SWAC Football Notebook: Week 9

Week 9 schedule (All games are conference games)

Mississippi Valley State at Texas Southern; 2 p.m. Stats  Video
Alcorn State at Prairie View A&M; 2 p.m.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Grambling State; 2 p.m. Stats  Radio: KPCH - 99.3 FM | KJMG - 97.3 FM
Magic City Classic: Alabama State vs. Alabama A&M in Birmingham, Ala.; 2:30 p.m.   ESPN3
Jackson State at Southern; 6 p.m. Stats  Audio

Week 9 Notes:

• Tiger Strong: Texas Southern has defeated Mississippi Valley State in four straight meetings including a 38-21 victory in last season’s match up. 
• 1-2 punch: Texas Southern wide receivers Bobby Hartzog (30 receptions, 574 yards, five touchdowns) and Tren’Davian Dickson (31 receptions, 511 yards, four touchdowns) are currently the top two receiving leaders in the SWAC. 
• Decade high: With Mississippi Valley State’s 48-47 double overtime victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff last week, it was the most points the Delta Devils scored against a conference opponent since November 8, 2008 when it defeated Texas Southern 58-44.   
• You like points?: The Alcorn State-Prairie View A&M series have recently staged some of the highest scoring affairs in the conference.  The Braves and Panthers have totaled at least 54 points in eight consecutive match ups dating back to the 2010 season including three games in which they combined to score at least 85 points from 2012-2014.  The highest scoring match up featured a 77-48 win by Alcorn State in 2014. 
• Rushing title tightens up: Prairie View A&M running back Dawonya Tucker leads Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Taeyler Porter by just single yard heading into week nine.  Tucker has 812 yards with four touchdowns while Porter has rushed for 811 yards and six touchdowns. 
• Tops in the conference: Alcorn State continues to lead the SWAC in both points per game (34.0), yards per game (451.9 per game), defensive points allowed per game (19.9) and defensive yards allowed per game (266.6).   
• Four in a row: Grambling State has defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff in four consecutive seasons dating back to the 2013 season when the Golden Lions came away with a 45-42 victory.  The game was close last year as well with the Tigers holding off UAPB 31-26 last November 4. 
• Solo stopper: Arkansas-Pine Bluff sophomore defensive back Shawn Steele leads the conference in solo tackles with 33.
• Rushing the quarterback: Grambling State ranks second in the SWAC in sacks with 24, but the Arkansas-Pine Bluff offensive line has held opponents to just five sacks all season, the lowest mark in the conference.  The Tigers also rank second in sacks against conference teams with 17 while the Golden Lions have not allowed a sack in three conference games to rank first in the category. 
• Magic City Showdown:  The Magic City Classic’s first game between Alabama State and Alabama A&M was played in 1924. It has been an uninterrupted, annual tradition since 1945 and has been played at Legion Field since 1946. The classic is the largest HBCU event in the nation attracting nearly 200,000 participants. The Bulldogs lead the series with a record of 40-38-3 all-time, but the Hornets came away victorious in last year’s edition by the count of 21-16. 
• Boombox Classic: Jackson State travels down to Baton Rouge, La. to take on Southern in another see-saw rivalry.  The Jaguars leads the all-time series 32–29 after winning the last five in the series including last year’s 35-17 victory. 
• Stiffen up that defense: Both Southern and Jackson State have stiffened up their defense when it comes to conference play.  The Jaguars rank first in points allowed per game (13.5) while the Tigers are ranked second by allowing 18.3 points per contest.  

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