UAPB loss the worst in Forte era

BY BECK CROSS, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s suspect offense wasn’t in the same league with one of the more prolific teams in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Southern Illinois (4-0 ), No. 6 in the FCS, racked up 585 yards in total offense and led 30-0 at halftime before rolling to a 58-3 victory Saturday before 11,316 at McAndrew Stadium.

UAPB (1-3 ) was held to 51 yards of total offense in the first half before padding the statistics to a more respectable 299 for the game after the Salukis had pulled most of their starters. The 55-point loss was the worst for UAPB in four seasons under Coach Mo Forte.

The nonconference schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Golden Lions take on New Mexico State on Saturday in Las Cruces, N. M.

“We can bounce back by doing it mentally,” Forte said. “We played a great football team out there, and those guys are going to go a long way in the playoffs. The [offensive ] line play deteriorated once again, but there were some things we can build on.”

Southern Illinois, which defeated its first three opponents by an average margin of 27. 3 points, didn’t ease up on the Golden Lions. The Salukis scored on 5 of 6 first-half possessions and piled up 371 yards of total offense in running out to a 30-0 lead.

UAPB, which had the topranked defense in the Southwestern Athletic Conference going into the game, put up a fight in the early going. The Salukis had a first-and-goal at the 10 on their opening possession but settled for a 29-yard field goal by Kyle Dougherty after three consecutive incomplete passes.

The Golden Lions’ offense netted minus-16 yards on its first two possessions before Southern Illinois padded its advantage to 10-0 with 2: 20 remaining in the opening quarter. In the threeplay, 58-yard drive, Nick Hill was 2 of 2 passing for 41 yards, capped by a 36-yard scoring pass to Phil Goforth.

UAPB got its initial first down late in the quarter on a 5-yard run by Mickey Dean, but the offense again sputtered well short of midfield with two incomplete passes, a holding call and an 8-yard sack.

The Salukis needed only five plays to cover 83 yards. Facing a third-and-5 play, Deji Karim broke free on a 37-yard scoring run. The missed extra point left the margin 16-0 with 13: 03 left in the half.

After the UAPB offense again went three plays and out, Southern Illinois relied primarily on the run in grinding out a sevenplay, 81-yard scoring drive.

John Randle had two carries for 29 yards to set up Joe Allaria’s 8-yard scoring run. Dougherty’s extra point extended the Salukis’ advantage to 23-0 with 8: 23 left in the second quarter.

Southern Illinois scored again with 2: 55 left in the first half. Hill was 3 of 3 passing for 51 yards, and Randle scored on a 10-yard run.

“The first half we just didn’t play,” Forte said. “It’s like we were in sleep mode out there in the beginning. You can’t give away points the way we did and expect to win against a top-10 team.”

The Golden Lions had some bright spots in the second half. On the first series of the third quarter, Johnathan Moore was 5 of 8 passing for 50 yards, helping UAPB gain a first down at the Southern Illinois 24, but UAPB stalled and settled for Brodie Heflin’s 38-yard field goal to prevent the shutout with 10: 07 remaining in the quarter.

Southern Illinois added two third-quarter touchdowns before Chris Wallace came on in relief of Moore on the opening series of the fourth quarter. Wallace completed a 33-yard pass to Jason Jones, but UAPB came away empty after Heflin’s 42-yard fieldgoal attempt was blocked.

The Salukis scored two more touchdowns in the final 5: 02.

“I think we have it in us, but we just have to bring it out to the field,” Forte said. “I’ve never seen the guys, what they did [Saturday ], I’ve never seen that side of them and that kind of bothers me. By the time we woke up, it was too late.

“ The effort they gave in the second half was better, but we have to take advantage of the opportunities. We killed ourselves on offense.”

S.C. State holds off WSSU 20-7

By Shawn Singleton, SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL

ORANGEBURG, S.C.- S.C. State, despite outgaining Winston-Salem State by nearly 300 yards, committed four turnovers but still pulled out a 20-7 win at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

“We’re not as good as we thought we were,” said Coach Buddy Pough, whose Bulldogs outgained the Rams 493-200. “We made a lot of mistakes.

“But we’re happy to get the win.”

After a punt by the Rams, it took two plays and 21 seconds for the Bulldogs to score on their first possession. From the Bulldogs’ 21-yard line, quarterback Cleve McCoy went deep and found Terrance Smith uncovered for a 71-yard touchdown pass.

Steven Grantham added the extra point, and S.C. State led 7-0 at the 12:15 mark of the first quarter.

Grantham later capped a 14-play, 5:06 drive with a 28-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 10-0 lead with 10:48 left in the second quarter.

S.C. State attempted to add to its lead on its final possession of the first half. On second-and-goal from the Winston-Salem 1, miscommunication between McCoy and center Raymond Harrison led to a fumble that Brand McClellan recovered in the end zone for a Winston-Salem State touchback with 2:08 left before halftime.

After Grantham opened the second half with a 38-yard field goal to boost the Bulldogs’ lead to 13-0, S.C. State tried to put WSSU away. But McCoy was picked off in the end zone by Nathaniel Biggs. Biggs, a free safety, took the interception 89 yards to the S.C. State 12.

Quarterback Monte Purvis took advantage, finding Bryant Bayne for a 12-yard touchdown pass. S.C. State’s lead was sliced to 13-7 with 2:43 left in the third quarter but the Rams could score no more.

“We played well in some spots, but we weren’t consistent,” said Coach Kermit Blount of the Rams. “We didn’t move the ball as smoothly as we would have liked offensively.”

WSSU 0 0 7 0 - 7

SCSU 7 3 3 7 - 20

First Quarter

SCSU-Smith 71 pass from McCoy (Grantham kick), 12:15.

Second Quarter

SCSU-FG Grantham 28, 10:48.

Third Quarter

SCSU-FG Grantham 38, 8:59.

WSSU-Bayne 8 pass from Purvis (M.Mitchell kick), 2:43.

Fourth Quarter

SCSU-Jamison 1 run (Grantham kick), 1:07.

A-8,222.

TEAM STATISTICS

WSSU SCSU

First downs 12 25

Rushes-yards 37-113 57-289

Passing 87 204

Comp-Att-Int 12-21-1 12-24-1

Return Yards 87 1

Punts-Avg. 7-34.3 1-47.0

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-3

Penalties-Yards 10-109 9-103

Time of Possession 26:23 33:37

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - WSSU, Bines 10-53, Fluellen 10-42, Purvis 15-11, Dunston 1-6, Bayne 1-1. SCSU, Ford 27-162, Jamison 16-83, McCoy 10-37, Woods 4-7.

PASSING - WSSU, Purvis 12-19-1-87, Dunston 0-2-0-0. SCSU, McCoy 12-24-1-204.

RECEIVING - WSSU, Bayne 4-21, Fluellen 2-40, Bines 2-11, Kizzie 2-(minus 1), Kinzer 1-9, Thomas 1-7. SCSU, DuBose 3-47, Morris 3-20, Smith 2-89, Ford 1-29, B.Bush 1-11, Washington 1-8, Capers 1-0.

Losing at Grambling a hard habit for Alabama A&M to break

By Paul J. Letlow, the Monroe Newsstar

GRAMBLING — Defending SWAC champion Alabama A&M has never won a game at Grambling State's Robinson Stadium.
Some habits are hard to break.

Grambling extended that drought Saturday night in the home opener at "The Rob" with a dominating 31-6 win over A&M.

The home win before 7,831 was a first for first-year coach Rod Broadway, now 2-1 at Grambling and 2-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. A&M fell to 3-1, 1-1.

Grambling's defense engulfed a potent A&M attack that entered the day averaging 45 points and 519 yards. A&M was limited 147 yards and two field goals (36 and 37 yards) from place-kicker Jeremy Licea in the first half.

Grambling quarterback Brandon Landers completed 22-of-32 attempts for 235 yards and two touchdowns while senior receiver Reginald Jackson caught nine passes for 61 yards and a touchdown and ran three times for 30 yards and another score.

Landers used a short passing game early to move the chains and help his team build a 17-6 halftime lead. The Carroll product hit 13-of-16 attempts in the first two quarters, including an 18-yard touchdown to Clyde Edwards — the first score ever for Grambling's star receiver against A&M.

Grambling's other scoring drive finished with a diving touchdown plunge from freshman running back Cornelius "Sky" Walker, who leaped over the pile for to reach the end zone.

Grambling extended its lead to 24-6 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter on a trick play that netted a 24-yard touchdown run by Jackson. Landers faked a broken play and a fumble before handing off to Jackson, who darted around left end for a back-breaking touchdown.

Jackson caught a touchdown pass from Landers with 6:22 remaining to finish off his night.


GRAMBLING 31, ALABAMA A&M 6
AAM................. 3 3 0 0 - 6 Record: (3-1,1-1)
GSU................. 10 7 7 7 - 31 Record: (2-1,2-0)



Scoring Summary:
1st 10:33 GSU - EDWARDS,Clyde 18 yd pass from LANDERS,Brandon (MANUEL,Tim kick), 11-66 4:27, AAM 0 - GSU 7
07:37 AAM - LICEA,Jeremy 37 yd field goal, 4-8 1:08, AAM 3 - GSU 7
03:23 GSU - MANUEL,Tim 29 yd field goal, 10-50 4:00, AAM 3 - GSU 10
2nd 08:24 GSU - WALKER,Corneliu 2 yd run (MANUEL,Tim kick), 7-73 2:43, AAM 3 - GSU 17
00:06 AAM - LICEA,Jeremy 36 yd field goal, 11-60 4:25, AAM 6 - GSU 17
3rd 00:30 GSU - JACKSON,Reginal 26 yd run (MANUEL,Tim kick), 8-65 3:24, AAM 6 - GSU 24
4th 06:22 GSU - JACKSON,Reginal 7 yd pass from LANDERS,Brandon (MANUEL,Tim kick), 9-31 3:18, AAM 6 - GSU 31



AAM GSU
FIRST DOWNS................... 7 22
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 23-30 43-143
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 117 235
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 26-14-0 32-22-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 49-147 75-378
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 3-31 2-28
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 6-122 2-46
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 9-43.1 5-43.8
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards............... 7-55 1-5
Possession Time............... 25:11 34:49
Third-Down Conversions........ 4 of 15 9 of 16
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 0 1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 2-2 4-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 1-9 3-19


RUSHING: AAM-BANKS,Ulysses 12-37; GREEN,Anthony 3-1; LUKE,Kelcy 8-minus
8. GSU-WARREN,Frank 19-65; JACKSON,Reginal 3-30; EDWARDS,Clyde 4-27;
WALKER,Corneliu 12-25; KERLEGAN,Larry 1-7; LANDERS,Brandon 4-minus 11.

