ASU plays musical quarterbacks

Lorman, Mississippi -- Alcorn State appears to have grounded Air Canada. The Braves (1-4) entertain Concordia College at 4 p.m. Saturday. Bridge, nicknamed Air Canada, was benched a month ago as Darius Smith started the Braves’ last two games. Smith is expected to start against Concordia. Bridge was named SWAC’s freshman of the year.

“We felt the other guy was the best guy at the time,” Braves coach Melvin Spears said during a SWAC teleconference call. “We’re looking for consistency. He has more poise than Bridge and is not looking to run as much.”

The Braves have had odd back-to-back open dates.

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Grambling breathing easier after win

Grambling, Louisiana - Monday provided Grambling its first chance since early September to start a new week of meetings and practice on a positive note.

"It's cured the cold so far," Doug Williams said Monday about beating Concordia, 44-0. "I think not only for the players, but for the coaches. In meetings (Monday) morning, you could feel in the room that it's a better atmosphere when you win, no matter who you play, and hopefully it's contagious not only from the coaches' standpoint but all the way down to the players and the fans."

But much of the coach's comments about his team and its status midway through the season remained similar to those that had followed four consecutive losses.

"You've got a chance to smile a little more because you've got a 'W' up under your belt," he said...

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Prairie View misses chances against Alabama State

Prairie View, Texas - Prairie View A&M came back to earth a bit with Saturday's 20-7 loss to conference rival Alabama State.

The Panthers (4-3, 4-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) saw their three-game winning streak end under a mountain of missed opportunities. They outgained Alabama State 456-296 in total yards but committed three turnovers and missed three field goals. Prairie View also came up empty on four fourth-down attempts, including three inside the red zone.

However, there were some bright spots. The Panthers moved the ball consistently on offense, and the defense had a solid performance. Freshman running back Fred Anderson rushed for 101 yards on 20 carries, becoming the first PV player to top the century mark this year.

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ASU 20, Prairie View 7: Hornets take rival by swarm

Montgomery, Alabama -- It's a formula that continues to work for 24th-ranked Alabama State.

Nick Andrews hauled in a touchdown pass from Greg Jenkins and the defense forced three turnovers to help ASU remain unbeaten in conference play with a 20-7 victory over Prairie View A&M on Saturday at Cramton Bowl.

Saturday's game pitted the top teams in each division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference in what could be a preview of the SWAC Championship Game on Dec. 10.



"It's a championship-caliber game, the best team in the West and the best team in the East clashing," Jenkins said. "Both teams have great defenses, so you can't really expect a high-scoring game."

Jenkins completed 12 of 31 passes for 215 yards, throwing one touchdown pass and running for another as the Hornets (6-1) improved to 6-0 in SWAC play.

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JSU Tigers unable to hit long ball vs. MVSU Devils' scheme

Itta Bena, Mississippi -- Joseph LeBeau had seen this before. Watching from the sideline Saturday during Jackson State’s 17-16 win over Mississippi Valley State, he noticed the Delta Devils’ scheme in the secondary.

“They played more of an Alabama State defense on our offense,” the JSU defensive end said. All agreed that Mississippi Valley (0-7) mimicked a scheme Alabama State used three weeks ago to hand JSU a loss and force six interceptions from quarterback Casey Therriault.

The scheme? A mix of cover-2, cover-4. Valley’s cornerbacks played as much as 15 yards off the ball and their safeties were in farther, preventing JSU’s go-to play: the long pass. “They didn’t let our receivers get behind them,” Therriault said. “They kept everything in front, looking for tipped balls, looking to jump routes. It was a good scheme.”

It worked, too, at least in the first half.




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Mississippi State, Mississippi Valley to kick off 2013 in Starkville

Itta Bena, Mississippi -- By 2013, Mississippi State will have paid more than $1 million to the state's three historically black universities for football games against them.

The Bulldogs will play Mississippi Valley State to open the 2013 season and will pay the Delta Devils $350,000 for the one-year deal, MSU athletic director Scott Stricklin said Tuesday.

Mississippi Valley, currently on a 14-game losing streak, will be the third Mississippi-based historically black university from the Southwestern Athletic Conference to travel to Scott Field over a five-year span.

Mississippi State played Jackson State in 2009, the first meeting between the schools that are about two hours apart. The Bulldogs played Alcorn State for the first time last year.

