Saturday Football Around the SWAC

All 10 SWAC teams are in action Saturday, including four conference matchups and two Classics as the season heats up on the final Saturday of September.

Alabama A&M at Grambling (SWAC TV) - 6 pm

The return of coach Doug Williams comes full circle in the home opener for the Tigers, losers of two straight games and needing a win to keep from falling two games back of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the Western Division race.

The Bulldogs have never won at Grambling, and head coach Anthony Jones is just 2-9 against the Tigers. However, his team righted the ship last week in an important win over out of conference rival Tuskegee.

Alabama State at Jackson State - 4 pm

This game should go a long way in determining the top of the Eastern Division. Last year, the 32-30 win by the Hornets was the difference maker in sending Bama State to the SWAC Championship Game.

JSU's offense has been more balanced early in the season, and the Tigers are the SWAC's only unbeaten team remaining. JSU won a thriller last week in Baton Rouge before a packed house at Southern. Expect a lot of fans at this one this evening.

The Hornets pulled away from Grambling last week, led by the defensive efforts of Kejuan Riley with two interceptions. Will Riley and the defensive backfield be able to stop the JSU Air Raid? We shall see.

Alcorn State at Texas Southern - 1 pm

This suddenly becomes an extremely important game for each team. The Braves cannot afford a third conference loss this early in the season, and the Tigers would be facing an uphill climb back to the championship game if they start 0-2 in SWAC play.

TSU stepped out of conference last week for an easy victory over Texas College. The road will be much tougher today for quarterback Riko Smalls, who put up impressive numbers last week in the victory. The 212 defense is statistically the best in the nation after two games for TSU.

For the Braves, a tough schedule early on in the season has them at 1-2, but a win at Texas Southern would go a long way in getting back in the Eastern Divsion race. The offense found itself with an important win last week over Mississippi Valley State, and quarterback Brandon Bridge is starting to look like the freshman phenom we saw last year.

Mississippi Valley State at Prairie View A&M - 6 pm

Is this the week for Valley head coach Karl Morgan? At some point, the answer to that question is "yes" as the coach tries to break a 14-game skid for the Delta Devils and get his first win as head coach in Itta Bena.

MVSU has shown signs early in the season that it is a much-improved team despite not yet capturing that elusive first victory. Last week the fourth quarter was not kind to the Delta Devils, but the team was toe-to-toe on the road at Alcorn prior to it. If the team can stay healthy, especially at quarterback, this is a dangerous team to play.

PV is looking to recover from a bad fourth quarter of its own. The Panthers allowed UAPB to score 22 unanswered points at home in the final quarter last week and now need a win to remain just a game back of the Golden Lions in the Western Division race.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Clark-Atlanta (Gateway Classic) - 3 pm

The Golden Lions have never lost to the Panthers in two previous games. UAPB is 2-0 in league games this year, but lost a disappointing game to Langston in the Delta Classic 4 Literacy to open the season. With that bad taste still lingering, look for the Lions to be ready to play today as they represent the SWAC at the Gateway Classic in St. Louis.

Southern vs. Florida A&M (Atlanta Football Classic - Television: Versus Channel) - 2:30 pm (CT)

One of the oldest non-conference rivalries in black college football gets renewed today in the Atlanta Football Classic. These two teams haven't met since the MEAC/SWAC Challenge was still played in Birmingham, and both teams are hungry for a win after early season losses.

The game will be carried live on the Versus Network, and you can expect a lot of fans to fill the Georgia Dome for this one. The MEAC has had the SWAC's number so far this year with head-to-head wins by Hampton and Bethune-Cookman. Let's see if the Jags can come up big representing the league today.

Courtesy: SWAC.org