PASSING: AAM-LUKE,Kelcy 14-26-0-117. GSU-LANDERS,Brandon 22-32-0-235.

RECEIVING: AAM-SMITH,John 3-40; MOODY,Charles 3-24; HARRIS,Thomas 3-20;
BANKS,Ulysses 2-20; McCLAIN,Bobby 1-13; STOCKDALE,Geral 1-2; JOHNSON,Rashad
1-minus 2. GSU-JACKSON,Reginal 9-61; EDWARDS,Clyde 5-51; HILLS,Kovarus 4-83;
ABNEY,Tim 3-16; WALKER,Corneliu 1-24.

INTERCEPTIONS: AAM-None. GSU-None.

FUMBLES: AAM-BANKS,Ulysses 1-1. GSU-ABNEY,Tim 1-1.

NC A&T loss leads to scuffle

Photo: NCA&T and NCCU getting pepper sprayed by stadium security during after game brawl at mid-field.

Slide Show: The NCCU/A&T Scuffle and Pepper Spray Dance:
http://mm.news-record.com/legacy/indepth/07/ncat_092207/

By Keith Tolbert, Special to the News & Record

GREENSBORO -- N.C. A&T was 6 yards from ending almost two years of futility, but fell short of victory once again Saturday night.

The Aggies drove 74 yards in the game's final two minutes and had a second-and-goal at the N.C. Central 6 with 23 seconds left. Quarterback Herbert Miller dropped back and tried to hit a receiver in the slot, but the pass was intercepted by Central's Eric Ray, who preserved a 27-22 Eagles victory before a near-sellout crowd at Aggie Stadium.

After the game, some N.C. Central players stomped on the Aggies' logo at midfield, causing a shoving match among players and prompting at least one security officer to use pepper spray. The teams were separated after about two minutes.

"I can still taste the pepper spray," said A&T coach Lee Fobbs, who was in the middle trying to break up the scuffle. "It was very unfortunate that it happened, and we will deal with our guys."

Players wouldn't comment on the scuffle.

"It was two rival schools ... it was a lot of emotion," said Rod Gray, an assistant in the A&T sports information department. "The coaches did a good job of separating everybody."

Central coach Mose Rison said: "I'm disappointed in what happened."

The loss was the 20th straight for A&T (0-4), which hasn't won since 2005. Central raised its record to 4-1.

The midfield incident overshadowed a fine football game in which the lead changed four times.

The Aggies outgained the Eagles in yardage 412-199 and entered the fourth quarter with a 19-14 lead.

But it was all downhill for A&T after that.

On the fifth play of the fourth quarter, Aggies quarterback Shelton Morgan tried to throw a short out pass to a receiver, but Derrick Ray jumped in front of it and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown, giving the Eagles a 21-19 lead.

On the Aggies' next possession, Morgan took them deep into Eagles territory, but he overthrew a receiver. This time defensive back Jeffrey Henderson was there, and he returned the interception 72 yards for a touchdown. That made the score 27-19 with 8:30 to play.

Eric Houston kicked an A&T field goal with 4:51 left, and the Aggies drove to the Central 6 on their next possession. Then came the final interception.

"The opportunity we had was taken away on a great play by the defender," Fobbs said of Eric Ray. "We thought we had something, but he just stepped in front and made a great play."

It was Central's third interception of the fourth quarter.

"You've got to take care of the football," Fobbs said. "We thought we could do some things against them and we did, but we didn't take care of the football."

While the Aggies were making plenty of mistakes, the N.C. Central offense was quietly efficient. Although the Eagles were outgained, they made no turnovers.

Staff writer Jason Hardin contributed to this report.


N.C. Central 7 7 0 13 -- 27

N.C. A&T 0 9 10 3 -- 22

NCCe--Scott 44 pass from S.Brown (Gray kick)

NCAT--Safety

NCAT--Ferguson 1 run (Houston kick)

NCCe--Chr.Edwards 4 pass from S.Brown (Gray kick), :48.

NCAT--McNair 1 run (Houston kick)

NCAT--FG Houston 27

NCCe--D.Ray 23 interception return (Gray kick)

NCCe--Henderson 72 interception return (kick failed)

NCAT--FG Houston 39

A--19,320.


NCCe NCAT
First downs 11 18

Rushes-yards 32-102 42-164

Passing 97 248

Comp-Att-Int 11-18-0 22-30-3

Return Yards 116 56

Punts-Avg. 6-28.0 3-39.3

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-0

Penalties-Yards 7-35 9-80

Time of Possession 27:11 32:49

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--N.C. Central, Shankle 14-66, J.Campbell 8-36, Abdul-Azeez 5-16, Team 1-(minus 4), S.Brown 4-(minus 12). N.C. A&T, Ferguson 13-113, Miller 7-27, McNair 5-18, Robinson 9-11, Parnell 1-3, Morgan 7-(minus 8).

PASSING--N.C. Central, S.Brown 11-18-0-97. N.C. A&T, Morgan 13-17-2-121, Miller 9-13-1-127.

RECEIVING--N.C. Central, Blackwell 4-18, Spears 3-19, Scott 1-44, Alston 1-16, Chr.Edwards 1-4, J.Campbell 1-(minus 4). N.C. A&T, Walls 6-42, Caldwell 5-69, C.Dawson 3-30, Lowrance 2-11, Morgan 1-35, Miller 1-15, Whitaker 1-15, Ferguson 1-14, Fisher 1-12, Christen 1-5.

Postgame scuffle mars NCCU's win over NCA&T

By MIKE POTTER, The Herald-Sun

GREENSBORO -- It may not have had the designation this time, but once again N.C. Central's game with rival North Carolina A&T was an Aggie-Eagle classic.

It wasn't decided until the Eagles' Eric Ray intercepted a Herb Miller pass at the goal line with 14 seconds left, preserving the Eagles' 27-22 victory on Saturday night at Aggie Stadium.

The minutes after the game were marred by a scuffle after a large group of NCCU players celebrated on the Bulldog logo at midfield and the Aggies strongly objected. But pepper-spray wielding campus police quickly dispersed the mob.

"I'm not happy about what happened at the end -- I just didn't like the scene," NCCU coach Mose Rison said.

Said N.C. A&T coach Lee Fobbs: "What happened after the game ended was very unfortunate, and we'll deal with it with our guys. I'm just concerned about our players and our fans. We'll let the powers-that-be deal with it."

But before the postgame disturbance, the Eagles won with defense. Three interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns, helped NCCU (4-1) overcome A&T's 412-199 advantage in total offense.

"Give credit where credit is due," said Rison, the first NCCU coach to win four of his first five games since Larry Little went 4-1 in 1993. "Coach Fobbs and his staff did an outstanding coaching job, and like I said, they were the best football team we've played this season. But I'm extremely proud of my team. We hung in to the bitter end."

Fobbs also gave his team credit for a good effort.

"We had a chance to win the game right up until the finish and played hard on both sides of the ball," Fobbs said. "We were in position to win it, and then [Eric Ray] stepped up and made a great play.

"That's the game. You've got to take care of the ball."

Eric's brother Derrick Ray returned one interception for a 23-yard score, while true freshman Jeffery Henderson returned another 72 yards for a touchdown.

"The last time both of us got picks was in high school [at Raleigh Millbrook], and we both took them back for touchdowns," Derrick Ray said. "Tonight, we just played good team football on defense and made big plays."

Stadford Brown led the Eagles' offense, completing 11 of 18 passes for 97 yards and the other two touchdowns. Tim Shankle added 66 yards on 14 carries. "I guess I was good enough," Brown said with a smile. "The important thing is that we won."

Northern High alumnus Michael Ferguson led the Aggies with 113 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Two A&T quarterbacks, Shelton Morgan and Miller, combined for 248 passing yards on the night.

"It's really tough to lose this one after we played so well," Ferguson said. "Losing at the end like that is hard. It hurts."

The Eagles scored on their first possession when Brown tossed a short pass up the middle to Will Scott, who sprinted 44 yards for the touchdown to complete a six-play, 65-yard drive. Taylor Gray added his first successful conversion kick, and NCCU led 7-0 with 12:33 left in the quarter.
A&T got on the board with 11:23 left in the half, as Nick Johnson blocked Gray's punt from the NCCU 19 and Gray recovered in the end zone for a safety. The Aggies kept their momentum going on the ensuing possession, going 58 yards in 10 plays with Ferguson taking it in from 1 yard out for A&T's first lead of the season. Eric Houston added the conversion kick, and it was 9-7 with 6:41 left in the half.

But the Eagles recovered with a balanced 14-play, 75-yard drive that included three runs of at least 10 yards from Shankle. Brown connected with Brandon Alston for a 15-yard pass on fourth-and-11 from the A&T 24, and two plays later found tight end Christopher Edwards in the back of the end zone from 4 yards out. Gray added the boot and the Eagles led 14-9 with 48 seconds left in the half.

