Sunday, October 20, 2013

Alabama A&M mid-season review: Youth has served to hurt Bulldogs in 2013

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - There is at least this consolation for Alabama A&M's fan base: "We're not Grambling." Or, for that matter, Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The cyclical nature of college football at the FCS level, and particularly in the SWAC with its many recruiting disadvantages, has impacted Alabama A&M. The Bulldogs lost 23 seniors from a good 2012 football team that occasionally underachieved, leaving coach Anthony Jones and his staff with a major rebuilding project this go-'round.

None of the three quarterbacks had taken a snap in an NCAA game before this year and the offensive line started four rookies. There were other key positions on defense to be filled by young players. The Bulldogs graduated a dependable kicker and, on the eve of summer drills, lost a kicker to whom A&M had awarded a scholarship.

That's a reference to last weekend's debacle where officials originally proclaimed A&M the winner, then returned the teams to the field for one last play, and a more egregious call on a ...

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