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Melee erupts shortly after UAPB celebrates victory over SU

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas - What started as a celebration for Arkansas-Pine Bluff after its thrilling 22-21 victory Saturday night over Southern soon turned ugly after the final play, with swinging helmets, thrown punches, fans throwing soda bottles and some coaches and players getting hit with pepper spray.

The game had a wild finish preceding the fracas.

First, UAPB took a 22-15 lead on a 14-play, 79-yard drive ending with a Dennis Jenkins touchdown run and two-point conversion pass with 1:30 remaining.

Then, Southern completed a mad drive for what looked like it would be a game-tying score. The 76-yard, seven-play drive ended with no time on the clock when quarterback Dray Joseph found Sylvester Nzewke on an 11-yard throwback screen to get the Jaguars within 22-21, pending an extra point.

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Plenty at stake as Alabama A&M hosts TSU on ESPNU

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- As the calendar winds toward November and the Southwestern Athletic Conference reaches the midway point, the games get bigger and bigger.

For Alabama A&M, none is bigger than tonight's game with defending SWAC champion Texas Southern.

GAME: ALABAMA A&M vs. TEXAS SOUTHERN
DATE: THURSDAY, OCT. 13, 2011
TV: ESPNU
GAME TIME: 6:30 p.m. CT
SITE: Louis Crews Stadium, Huntsville, Alabama

The Bulldogs, who already have one league loss, are trying to stay within striking distance of East Division-leading Alabama State. If A&M wins tonight and Alabama State beats Prairie View on Saturday, first place in the Eastern Division will be on the line when the Bulldogs and Hornets collide in the Magic City Classic on Oct. 29 in Birmingham.

Meanwhile, Texas Southern is trying to keep West Division-leading Prairie View in its sights.


2011 - AAMU Field Show at the Southern Explosion BOTB

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Gov. Robert Bentley to honor first responders at Alabama A&M football game

Huntsville, Alabama -- Gov. Robert Bentley will help Alabama A&M University honor local first responders during a "Community Night" football game Thursday at Louis Crews Stadium, the university said in a news release.

Bentley will be on hand to help honor emergency workers who responded during the April 27 tornadoes and beyond. The emergency workers are invited to come to the game against Texas Southern University free of charge. The game will be televised on ESPN-U at 6:30 p.m.(C.T.).

Emergency management staff, fire and medical personnel, National Guard, soldiers and marines stationed at Redstone Arsenal, members of the print and broadcast media, and other first responders with the proper credentials can present work ID at the "Heroes Gate" located on the visitors' side of Louis Crews Stadium. Special recognition will be made to the honorees during the half-time observance.

AAMU Band - 2011 Homecoming On Campus Parade & Pep Rally



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Turnovers help Alabama State stay atop conference

Montgomery, Alabama -- As a native of Montgomery, Ala., and an Alabama State alumnus, fifth-year coach Reggie Barlow knows full well that times have rarely been higher at his alma mater.

A new field house is up and running. Steel beams are rising on a state-of-the-art on-campus football stadium, which is scheduled to open late next year.

And right now, the Hornets haven’t lost a game in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. Yet as the next game approaches, Barlow is concerned. He usually is. Such is life in the SWAC.

“I don’t think there’s one team in this league to where you can say, ￔOh, they’re so much better than everybody else,’” Barlow said. “So everybody has to play.”




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Southern University secondary a bright spot

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- In the past four weeks, the Southern football team is 1-3, its three losses coming by four points, five points and three points. It’s been a disappointing month for the Jaguars, who at times have faltered in almost every area - passing offense, rushing offense, special-teams units, run defense and the like.

One area, however, has been rock-steady: pass defense.

“Not bad at all,” second-year coach Stump Mitchell said, referring to his secondary. Last season, Southern gave up a conference-high 25 touchdown passes. Through six games this season, the Jaguars have allowed three. They rank second in the SWAC in pass defense, allowing 181.3 yards per game, and opposing quarterbacks have completed only 47 percent of their throws.

What’s made the difference?

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Refreshed Grambling Tigers ready to go

Grambling, Louisiana -- Doug Williams isn't necessarily a fan of bye weeks. The Grambling coach said this weekend off from competition came at an opportune time, and he admitted players probably need some sort of break from a long season.