A&T found some lightning on its first play of the second half, as Ferguson burst up the middle for a 74-yard gain to the Eagles' 16. Dion McNair's 1-yard run completed a seven-play, 89-yard drive and Houston's kick made it 16-14 at 11:30.

The Aggies scored again on their next possession, going 65 yards in nine plays to set up Houston's 27-yard field goal, their first 3-pointer in 17 games.

But the Eagles struck with a big play early in the fourth quarter, as Derrick Ray stepped in front of a Morgan pass intended for David Robinson and rambled down the left sideline for the touchdown. Gray's kick gave the Eagles a 21-19 lead with 12:30 to play.

Four minutes later, they came up with a bigger one, as Henderson intercepted a Morgan pass at his own 28, got several blocks through traffic and finished a 72-yard return. Gray's kick was blocked, leaving the score at 27-19 with 8:30 left.

A&T cut the margin back to 27-22 with 4:51 to go on Houston's 39-yard field goal.

Gray punted into the Aggies' end zone with 2:24 remaining, giving A&T one last chance for victory before the interception sealed the result.

NOTES -- The renewal of the rivalry after a one-year hiatus was NCCU's first game as a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) team against another FCS team. ... A&T (0-4) had its losing streak extended to 20 games, the longest slide in the nation among FCS teams. ... Along with NCCU's 23-22 victory in Raleigh in 2005, the wins were the Eagles' first back-to-back victories in the series since 1987-88. This was the fourth time in the last five meetings in the series that a game had been determined by no more than five points, with NCCU winning three. … A&T leads the series 45-29-5. … The Eagles host Presbyterian on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the schools' first meeting. It will be a matchup between the only two teams in their first season in the FCS. … A&T hosts MEAC foe Norfolk State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

Special teams propel Alabama State Hornets over Alcorn State

Photo: Alabama State running back Jay Peck struggles past Alcorn State's Benjamin Griffin on Saturday at Cramton Bowl.

By A. Stacy Long, Montgomery Advertiser

The rain came down in sheets, peppering the Cramton Bowl crowd and sending the fans scurrying for umbrellas and cover.

Considering Alabama State's fourth-quarter habits this season, few of them left to dodge a first-half rainstorm.

The Hornets rallied in the final period for a victory for the fourth time in four games this season, scoring two late touchdowns and picking up three key plays on special teams to beat Alcorn State 28-25 on Saturday.

"The best teams win close games," junior defensive back Travis Rayford said. "It may be scary, but we did it when we had to."

Quarterback Chris Mitchell ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, the last set up when Rayford recovered a fumbled kickoff return, and the Hornets improved to 4-0 for the first time since their 1991 national championship team.

Mitchell scored on a 23-yard run with 91/2 minutes to play to give the Hornets (3-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference) the lead and jumped in from the 1 with eight minutes remaining to make it 28-18.

"This is too scary for me," Mitchell said. "But it doesn't matter how we win, as long as we win."

Alcorn State (0-4, 0-3 SWAC) scored only one touchdown in its first three games, but scored three Saturday -- two on Chris Walker passes -- and led 18-14 when the fourth quarter started.

But a late deficit is a ho-hum thing for the Hornets.

Bama State beat Jacksonville State 24-19 on a touchdown with three minutes left, downed Texas Southern 21-10 behind two touchdowns in the final three minutes and stopped Arkansas-Pine Bluff 12-10 last week on a last-minute touchdown.

"Every team has its personality," first-year ASU coach Reggie Barlow said. "It seems that ours is taking on a 'come back in the fourth quarter' one.

"We don't want to continue that," he said, "but we'll take them however we can."

Mitchell and special teams provided the path Saturday.

Joel Raggins had a 41-yard punt return that put Alabama State at the Alcorn 37 to set up Mitchell's first fourth-quarter score. The Hornets ran an option and Mitchell -- after a sweet pitch fake -- kept the ball and ran for the score.

"It's just something I picked up," Mitchell said. "I've been working on it."

On the ensuing kickoff, Alcorn's Nate Hughes fumbled the return. Jimmy Toussaint forced it and Rayford recovered at the 11. Four plays later, Mitchell had a 1-yard touchdown and the Hornets led 28-18.

"That fumble gave us more momentum," Mitchell said. "That gets the offense the ball back and gives us a chance again right away."

The second score became important.

Alcorn needed only four plays to make it 28-25 on Tony Hobson's 18-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Arceneaux and soon had the ball back. Alabama State went three-and-out and on came its new punter.

Alex Engram, ASU's backup quarterback, boomed a 54-yarder that pushed the Braves back to their 7-yard line. Alcorn State didn't run another play outside its 25-yard line.

Engram averaged more than 42 yards on his six punts, dropping two inside the 20.

"He just learned how to punt this week," Barlow said. "He took one for the team and learned how to punt."

Mitchell was 9-of-20 passing for 136 yards and a first-half touchdown, while running back Jay Peck posted his fourth straight 100-yard rushing game. Peck totaled 143 yards, including a career-high 69-yard carry.

Walker was 18-of-31 for 216 yards to lead Alcorn, while a Montgomery native made his season debut with 101 yards rushing. G.W. Carver High graduate Eric Relf, who didn't play in the Braves' first three games due to a leg injury, carried 11 times and lost a second-half fumble.

"It's real disappointing because this is my first game back," Relf said. "The offensive line did a great job, and I wanted to come out and play hard. I did well, except for that fumble."

Alabama A&M finds moving difficult against Grambling

Huntsville Times

GRAMBLING, La. - Alabama A&M's offense, which entered Saturday's game averaging 45 points and 519 yards, misfired throughout the first half against Grambling.

The Bulldogs went three-and-out on their first possession, failed to get a first down on their second possession after getting a first down at the GSU 27 and had to settle for a 37-yard field goal by Jeremy Licea, and went three-and-out on their third possession.

A&M finished the first half with five first downs and 101 yards in total offense, including 21 on the ground. Three of those first downs came on A&M's last possession of the half.

Execution a problem

A&M tailback Ulysses Banks, held to 37 yards on 12 carries, blamed the A&M downfall on "execution. We just didn't execute. And we had our defense out there too long. You can only have them on the field so long. They can only do so much. They're not Superman. They try to be, but we had them on the field too long.

"They (Grambling) did the same game plan, they did the same thing we saw on film. We just didn't execute. They didn't do anything different than what they do to anybody else. And it worked."

Landers loosens up

Grambling quarterback Brandon Landers had a big first half against Alabama A&M.

Landers, who entered the game 0-2 against the Bulldogs, completed 13-of-16 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown to lead the Tigers to a 17-6 halftime lead. Four players caught passes for the Tigers.

Luke looks tight early

Alabama A&M quarterback Kelcy Luke didn't look sharp in the first half against Grambling. Luke was 1-for-5 for 7 yards on the Bulldogs' first three possessions and never appeared to be comfortable early on. He finished the first half 10-of-19 for 80 yards and was sacked once.

And the Oscar goes to ...

Bad enough that Grambling State was already beating Alabama A&M straight-up with conventional football. The Tigers tacked on their third TD when they had a bunch-up third-and-short alignment.

After a quick snap and some Oscar-worthy acting among the Tigers, as if there were a fumble, wide receiver Reginald Jackson came out of the scrum with the football and ran unmolested for 24 yards and a score. "It was like hurry, hurry, hurry to the line. The quarterback hid it some way to a guy ducked down behind the line. The offense ran one way and he went the other. It's easy to see from the sidelines, but on the field it wasn't that obvious," said linebacker Carlton Rice.

Grambling gobbles yards

Alabama A&M had a hard time slowing down Grambling in the first half Saturday night.

The Tigers went 66 yards in 11 plays on their first possession of the game to take a 7-0 lead. Tim Manuel kicked a 29-yard field on Grambling's third possession to give the Tigers a 10-3 advantage and the Tigers scored again on their first possession of the second quarter as Cornelius Walker scored on a 2-yard run to cap a six-play, 73-yard drive to take a 16-3 advantage.

Grambling finished the first half with 194 yards in total offense. A&M entered the game allowing only 278 yards per game.

Busy night for Licea

Licea, who made only four field goals last season, has three this year after hitting a pair in the first half against Grambling.

Licea, who made three field goals in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game to help Alabama A&M beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff in December, hit a 37-yarder midway through the first quarter to pull the Bulldogs within 7-3. He made another one from 36 yards out near the end of the first half as A&M pulled within 17-6 at intermission.

Jones praises Grambling

Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones has been up for the Grambling job twice in the last four years. Although Jones didn't get the job on either occasion, that hasn't diminished his affection for one of black college football's top programs.

"I've always had a lot of respect for Grambling," he said. "The Grambling name has its own legacy. We're trying to build our name into something similar to what they've built over the years. We want people to respect our program throughout the country."

Good to be home

This was the first home game and only the third Grambling will play at Robinson Stadium this season. The Tigers have a long history of playing neutral-site games, especially from the days of legendary Eddie Robinson. Now, it's an essential budget matter for Grambling and most other SWAC teams to play "classic" games to draw larger crowds.

Grambling has future games in Dallas against Prairie View and in Little Rock against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, as well as the annual Bayou Classic in New Orleans against Southern.

In the 12 neutral-field games last year, SWAC team drew an average of 33,457, according to announced crowd reports. Meanwhile, average SWAC home attendance was 11,593. Nearly 45 percent of those who watched an SWAC team in '06 were attending a neutral-site game.

Reggie Benson and Mark McCarter

Top 100 of 100 years

By T&D Staff

As part of the ongoing 100th anniversary celebration of South Carolina State football, the school will begin today announcing the names on its list of the top 100 players in school history.

The first 34 names will be shown on the electronic scoreboard during the SCSU/Winston-Salem State contest. The next 32 names will be revealed during the nationally televised Oct. 13 game against Florida A&M and the final 34 for the Oct. 27 "Homecoming" game against Delaware State.

