambuth 44, Edward Waters 27



B-CU and Norfolk State performing exhibition shows at Kings Fork High School. Videographer, Gentleman1911.