But now he's ready to get back into the normal swing with Concordia coming to town in just a few days.

"We worked hard the days that we did work," Williams said. "Saturday was a day that at 2 o'clock it was amazing the way the kids came out and worked hard looking forward to today to start our season from today, today on. I think that's important that we find a way to get a 'W' under our belts."

The Tigers (1-4, 1-3) held a relatively light practice load last week as they tried to heal.




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Alabama State Hornets in football national polls

Montgomery, Alabama -- Alabama State's 43-29 win over Texas Southern propelled the Hornets into The Sports Network's Football Championship Subdivision rankings for the first time in the school's history.

The Hornets (5-1) are ranked 24th after running their record to 5-0 versus FCS schools, with their only loss coming in the second week to Football Bowl Subdivision member Eastern Michigan. Southwestern Athletic Conference members occasionally crack the Top 25 in The Sports Network poll, but it is the first time a SWAC team has been ranked this early in the season since Alabama A&M made the rankings on Sept. 10 and Sept. 17 in 2007.

Hornet placekicker Bobby Wenzig also earned The Sports Network national special teams player of the week honors after scoring 19 points and making all five field goals he attempted at Texas Southern.




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Jackson State Tigers travels to winless Mississippi Valley

Itta Bena, Mississippi -- Who was the starting quarterback when Mississippi Valley State last defeated Jackson State?

Moss Point native Keith Poindexter helped lead the Delta Devils to an 18-16 victory in 1994. Jackson State has won the last 16 games in the series. Jackson State (4-1, 5-1 SWAC) looks to continue its dominance over the hapless Delta Devils (0-6, 0-5) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Rice-Totten Stadium.

The Tigers could easily be undefeated, falling to Alabama State 28-21 last month at home.
Quarterback Casey Therriault has been up and down this season, capable of throwing for 400 yards as well as tossing five interceptions.



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With 5 unanswered TDs, JSU Tigers post another blowout win

Jackson, Mississippi -- Still frustrated and fired up about Jackson State's loss two weeks ago to Alabama State, Rodrick Gladney looked around at his celebrating teammates after a second straight trouncing Saturday and uttered these words.

"If Alabama State came in here tomorrow," JSU's left guard said, "we'd beat those boys."

He probably won't get many arguments on that - not after the last two weeks, the last two games, the last eight quarters. Jackson State roughed up a second straight league foe Saturday, whipping Arkansas-Pine Bluff 48-10 in front of an announced homecoming crowd of 38,722 at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

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'Mule' kicks Lions' goal-line try

Donovan Robinson calls it "Mule."

It's a defensive play call in which both of Jackson State's defensive ends crash toward the middle of the offensive line. When Arkansas-Pine Bluff faced a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line on its first drive of the game, guess what it was called? Yep, mule.

Robinson and opposite defensive end Joseph LeBeau crashed into the middle of the line stuffing Ben Anderson's QB sneak for no gain and setting quite the tone in JSU's 48-10 win over the Golden Lions on Saturday.

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UAPB Lions simply couldn't keep up with JSU's Richardson

Asked why and how he got so wide open during Jackson State's 48-10 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday, Rico Richardson smiled. "I think I'm the fastest in the country," he said. "That's how I feel." One can't blame him too much - not on this day.

Richardson, JSU's speedy junior receiver, caught five passes for a whopping 174 yards, scored on two long touchdowns and drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone that set up a third-quarter score. The Golden Lions just couldn't keep up.



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KEYS: Coulda-woulda-shoulda routine getting old for Southern U.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- If only the Southern football team had found a way to move the ball in the second half Saturday night, the Jaguars could have rallied to drop Prairie View and move into first place in their division. Could have.

If only the Southern offense had found a way to shut out Jackson State in the fourth quarter Sept. 17, the Jaguars would have defeated those hated Tigers at home, and maybe changed the course of both teams’ seasons. Would have.

If only the Southern football team hadn’t collapsed in the second half against Florida A&M, the Jaguars would have left Atlanta with the most important victory in Stump Mitchell’s time as coach. And instead of being 2-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play, they should have been 4-2 and 3-1 by now. Maybe even 5-1 and 4-0. Should have.

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Not again, SU Jaguars: Late FG lifts Prairie View

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- Once again, the offense fell asleep in the second half. Once again, the opponent had claimed momentum.