During the weekend of Nov. 9-10, those living players or representatives of the deceased on the list will be honored at a banquet as part of "Extravaganza Friday" the night before the Morgan State game. They will also be presented to the crowd during the game.

These 34 names on the South Carolina State list of Top 100 Players that will be recognized today:

Marion Motley (deceased), 1943

Henry F. "Bo" Bowman (deceased), 1948

William "Bucky" Harris (deceased), 1949

Kermit "Chubby" Booker, 1950

Eugene Lindsay (deceased), 1953

Napoleon "Nap" Ford (deceased), 1956

David "Deacon" Jones, 1958

Harry Hoskins, 1964

John R. Gilliam, 1967

Louis Ross, 1971

Rufus Bess, Jr., 1978

Phillip Murphy, 1980

Dexter Clinkscale, 1981

Orlando Brown, 1993

Angelo King, 1981

Michael Hicks, 1996

Robert "Mickey" Sims, (deceased) 1977

John Courtney, 1983

Thomas Tutson, 1982 (deceased)

Raleigh Roundtree, 1997

Reese McCampbell, 2003

Tyrone Caldwell, 1967

Albert Lester (deceased), 1979

H.G. Simpson (deceased), 1938

Sidney Fulton, 1981

Dwayne Jackson, 1982

Ralph Green, 1982

Tyrone Davis, 1994

Jerrell Moore, 1997

Derek Harrison, 2001

Corey Haynes, 2003

Clyde Reed, 2007

DeShawn Baker, 2007

Anthony Clay, 1977

SCSU dominates everywhere except final score

By BRIAN LINDER, T&D Sports Editor

Cleve McCoy grinned, shook his head and held his hand up -- thumb and index finger about an inch apart -- in front of his face.

"We have got to push it," McCoy, South Carolina State's senior quarterback said following his team's win over Winston-Salem State Saturday night. "We are here, we are this close. But, we are going to get it. It's one mistake that is killing us every time, but we will get it."

SC State obliterated the Rams Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in every stat category except the one that mattered -- the final score. The Bulldogs won, but they did so in less than convincing fashion. In fact, the game was in doubt until Travil Jamison's 1-yard touchdown run with 1:07 to go helped increase the Bulldogs' lead from 13-7 to the final, 20-7.

Following his postgame press conference, SCSU head coach Buddy Pough picked up a stat packet and gave it a thumb through. As reporters walked away, he started to smile as well. McCoy accounted for 241 yards of offense; tailback William Ford rushed for 162 yards on 27 carries and caught one pass for 29 yards, and Travil Jamison emerged as another viable option in the backfield, rushing for 83 yards on 16 carries. SCSU outgained the Rams 493-200 on offense, racking up 25 first downs.

Pough looked up from the paper, smile still on his face. What was he thinking in the moments before Jamison's score, his team having moved the ball up and down the field yet still in position to lose?

"I was bordering on going crazy," he said.

SCSU's day began with a bang, a 71-yard touchdown pass from McCoy to Terrance Smith with 12:15 to play in the first quarter. But, the majority of the next three quarters were a decisive thud with only two field goals, a 28 and 38-yarder from Stephen Grantham to tide the Bulldog faithful over.

"We continued to move the football," Pough said. "But, we didn't consummate in all ways. You can put all kinds of reasons behind it, but the bottom line is we need to do better."

Doing better could mean getting healthier. Earlier in the week, Pough said McCoy and Ford "looked like they had been in the ring with Muhammad Ali for 18 rounds ... and Ali was mad." Junior offensive lineman Nygel Pearson has yet to play this season, and backup tailback Jonathan Woods has also been banged up.

With that in mind and an open date in the schedule next Saturday, Pough said the Bulldogs would take it easy this week.

"This open week couldn't come at a better time," he said. "We have five, six or seven guys that are a vital part of what we do that are down and hurting, and we can't seem to get straight. Hopefully, we can get them all back feeling well in the next couple of weeks."

And, while the win may not have been as decisive as SCSU faithful may have liked, the Bulldogs will go through the light week with a win under their belt.

"People don't remember how you won the game," McCoy said. "They just remember if you won or not ... so, that is the best thing."

TSU/SU Final Stats: Benjamin key figure in SU deception

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter

He’s developing a reputation as “Slick Nick.”

For the second straight game, Southern University wide receiver Nick Benjamin was good with a pass on a trick play. This time, Benjamin found wide receiver A.J. Turner for a 37-yard gain, setting up the first of Southern’s four scores in a 41-34 comeback win over Tennessee State on Saturday night at A.W. Mumford Stadium.

A week earlier, his 12-yard touchdown toss to tight end Evan Alexander on a fake field goal provided precious fourth quarter cushion in a 12-2 victory over Prairie View.

SU put in the play Tuesday afternoon, the Jaguars’ first real game-week practice.

“They feel like, with me playing quarterback in high school, I had the arm to throw it if need be,” Benjamin said. “We said we were going to do it at halftime. We came out and executed the play.”

Catching and scoring

SU senior wide receiver RaShon Jacobs, a Louisiana-Monroe transfer starting in place of Gerard Landry, caught his first TD pass at Southern. It was the third TD of the former Woodlawn High standout’s collegiate career. He sat out last season after transferring and last scored on Oct. 4, 2003, when he caught his only previous scores, two touchdowns in a 44-41 loss at Arkansas State. Also, senior RB Darren Coates’ 31-yard TD catch was the first of his career.

Landry, who went for a third-down converting 21 yards on his first catch, grabbed a 6-yard TD on his second one. That gave him a receiving TD in all four Jaguars games this season.

Game ball

To SU quarterback Bryant Lee. The sophomore improved to 5-1 as a starter (and he also won the Texas Southern game in relief). He had career highs with 305 yards and four TDs. For the season, he’s thrown for 870 yards, nine touchdowns and no interceptions.

Plays of the game

Strong safety/nickel back Toyin Akinwale and eagle linebacker Donald Steele, in for the injured Johnathan Malveaux (ankle), came heavy on the pressure on a third-and-6 at the Southern 33-yard line. Their rush forced an intentional grounding from TSU quarterback Antonio Heffner and instead of converting or even being in field-goal range, the Tigers were back at their own 49 and had to punt four minutes into the fourth quarter.

That stop led to SU’s go-ahead score three offensive plays later: with Del Roberts getting back in bounds after being interfered with, catching a Lee pass and weaving the rest of the way to complete a 48-yard touchdown. That gave the Jaguars a 38-34 lead with 10:16 to play.

Numbers-crunching

How tough of a first quarter was it for Southern in falling behind 20-6? Tennessee State had scored just 16 first-quarter points in its first three games of the season before putting up 20 against Southern, which had allowed just two touchdowns in the previous 10 quarters. … SU had held Prairie View to 197 yards for the entire game the week before, but Tennessee State had 221 on 19 plays. … But TSU managed just 228 in the final three quarters.

Did you notice?

Only one of Southern’s two captains, free safety Jarmaul George, went out for the pregame coin toss. The other captain, Landry, was suspended for the first half after being ejected for swinging at a player midway through the fourth quarter in the win over Prairie View. … Landry and George were back together as the captains met with the referee at midfield before the start of the second half. … Until Josh Duran made good on a PAT with 3:24 until halftime, Southern had not converted an extra point after its previous five touchdowns (one kick blocked, two missed PATs and two incomplete two-point conversion passes.)

NCAA Football Boxscore - Tennessee St at Southern U

Attendance: 15,371

Final 1 2 3 4 Score
Tennessee St 20 7 7 0 34
Southern U « 6 13 13 9 41

1st Quarter
Tennessee St Touchdown - 1-yard run by Antonio Heffner. (Eric Benson kick). 11:33 Remaining.
Tennessee St Touchdown - 61-yard pass from Antonio Heffner to Brandon Belvin. (Kick failed). 9:13 Remaining.
Southern U Touchdown - 13-yard pass from Bryant Lee to RoShon Jacobs. (Kick failed). 6:23 Remaining.
Tennessee St Touchdown - 49-yard run by Javarris Williams. (Eric Benson kick). 0:29 Remaining.

2nd Quarter
Tennessee St Touchdown - 4-yard pass from Antonio Heffner to Chris Johnson. (Eric Benson kick). 6:36 Remaining.
Southern U Touchdown - 31-yard pass from Bryant Lee to Darren Coates. (Pass failed). 6:03 Remaining.
Southern U Touchdown - 1-yard run by Darren Coates. (Josh Duran kick). 3:24 Remaining.

3rd Quarter
Southern U Touchdown - 6-yard pass from Bryant Lee to Gerard Landry. (Pass failed). 5:42 Remaining.
Southern U Touchdown - 1-yard run by Darren Coates. (Josh Duran kick). 2:41 Remaining.
Tennessee St Touchdown - 38-yard pass from Antonio Heffner to Ronald Evans. (Eric Benson kick). 1:48 Remaining.

4th Quarter
Southern U Touchdown - 48-yard pass from Bryant Lee to Del Roberts. (Kick blocked). 10:16 Remaining.
Southern U Field Goal - 31-yarder by Josh Duran. 3:56 Remaining.

Final Team Statistics

Tennessee St Southern U
First Downs 17 21
Rushes - Yards 49-133 43-138
Passing Yards 316 342
Return Yards 15 61
Passing (Att-Comp-Int) 27-13-2 34-24-0
Punts - Average 7-34 5-40
Fumbles - Lost 4-3 3-2
Penalties - Yards 11-131 5-40
Time of Possession 29:53 30:07

Individual Statistics
Passing
Tennessee St Att Comp Yards Int TD
Antonio Heffner 26 13 316 2 3
Calvin McNairl 1 0 0 0 0

Southern U Att Comp Yards Int TD
Bryant Lee 33 23 305 0 4
Nick Benjamin 1 1 37 0 0

Rushing
Tennessee St Att Yards Average TD
Javarris Williams 14 107 7.6 1
Terrence Wright 11 17 1.5 0
Calvin McNairl 4 11 2.8 0
Sherrod Graddick 1 5 5.0 0
Ronald Evans 2 4 2.0 0
Antonio Heffner 17 -11 -0.6 1

Southern U Att Yards Average TD
Darren Coates 17 115 6.8 2
Kendrick Smith 5 34 6.8 0
Bryant Lee 12 -2 -0.2 0
Brian Threat 5 -3 -0.6 0
Team 4 -6 -1.5 0

Receiving
Tennessee St Rec Yards Average TD
Chris Johnson 6 119 19.8 1
Brandon Belvin 3 106 35.3 1
Troy Smith 1 22 22.0 0
Terrence Wright 1 15 15.0 0
Ronald Evans 1 38 38.0 1
Kwame Patrick 1 16 16.0 0

Southern U Rec Yards Average TD
Marquarius 'Del' Roberts 6 110 18.3 1
Mark Henderson 5 55 11.0 0
Darren Coates 3 45 15.0 1
RaShon Jacobs 3 40 13.3 1
Albert Turner 2 50 25.0 0
Gerard Landry 2 27 13.5 1
Kendrick Smith 2 11 5.5 0
Juamorris Stewart 1 4 4.0 0

Kicking
Tennessee St FGMade FGAtt Long EPMade EPAtt
Eric Benson 0 0 0 4 5

Southern U FGMade FGAtt Long EPMade EPAtt
Josh Duran 1 2 31 2 4

Southern Jaguars stick with their game

By CHARLES SALZER, Special to The Advocate

Tennessee State might have slipped into a false sense of security after building a 21-point second quarter lead. Southern might have waited until midway through the first half to start playing on either side of the ball, but the final score was ultimately all that mattered.

Southern’s 41-34 come-from-way-behind win over the visiting Tigers proved that the Jaguars have too much pride to let an early deficit take them out of their game.

With Bryant Lee throwing for 305 yards and four touchdowns, and Darren Coates rushing for 115 yards and two scores, Southern outscored Tennessee State 35-7 in the final 2&permil quarters to erase an inept start on both sides of the ball.

“It takes a lot of heart and that’s what we have,” Lee said. “The defense came through for us in big time situations, and the offense made plays when they got us the ball.”

It didn’t start out that way. Quarterback Antonio Heffner and the rest of his TSU teammates shredded Southern’s defense en route to a 27-6 lead with 6:36 left in the first half. Southern pulled itself up off the turf, and surged for two scores before the break.

“We just started picking each other up,” Coates said. “We told everyone we could do it, and once we got rolling we just kept it moving.”

Coates took a short pass in the right flat 31 yards for a touchdown to start the comeback. The score was the first of 26 straight points for Southern, which allowed more points in the first quarter (20) than it had in its previous two games combined (8).

Southern wasn’t done for the half, and Coates 54-yard run with less than four minutes to go set up his own 1-yard scoring run. Southern trailed 27-19 at the half, but had seized all the momentum behind Coates’ strong finish..

“Coming into the game coach told us not to wait for anybody else to make a big play,” Coates said. “He told us to take it on yourself to make a big play and that’s what I did.

“This means a lot to us and the fans. It shows that we can last the whole game and we’re going to fight to the end. We have a lot of pride inside us. We’re not quitters.”

Senior receiver Gerard Landry helped provide a spark in the second half after sitting out the first half because of a suspension. He made his presence felt quickly with a 21-yard reception, and later a 6-yard touchdown catch that brought Southern within 27-25.

“I just wanted an opportunity to make something happen and that’s what I did,” Landry said. “(At halftime) coach Richardson told us to settle down and execute because everything we did was working. He told us to stay within ourselves and fill our roles.”

Southern fought back to take its first lead late in the third quarter. Coates picked up 32 yards on five straight carries, the last a 1-yard score putting Southern up 32-27.

Tennessee State briefly retook the lead at 34-32, but by that time the Southern defense was revved up for the fourth quarter. The Tigers had five fourth-quarter possessions and were forced to punt twice while their other drives ended with turnovers.

“The defense held them and we just executed on the offensive side of the ball,” Lee said. “We played hard for 60 minutes and that’s what it takes.”

Landry was equally complimentary of the poise Lee showed after the Jaguars got down.

“I can’t say enough about Bryant,” Landry said. “When he was in trouble he made things happen. When he came to the sidelines a little frustrated, I just told him to relax and he settled down.”

It was advice that served Lee and Southern well.

SU Jaguars rally, stay unbeaten

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter

To put Southern’s 41-34 thriller of a comeback win over Tennessee State into perspective, look no further than the play that put Southern ahead for good.

Though wide receiver Del Roberts got pushed out of bounds by cornerback Ozzie Harrell along the right sideline, Roberts came back onto the field, hauled in a Bryant Lee pass and picked his way through the defense to complete a 48-yard touchdown.

“He pushed me out of bounds and I never gave up on the play. I kept going,” Roberts said. “That’s the way it works. &hellip I saw the ball the whole time and I had to find it, had to go get it.”

Roberts may just as well have been talking about his entire team.

Southern, showing relentlessness and resilience Saturday night at A.W. Mumford Stadium, overcame a 21-point deficit in the final 36 minutes to overcome Ohio Valley Conference member Tennessee State (2-2) and remain undefeated through four games this season.

“We have a lot of character on this team,” Southern wide receiver/holder Nick Benjamin said. “I feel like we’re building every week. We’re getting better every week, and we’re getting better as a whole, not individually.”

Photo: SU's Alvin Fosselman celebrates the Jaguars’ victory.

Lee, a sophomore, threw for career highs of 305 yards and four touchdowns, with Roberts adding a career-best 110 yards and his first receiving score this season. Senior running back Darren Coates ran for 115 yards and a career-high two TDs while also catching his first career touchdown, a 31-yarder in the second quarter.

The Jaguars played without playmaker Gerard Landry, who was suspended for the first half after being ejected in the fourth quarter of a 12-2 win over Prairie View the week before, but Landry scored on his second catch, a 6-yarder in the third quarter. RaShon Jacobs, starting for Landry, had his first touchdown as a Jaguar.

“They’re playing hard,” Southern coach Pete Richardson said. “A lot of them are playing over their heads, but then the fever is starting to set in. They’ve got that tradition.”

For TSU, Javarris Williams ran for 107 yars and one TD on only 14 carries. And Antonio Heffner threw for 316 yards – even with just 13 completions – and three touchdowns, but his two interceptions came late in the fourth quarter as the Tigers tried to rally. He also fumbled on the final possession, at the TSU 15-yard line, with 1:45 to play.

“I don’t think there was any momentum swing,” TSU coach James Webster said. “The game was in doubt until the very end, until we fumbled the football at the end.

“We got up on them, and we relaxed on some things. And you can’t relax against a good football team. You just can’t do that.”

No momentum swing? Really?

Southern, once down 27-6 with 6:36 before halftime, outscored Tennessee State 35-7 the rest of the way.

“We had to bounce back,” Southern defensive tackle Dwayne Charles said. “We talked it up. We don’t have any fighting, any arguments. We’re a team, as one. We told (the secondary) to shake it off. Bad things happen. Good teams accomplish stuff when they can overcome the mistakes they make. And that’s what we did.”

The SU defense, mirroring the way they responded after giving up two long touchdowns to Florida A&M in the season opener, clamped down after halftime like the unit has all season.

“The offense loves that,” Lee said.

SU has allowed just two second-half touchdowns this season. The Jaguars forced five turnovers — three fumbles and two interceptions — in the second half against TSU, which has been turnover-prone this season but had none in the first half.

“We had to come back in the second half, get our mind right and make up for those plays in the first half,” said strong safety Jarmaul George, the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s preseason defensive player of the year.

George set up a 31-yard Josh Duran field goal for a 41-34 lead with 3:56 remaining with a 30-yard interception return. George has had one interception in three of SU’s four games.

Though the Tigers had slow starts in their first three games, that wasn’t the case Saturday.

A 60-yard flea flicker set up TSU’s first score, a 1-yard Heffner run. Heffner then hit Brandon Belvin on a 61-yard touchdown pass for a 13-0 lead with 9:13 left in the first quarter.

After Jacobs’ TD grab, TSU responded with a 49-yard Williams TD run with 29 seconds left in the first quarter and went up 27-6 on Heffner’s 4-yard pass to Chris Johnson with 6:36 until halftime.

“We had to make adjustments coverage-wise, went to another package and we just went after them,” SU defensive coordinator Terrence Graves said. “The guys just stepped up and made plays. God bless them. Those guys have the heart of a champion.”

Southern made a move late in the second quarter, with Darren Coates scoring on easy 31-yard touchdown on a swing pass with 6:03 until halftime and Coates scoring on a 1-yard plunge, one play after breaking loose on a 54-yard burst up the middle.

And two fumble recoveries led to two SU scores in the third quarter.

First, Charles’ recovery of a Heffner fumble at the SU 48 set up Landry’s six-yard score six plays later, closing the Jaguars within 27-25 with 5:42 left in the third. Then, Efe Osawemwenze recovered a Williams fumble at the SU 47, with Coates giving SU a 32-27 lead, also six plays later, with 2:41 left in the third.

Two offensive plays later, TSU answered with Heffner’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Evans to put the Tigers up 34-32.

Then a defensive stand, with TSU facing a third-and-6 at the SU 33, led the Tigers to punt. Heffner was called for intentional grounding as Toyin Akinwale and Donald Steele swarmed him at the Southern 49.

Three plays later, Lee found Roberts for the go-ahead score to put Southern up 38-34 with 10:16 left.

“B. Lee’s a gamer. He does what it takes,” Landry said.

Sounds like Landry could have been talking about all the Jaguars.