Yet somehow, in the fourth quarter of a pivotal, tense, 23-20 loss to Prairie View inside A.W. Mumford Stadium, the Southern football team found itself right where it wanted to be — with the football in the fourth quarter, with a chance to drive for the game-winning score. Once again, just as quickly, it all fell apart.

With 5:23 remaining in this Southwestern Athletic Conference showdown, Prairie View forced a fumble, recovered a fumble by SU quarterback Dray Joseph, then drained the clock and got a 19-yard field goal from Christopher Barrick with 10 seconds remaining, allowing the Panthers to escape Baton Rouge with a suddenly firm grip on first place in the Western Division.

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Backup QB struggles

Mitchell: Douglas ‘was different’ Saturday
Southern football coach Stump Mitchell said he thought freshman quarterback J.P. Douglas “was different” Saturday after the Jaguars’ 23-20 loss against Prairie View at A.W. Mumford Stadium, noting that Douglas was ineffective in his usual role as part-time player.

“I think J.P., he was different tonight. He was different before the ballgame,” Mitchell said of Douglas, who completed only 2 of 8 passes for 20 yards after he entered the huddle in the third quarter.

“I watch all these guys, and I don’t know if he ... He was just different. He was dancing. He was doing several things in pregame, which I just didn’t think that was him. Now, maybe I don’t know him. But I know he’s a heck of a player. I don’t know if he was right there tonight.”

A week earlier, Douglas had come off the sideline and ...



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SU offense fizzles in 2nd half

There were signs the Southern University offense is beginning to find its comfort zone during Saturday night’s 23-20 loss to Southwestern Athletic Conference rival Prairie View. Unfortunately for Southern, most of those signs disappeared in the second half when it could put up only a lone defensive score.

“I guess we’re learning that it takes 60 minutes to win the game,” offensive tackle Chris Browne said. “You have to do your job the whole game. You can’t stop.”

Southern ran 41 plays and gained 158 yards in the first half, but managed only 99 in the second half. The overall effort came up just short and squandered a defensive effort that was good enough to impress Jaguars coach Stump Mitchell.

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Alabama A&M 37, Mississippi Valley State 14

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Inside linebacker Willie Fuller was reminded last week of Alabama A&M's embarrassing homecoming loss to Texas Southern six years ago. The Tigers, who entered the game riding a 16-game losing streak, stunned the Bulldogs 17-7.

Fuller and company made sure there would be no embarrassing homecoming loss Saturday to Mississippi Valley State, who like Texas Southern, entered the game riding a 16-game losing streak.

Defensive end Corey Hart returned a fumble 33 yards for a touchdown less than a minute into the game and A&M scored on its four offensive possessions as the Bulldogs extended the Delta Devils' losing streak to 17 in a row with a satisfying 37-14 Southwestern Athletic Conference victory before an announced crowd of 16,827 at Louis Crews Stadium.

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Alabama State improves to 5-1 with 43-29 win over TSU

HOUSTON, Texas -- A 21-point third-quarter keyed by special teams propelled Alabama State to a 43-29 win over Texas Southern in a wild Southwestern Athletic Conference shootout at Delmar Stadium in a rematch of last season's SWAC Championship Game. [Stats]

The Hornets (5-1 overall, 5-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) are off to their best start since the 2005 season and scored 30+ points for the fourth time this season, all victories.

"It's a huge win for us," head coach Reggie Barlow said. "There's so much parity in this league and we have other teams on the East that are winning and having success. It's going to come down to the wire. A team that has no losses or one loss is the team that has the best chance to go to the SWAC Championship."




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Jackson State vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

When: Today, 4 p.m.
Where: Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jackson
Television: None
Radio: WHLH-95.5 FM in Jackson

Last meeting: Jackson State won 52-30 last year

History: All-time series: Jackson State leads 20-11

Scouting the Golden Lions: Keep an eye on...

Ben Anderson, Quarterback: Anderson ranks only behind JSU QB Casey Therriault in the league for passing yards a game at 200. He's completed 53 percent of his passes for 1,025 yards.

Unit that could give the Tigers fits: Receivers

If there's a weakness on JSU's defense it's been pass coverage. The Tigers, who lack depth, are fifth in the league, allowing 195 yards a game. Pine Bluff has three receivers with 200 yards or more - Desmond Beverly, Rontrell Bailey and Jevon Dixon.



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