TSU's turnovers blow 21-point lead in loss

Photo: Tennessee State's Chris Johnson, left, catches a pass in front of Southern's Michael Williams during the first half.

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, The(Baton Rouge)Advocate

BATON ROUGE, La. — Tennessee State squandered a 21-point lead in the final 36 minutes and fell to undefeated Southern University in a 41-34 thriller on Saturday.

TSU running back Javarris Williams ran for 107 yards and one touchdown on only 14 carries.

And Antonio Heffner threw for 316 yards — even with just 13 completions — and three touchdowns, but his two interceptions came late in the fourth quarter as the Tigers tried to rally.

He also fumbled on the final possession, at the TSU 15, with 1:45 to play.

"I don't think there was any momentum swing," TSU Coach James Webster said. "The game was in doubt until the very end, until we fumbled the football at the end.

"We got up on them, and we relaxed on some things. And you can't relax against a good football team. You just can't do that."

Southern (4-0), once down 27-6 with 6:36 before halftime, outscored Tennessee State 35-7 the rest of the way.

TSU (2-2) committed five turnovers — three fumbles and two interceptions — in the second half after committing none in the first half.

A 60-yard flea flicker set up TSU's first score, a 1-yard Heffner run. Heffner then hit Brandon Belvin on a
61-yard touchdown pass for a 13-0 lead with 9:13 left in the first quarter.

After a Jaguars' touchdown, TSU responded with a 49-yard Williams TD run with 29 seconds left in the first quarter and went up
27-6 on Heffner's 4-yard pass to Chris Johnson with 6:36 until halftime.

Southern made a move late in the second quarter, with Darren Coates scoring on easy 31-yard touchdown on a swing pass and Coates scoring on a 1-yard plunge, one play after breaking loose on a 54-yard burst up the middle.

Two fumble recoveries led to two Southern scores in the third quarter.

First, Southern recovered a Heffner fumble at the Jaguars 48 that set up a 6-yard score six plays later, closing to within 27-25 with 5:42 left in the third.

Then, Southern recovered a Williams fumble at the Jaguars 47, with Coates giving Southern a 32-27 lead, also six plays later, with 2:41 left in the third.

TSU answered with Heffner's 38-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Evans to put the Tigers up 34-32.

Then a defensive stand, with TSU facing a third-and-6 at the SU 33, led the Tigers to punt. Heffner was called for intentional grounding as Toyin Akinwale and Donald Steele swarmed him at the Southern 49.

Three plays later, Southern threw a touchdown pass for the go-ahead score for a 38-34 lead with 10:16 left.

Thriller has happy ending: NSU Spartans 1-0 in the MEAC

By VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, The Virginian-Pilot

Wow.

This time, Norfolk State found out what it’s like to be on the winning end of a thriller against Bethune-Cookman, stunning the Wildcats 38-31 on Saturday at Price Stadium.

In doing so, the Spartans produced arguably their biggest victory since moving up to Division I a decade ago.

“We’re 1-0 in the MEAC; that’s never happened,” said coach Pete Adrian, whose Spartans had lost all nine of their conference openers prior to Saturday. “Had we lost, it would have been, 'It’s the same old Norfolk State.’”

For even the most devout Spartans fan, ill-timed penalties and costly turnovers had to conjure up bad memories of past years, including the last two games against the Wildcats, which NSU lost by a total of three points.

This time, celebration replaced heartbreak with the Spartans rallying from 12 down in the second half to score 15 fourth-quarter points. That included a two-point conversion to tie the game, a Terrell Whitehead interception to save the game, and Daryl Jones’ fourth touchdown of the day to win the game on legs so hobbled, two teammates carried him off the field.

“There’s really no words for this,” Jones said after emerging from an ice bath in the training room.

Photo: Norfolk State’s Daryl Jones, right, fends off Bethune-Cookman’s Ben Ballard en route to one of his four touchdowns Saturday.

A 33-yard Bethune-Cookman field goal put the Wildcats on top 31-23 with 7:30 remaining, but the Spartans pulled even for the first time all afternoon on a seven-play, 53-yard drive. The highlight: a 45-yard completion from Casey Hansen to Dario Walker on third-and-16, NSU’s longest pass play of the season.

“I knew we had to take a shot deep,” said Hansen, who completed 12 of 24 passes for 153 yards. “I thought Dario had his man beat and I just went for it.”

Five plays later and aided by defensive pass interference, NSU scored with Jones bulldozing in from a yard out. The big back had been sidelined for all but one play of the drive, slowed by cramps in both legs on a humid afternoon in which the temperature soared close to 90 degrees.

“Daryl’s just a moose; he’s 5-10, 242 pounds, got that low center of gravity and as hard as he runs, he’s hard to tackle,” Adrian said.

“I knew my team needed me,” Jones said.

NSU (2-1, 1-0) also needed two more points for the tie. On the conversion, Hansen bailed out of Plan A, meant for Jones, who was covered in the flat. Instead, he found Jamar Johnson, whose catch knotted it at 31 with 3:49 left.

The Wildcats (2-2, 0-2) started on their own 22 on the ensuing kickoff, but Kempsville High graduate Whitehead picked off Jimmie Russell’s soft floater over the middle on the third play from scrimmage. Whitehead ran it all the way back, but a clipping call placed the ball on the 7 and allowed the Spartans to work the clock.

After R.J. Waters got the call on the first three plays, an exhausted-looking Jones trotted in to the delight of the 12,736 giddy fans with time ticking down. He needed 1 yard and got it, lifting NSU to its first lead of the afternoon with 36 seconds on the clock.

Though Jones looked too tired to celebrate – teammates Sherron Childress and Tommy Moore ran onto the field to carry him off – the Spartans couldn’t contain their glee.

“It’s been nine years since we’ve beaten Bethune-Cookman, so this is a huge win for us,” Hansen said. Actually, the Spartans’ last win over the Wildcats was 21-7 in 1997.

The Wildcats, who had squandered all their timeouts, had a final gasp when Corey Council returned the kickoff to the NSU 43. A 27-yard completion gave Bethune-Cookman a first down at the 19, but Russell didn’t have time to get another play off.

Bethune-Cookman played without rusher Justin Brannon for all but one play of the second half. The Wildcats’ starting B-back, who finished with 11 carries for 53 yards, is integral to his team’s “Wyattbone” offense, dubbed for coach Alvin Wyatt. Using crutches on the sidelines, Brannon favored his right knee, and Wyatt’s offense, which produced 163 rushing yards after one half, was limited to 63 in the second.

“That hurt us,” Wyatt said. “The other players we had weren’t experienced enough to get the job done.”

Speaking of hurt, Jones has five days to heal before NSU’s Thursday night meeting with North Carolina A&T. His expression still pained a half hour after the final whistle, he thought about it a moment when asked if this was the biggest win of his four years at NSU before answering, “It will be.”

Norfolk State hands B-CU second conference loss

By TRIS WYKES, Special to The News-Journal








Photo: B-CU quarterback Jimmie Russell (10) scrambles to avoid Norfolk State players Maguell Davis (41) and Marquez Davis (43) as teammate Joe Singleton (81) opens up a hole blocking Dustin Johnson (29) during Saturday's game in Norfolk.

NORFOLK, Va. -- Bethune-Cookman had subdued Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rival Norfolk State for years in football, but that domination ended Saturday with a 38-31 loss to the Spartans at Dick Price Stadium.

After having to settle for a field goal and a 31-23 lead with 7:30 remaining, Bethune-Cookman allowed Norfolk State to drive for a touchdown, intercept a pass and drive for the winning score with 36 seconds to play. Daryl Jones stumbled one yard into the end zone for his fourth rushing touchdown on the decisive play and finished with 118 yards despite severe leg cramps.

"We had our opportunities to win it and we didn't," said BC-U coach Alvin Wyatt, whose team dropped to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in MEAC play. "When they had their opportunities to win, they did. These are the type of ball games you want to see. You just want to be on top when they finish.

"We just didn't get the job done today. We got beat."

The victory was Norfolk State's first over the Wildcats since 1997 when Spartans' third-year coach Pete Adrian was in his first year as a BC-U assistant. B-CU had won the teams' last nine meetings, including the last two by a total of three points.

"I said all week in practice this was going to be a tough game," said Wildcats quarterback Jimmie Russell, who ran for 126 yards and a touchdown, and completed 8 of 15 pass attempts for 86 yards and a touchdown. "Somebody has to win and unfortunately tonight it wasn't us."

Bethune-Cookman led 21-10 at halftime and was using its triple-option attack to rumble up and down the field almost at will. But an errant option pitch by Russell was returned 48 yards for a touchdown on the second half's first play, and BC-U running back Justin Brannon was lost for the game with a leg injury on the next play from scrimmage.

Even after Antwane Cox intercepted a Norfolk State pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown and a 27-16 lead three minutes later, it wasn't the Wildcats' night.

Jones, a bowling ball in cleats, ran four times on a subsequent 5-play drive, capping it with a one-yard dive for his second touchdown. The conversion kick pulled the Spartans within 28-23 with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

The visitors punted on their next two possessions and Norfolk State missed a field goal in between the two series. The Wildcats were handed a chance to put the game away when Spartans return man Rashad Howard fumbled the second of those punts and Cox recovered at Norfolk State's 39-yard line.

Facing third-and-5 on the Spartans' 12-yard line a few minutes later, Bethune-Cookman ran backup running back Brian Sumlar up the middle but he gained only a yard and Adam Ward came on to kick a field goal for a 31-23 advantage.

Norfolk State drove down the field, aided by a pass interference call on Cox. Jones came limping back into action, drawing an appreciative roar from an announced crowd of 12,736.

Jones bulled one yard for his third touchdown and reduced NSU's deficit to 31-29. The Spartans went for two points on the conversion, quarterback Casey Hansen rolling right and hitting Jamar Johnson with a pass in the end zone to tie the game.

On the ensuing drive, Bethune-Cookman turned the ball over three plays after taking the kickoff. A Russell pass was intercepted and returned for an apparent touchdown by free safety Terrell Whitehead, but a Spartans block below the waist instead gave Norfolk State possession at the Wildcats' 22-yard line with two minutes to play.

Three Waters runs moved the ball down to the 1-yard line and Jones again staggered onto the field. He took the handoff and several steps before collapsing across the goal line for the decisive points.

Take Five

Heads up

Bethune-Cookman quarterback Jimmie Russell was charged with a fumble when his option pitch bounced and landed in the hands of NSU's Terrell Whitehead on Saturday. Whitehead returned it 48 yards for a touchdown, but don't just blame Russell.

"We practice all the time where we come around the corner and he's supposed to stay within a certain distance of me," Russell said of running back Tony Fields. "I guess this time he decided to go block and he wasn't looking when I pitched. But that's what can happen when you run the triple option."

Missing you badly

Wildcats coach Alvin Wyatt said the loss of senior running back Justin Brannon to a leg injury on the second half's second play was a real blow.

"We had things we wanted to do but injuries slowed us up," Wyatt said. "We had some plays we were going to go to with (Brannon), but because we lost him, we didn't have the ammo for the running game. The other guys we had at that position weren't experienced guys, but we had to go with what we had."

Senior settles down

Norfolk State quarterback Casey Hansen, a former Colorado State player who transferred in to join the Spartans shortly before last season, was less prolific but also less errant Saturday than in his first meeting with B-CU last fall.

In that game, a 22-21 Wildcats victory, Hansen completed 13 of 30 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He had three passes intercepted and finished the season with 10 touchdown passes and 16 passes picked off.

Questions & attitude

Was that really Michael Vick in attendance?

Yep. Vick and his younger brother Marcus, who both attended nearby Warwick High in Newport News and later suited up at Virginia Tech, were spotted walking along the bottom of the home stands early in the second half. Fans showed their support by cheering, waving and woofing.

What are the coaching connections between BC-U and Norfolk State?

Five NSU coaches trace their roots to Bethune-Cookman, including head coach Pete Adrian, who served two stints as the Wildcats' defensive coordinator before taking his current job in 2005. In addition, Kirk Mastromatteo, Jeff Parker and Mark DeBastiani left B-CU with Adrian and Curtis Williams played for the Wildcats while Adrian and the others coached there.

Did those connections make much difference to the Wildcats?

Not to quarterback Jimmie Russell, at least. The senior, who was on the B-CU roster when Adrian and Co. were still around, shook his head after the game.

"A loss hurts no matter who you're playing," Russell said. "This one doesn't hurt more because those people are over there."

Are the Spartans getting better?

Adrian's first two teams each went 4-7. Asked if Norfolk State appeared improved Saturday in comparison to the teams' two past meetings, Wyatt became animated.

"All these teams in this conference should beat Bethune-Cookman," he said. "Look at the facilities they've got here. When they let us beat them, they're not doing their job, none whatsoever. Every game, we should come in as the underdog."

Southern U. 41, Tennessee St. 34

BATON ROUGE, La.-- Bryant Lee passed for 305 yards and four touchdowns -- one for 48 yards -- as Southern overcame a 27-6 deficit to beat Tennessee State 41-34 Saturday night and remain undefeated.

Antonio Heffner, who finished with 316 yards passing and four touchdowns, got Tennessee State (2-2) off to a fast start with a 1-yard run for the game's first touchdown and a 61-yard pass to Brandon Belvin for the second with 9:13 left in the first quarter.

Bryant, who was 23-of-33 for Southern (4-0), hit RoShon Jacobs with a 13-yard scoring pass to make the score 13-6.

Tennessee State got the next two touchdowns, on a 49-yard run by Javarr Williams (14-107) and a 4-yard pass from Heffner, who was 13-of-26 with two interceptions, to Chris Johnson. Eric Benson made both kicks, for a 27-6 lead.

Then Darren Coates, who also had 115 yards and two touchdowns rushing, caught a 31-yard pass for his first score of the night. The first of his two 1-yard touchdowns made the halftime score 27-19.

Bryant hit Gerard Landry with a 6-yard pass and Coates got his third TD to put the Jaguars ahead 32-27 with 2:41 left in the third quarter. Heffner hit Ronald Evans with a 38-yard pass to put Tennessee State ahead again, 34-32 with 1:48 left.

Bryant hit Del Roberts with the 48-yard scoring pass to go ahead again, and Josh Duran had a 31-yard field goal to end the scoring.

ATTENDANCE: 15,371

S. Carolina St. 20, Winston-Salem 7

ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Cleveland McCoy threw for 204 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown strike, to lead South Carolina State to a 20-7 win against Winston Salem State on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (2-2) racked up 493 total yards, including 162 yards rushing from William Ford on 27 carries and 83 yards from Travil Jamison, including a TD run.

The Rams (2-2) were led by Monte Purvis who went 12-for-19 for 87 yards including an 8-yarder to Bryant Bayne for Winston-Salem's only score.

After McCoy's scoring pass to Terrance Smith early in the first, South Carolina State added two Stephan Grantham field goals to go up 13-0 with 8:59 left in the third.

The Rams' score came with 2:43 left in the third and the Bulldogs wrapped up scoring on Travil Jamison's 1-yard TD run with 1:07 left in the game.

ATTENDANCE: 8,222

Southern Illinois crushes Arkansas-Pine Bluff 58-3

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University had 586 yards of total offense and set a school-record 36 first downs in a 58-3 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday at McAndrew Stadium.

The Salukis (4-0) scored 30 unanswered points in the first half in route to their fourth straight win.

The only score of the game for the Golden Lions (1-3) came when John Heflin made a 38 yard field goal in the third quarter; he had two other field goal attempts blocked.

SIU quarterback Nick Hill was 18-for-24 for 244 yards passing and two touchdowns, while wide receiver Phil Goforth had 74 yards receiving and a touchdown. Running back John Randle had a touchdown and gained 113 yards on the ground.

SIU, which gained 314 yards rushing and 273 yards passing as a team on Saturday, have now outscored their opponents 117-17 in two games at home. The Salukis defeated Quincy 59-14 in their first home game on Aug. 30.

Both the Salukis and Golden Lions are in the Football Championship Subdivision _ the former Division I-AA.

Attendance: 11,316

Jackson St. 50, MVSU 16

ITTA BENA, Mississippi -- Jimmy Oliver passed for one touchdown and ran for another as Jackson State routed Mississippi Valley State 50-16 on Saturday.

Jackson State (2-2, 2-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) beat its instate rival for the 13th straight time.

MVSU (1-3, 1-3) was winning 13-6 midway through the second quarter before Oliver connected with Rodney Gray on a 10-yard touchdown pass that tied the score 13-13.

Oliver, who also passed for 262 yards in the game, scored on a short run with 37 seconds left in the first half, putting Jackson State ahead for good.

MVSU, which lost its third straight game, could manage only 75 yards of offense in the second half after controlling most of the first half.

Ronald Brewer, who rushed for 115 yards, scored MVSU's only touchdown with a short dash late in the first quarter.

Jackson State finished with 473 yards of offense.

ATTENDANCE: 11,798

Norfolk St. 38, Bethune-Cookman 31

NORFOLK, VA -- Daryl Jones ran for 4 touchdowns, and scored from a yard out with 36 seconds remaining to give Norfolk State a 38-31 win over Bethune-Cookman on Saturday.

The Spartans (2-1, 1-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) were trailing 31-23 when Jones scored on a 1-yard run with 3:32 left to play and Casey Hansen's two-point conversion pass to Jamar Johnson tied the game.

Terrell Whitehead intercepted a pass from Jimmie Russell and returned it 36 yards to the Bethune-Cookman 7 and four plays later, Jones scored from the 1 with 36 seconds to play.

Russell threw for one touchdown and ran for 100 yards and another score for the Wildcats (2-2, 0-2), but his lone interception of the day cost his team dearly.

Jones, who ran for 118 yards on 21 carries, also scored on runs of 32 and 2. Whitehead also scored on a 48-yard fumble recovery.

Hansen was 12-for-24 for 153 yards and one interception.

ATTENDANCE: 12,736

E. Michigan 38, Howard 15

YPSILANTI, Michigan -- Andy Schmitt threw for 214 yards and four touchdowns Saturday, leading Eastern Michigan to a 38-15 victory over Howard.

Schmitt connected with Ken Bohnet, Tyrone Burke and Dwayne Priest as Eastern Michigan (2-2) built a 31-0 lead. The sophomore threw for his final touchdown with 35 seconds remaining, hitting Travis Lewis on a 10-yard pass.

Howard (1-3) was hurt by four turnovers and failed to reach the end zone until Brian Johnson hit Jarahn Williams with an 11-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Howard added its second TD with 6:19 remaining when Johnson connected with Michael Harper for a 27-yard pass. Johnson led the Bison offense with 167 yards passing and 136 yards rushing. Howard tallied 434 yards in total offense to the Eagles' 329.

Eastern led 17-0 at halftime. Pierre Walker scored on a 7-yard run on the Eagles' first possession, Zach Johnson kicked a 22-yard field goal with 6:22 left in the second quarter and Schmitt threw a 24-yard scoring pass to Priest two minutes later.

Howard twice drove deep into Eastern Michigan territory during the first half, but failed to score. One of the drives ended when Johnson fumbled on the Eagles' 9-yard line. Johnson then threw an interception at the Eastern Michigan 7 early in the second quarter before again being picked off in the final minute of the second quarter.

Attendance: 10,141

Up Close and Personable -- Extraordinary Musicians, The Incomparable FAMU Marching 100

Too much leads to not enough for Hampton U

David Squires, Daily Press

HAMPTON - When league foe Morgan State scored on its opening possession of the second half Thursday night to tie Hampton University, the Pirates' night of Hip-Hop and hash marks was brewing into a perfect storm.

Lackluster attendance at the home-opening football game for the three-time defending conference champion Pirates.

Lackluster attendance at the concert across the parking lot at the HU Convocation Center, featuring Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, USDA and Eve.

An uninspired performance on the football field by the Pirates, who jumped to a 17-0 lead, then found themselves in a 17-all tie and eventually overtime ď before winning 24-17.

A slight drizzle at kickoff and for part of the first quarter didn't help.

Was this promotions genius, bad planning or related to an interesting conspiracy theory regarding the separation of town U from towns' folk?

As it turns out, it might merely have been the unintended confluence of a couple of rescheduled events -- with HU officials hoping to make the best of the situation.

The game was scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, but when it became a televised game, it was moved to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, according to HU athletic director Lonza Hardy.

The concert, hosted by local promoter Fred Wills, originally was scheduled for July 20, but was rescheduled to Thursday night at 8:30, according to HU Convocation Center marketing director Jewel Baker.

Attendance at the game was announced at 5,360, and Hardy said he expected some students would attend both events.

Hardy anticipated that some of the concert's main acts would not perform until after the game.

In fact, Rick Ross and Young Jeezy were said to have attended the game in the first half.

Hardy also said that he expected attendance to build from Thursday's game, with the next home games featuring perhaps HU's toughest foes of the year: Delaware State on Sept. 29, and South Carolina State for homecoming on Oct. 20.

Meanwhile, Baker, at the concert venue Thursday, was expecting "3,500 to 4,500" at the Convocation Center.

Hardly anyone was in line for the opening of the doors at 7:30 p.m.

Foot traffic began to pick up around 8:45.

"We're expecting to have a good concert," Baker said. "We're expecting a good crowd. We're expecting to have a good time."

No, this was not an attempt by the private HU to become more welcoming of the larger community. Some believe it was just the opposite.

"I feel like they didn't want too many students and other people in the same place at the same time," said Cecil Chaniel, 25, who lives in Hampton. "So they had the game for students and football players at the same time as the concert."

Chaniel, who plays for the Virginia Crusaders, a Hampton Roads-based semipro football team, says he was torn between going to the game and the concert.

He picked the concert because he is a native of Cordele, Ga., and "Jeezy is from Atlanta, so I had to support him."

"If they had this (concert) on Friday, it would have sold out," Chaniel said. "So they're taking away money from the artists who've come to perform."

To add another damper to the evening, Eve came on the video screen at about 11:35 p.m. and announced that because of personal issues she could not perform. The crowd, not surprisingly, was not pleased.

But the main course, Jeezy, hadn't performed yet. And the night's other highlight came moments before Eve's announcement, when Pirates quarterback T.J. Mitchell hit Justin Brown for the game-winning score.

Alabama A&M striving for top

By REGGIE BENSON, Huntsville Times

Grambling history, present give 'Dogs worthy goal

GRAMBLING, La. - When Anthony Jones was named the football coach at Alabama A&M six years ago, he wanted his program to emulate the program that Eddie Robinson had built at Grambling.

The Tigers, who have won more Southwestern Athletic Conference championships than any team in league history, have long been the measuring stick among black college programs.

Under Jones, the Bulldogs have been the league's best team the last five years. A&M has appeared in the SWAC Championship Game three times in that span and finally won it last season by beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Despite the success, Jones and A&M have struggled against Grambling. Jones is 2-5 against the Tigers, several of the losses being blowouts - with two of them coming in the SWAC Championship Game. Over the past four years, the teams have split four meetings.

"When I first came here, that was the program I wanted my program to aspire to be," Jones said. "We're close, but we're not there yet."

Jones will try to get his program a little closer tonight when No. 23 A&M visits Grambling at Robinson Stadium. The Bulldogs are 3-0 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Tigers are 1-1 and 1-0. Kickoff is at 6 and the game will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on ESPNU at 9.

Some are calling tonight's game a preview of the SWAC Championship Game. Jones disagrees.

"It's still early," he said. "Anything can happen. We're playing well, they're playing well. But the season is still young."

A&M has easily disposed of its first three opponents, having outscored Tennessee State, Clark Atlanta and Mississippi Valley State by a combined score of 135-47. Meanwhile, Grambling whipped Alcorn State 31-10 before falling at Pittsburgh 34-10.

After watching the film, Jones seems sold on the Tigers.

"This will be our toughest test to date," he said. "This is a good football team. They can beat you in all three phases of the game. We feel the same way.

"If everybody shows up to play, it's going to be a hell of a football game."

Jones said the outcome will be decided on three things: turnovers, big plays and special teams.

"Turnovers are always a premium," he said. "When you start turning the ball over, you shorten the field for the opposing offense and you give them opportunities to score. That changes the complexion of the game.

"We have been a big-play offense. They have been a big-play offense in the past and they still have some of those people on their team. Big plays are always going to be a big deal. Special teams will be a key factor. Who's going to have field position due to special teams and who's going to get points due to special teams?"

Tonight's game is Grambling's home opener. It is also the Tigers' first home game since Robinson died earlier this year. Those factors haven't been lost on Jones.

"It's going to be a tough situation for us to go into," he said. "I'm sure the crowd is going to be loud and supportive, but we'll be ready."

Grambling coach Rod Broadway expects nothing less.

"This will be a great challenge for us," he said. "We're looking forward to playing this game. It will give us an indication of what we can accomplish in this conference."

Today's games in the SWAC

Huntsville Times

Today's games

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-2) at No. 7 Southern Illinois (3-0); McAndrew Stadium, Carbondale, Ill., 1:30 p.m.

The Golden Lions, who played in the SWAC Championship Game last season, have been the most disappointing team in the league. QB Chris Wallace, the preseason SWAC Player of the Year, did not play in Saturday's 12-10 loss to Alabama State and was pulled a week earlier against Alcorn State. RB Martell Mallett and Mickey Dean, considered the best tandem in the league, have combined for just 179 yards and one TD behind a rebuilt OL that has allowed 17 sacks. Defensively, UAPB has been terrific, allowing a SWAC-best 9.5 ppg.

SIU is averaging almost 46 points and 440 ypg. The Salukis whipped UAPB 48-16 a year ago.

Prediction: Southern Illinois 30, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 10


Jackson State (1-2, 1-0 SWAC) at Mississippi Valley State (1-2, 1-2); Rice-Totten Stadium, Itta Bena, Miss., 4 p.m.

The Tigers got in the win column last week by beating Texas Southern. JSU QB Jimmy Oliver appears to have settled in after splitting time with Trae Rutland during the Tigers' first two games. Defensively, JSU has been dominating, allowing just 16.7 points and 202.7 ypg.

The Delta Devils have been outscored 68-20 since their 016-9 season-opening win over UAPB, including 50-7 in the second half. MVSU is averaging just 12 points and 199.7 ypg in total offense, while allowing 25.7 points and 407.3 ypg.

Prediction: Jackson State 24, Mississippi Valley 14


Tennessee State (2-1) at Southern (3-0); Mumford Stadium, Baton Rouge, La., 6 p.m.

Southern is 3-0 for the first time since 2003.

The Jaguars, led by Darren Coates, Brian Threat and Kendrick Smith, are averaging 199.3 yards per game on the ground and 391.7 yards in total offense.

Defensively, the Jaguars are allowing only 11.7 ppg and 265.7 ypg.

TSU has won two straight by a total of four points since being pounded 49-23 by Alabama A&M in its opener.

Tigers QB Antonio Heffner is averaging more than 200 yards passing. RB Javerris Williams has 317 yards rushing.

Prediction: Southern 28, Tennessee State 24

No. 23 Alabama A&M (3-0, 1-0) at Grambling (1-1, 1-0); Robinson Stadium, Grambling, La, 6 p.m.; tape-delay at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

A&M is averaging 45 points and 519 yards per game and has been particularly dominant in the second half, having scored 35 points in the second half in wins over Tennessee State and Mississippi Valley State. QB Kelcy Luke has 10 TD passes after having 16 all of last season. RB Ulysses Banks has 342 yards rushing and 3 TDs.

GSU has had a week off since losing 34-10 at Pittsburgh. The Tigers, under new coach Rod Broadway, are averaging 20.5 ppg and 359 ypg. QB Brandon Landers has thrown for 458 yards and 5 TDs. Defensively, GSU is allowing 22 ppg and 288 ypg.

Prediction: Alabama A&M 28, Grambling 24


Alcorn State (0-3, 0-2) at Alabama State (3-0, 2-0); Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, 7 p.m.

Reggie Barlow has the Hornets off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2004. ASU, picked to finish last in the Eastern Division, has done it with a strong running game and a stout defense. RB Jay Peck leads the league in rushing with 349 yards and two TDs. The Hornets' defense is allowing only 13 ppg and 237 ypg.

This is Johnny Thomas' worst team at Alcorn State. The Braves are averaging a paltry 4.3 ppg, which is the lowest in the country, and 228.7 ypg. Injuries have hampered QBs Chris Walker and Tony Hobson, and the Braves' running game has been ineffective. ASU's lone bright spot has been WR/KR Nate Hughes, who leads the league in all-purpose yards, averaging 188.7 ypg.

Prediction: Alabama State 28, Alcorn State 3


Texas Southern (0-3) at UTEP (1-2); Sun Bowl, El Paso Texas, 7:05 p.m..

The Tigers have been abysmal under coach Steve Wilson, who is 4-32 in his fourth season. TSU has struggled offensively, averaging just 10.3 ppg, while allowing 27.7 ppg.

UTEP, led by former Alabama coach Mike Price, is coming off of a 29-24 loss to New Mexico State. The Miners are averaging 21.7 ppg and 323.7 ypg, while giving up 26.7 ppg and 497 ypg.

Prediction: UTEP 31, Texas Southern 7


Last week: 5-0

Season: 12-6

Reggie Benson