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Sunday's eighth annual MEAC-SWAC Challenge in Orlando is a kind of a big deal.
The MEAC has dominated the series in recent years. The conference has won three of the last four series meetings, including Bethune-Cookman's 63-14 shellacking of Prairie View A&M last season. It's a trend Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow is well aware of, heading into Sunday's 11 a.m. kickoff at the Citrus Bowl.
The contest is scheduled to air on ESPN.
"For our guys, our team and our school, we're blessed. We're not just playing for Alabama State." Barlow said in the SWAC coaches weekly teleconference. "That's our approach to this game. This is about Walter Payton (Jackson St.) and Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley St.) and all those wonderful Grambling (St.) players, Doug Williams, and all those guys that represented the SWAC conference."
STILLWATER, Oklahoma – The Oklahoma State Cowboys enjoyed their best season in school history last year, and with a revamped roster they begin their journey to try and repeat as Big 12 Conference champions when they take on the Savannah State Tigers this Saturday to open the 2012 season.
The 2011 campaign was one of transition for FCS member Savannah State. It was the Tigers' first year as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference as well as their first year under the tutelage of head coach Steve Davenport. It was a rough season to say the least, as the Tigers finished just 1-10 and 1-7 in the MEAC, with their lone win coming on Sept. 24 at North Carolina Central, 33-30.
Oklahoma State's season, on the other hand, was nothing short of spectacular, cruising to a 12-1 overall record and an 8-1 mark in the Big 12, with signature wins coming against nationally-ranked foes Texas A&M (30-29), Texas (38-26), Kansas State (52-45) and Oklahoma (44-10). The Cowboys ultimately missed out on the national championship game thanks to ...
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — It's that time of the year again. Summer has passed quicker than we remember, it's time to start paying more attention to your job and it's time to send the kids back to school. More importantly, the road to Frisco begins this week for FCS teams.
For the fans, some fleeting hours remain to re-live their favorite moments from last season, before the new season officially kicks off. It's an opportunity to remember all the glory, triumph, happiness, and, yes, even the brutal losses, disappointment and failed expectations your team didn't live up to.
Ads by GoogleIt's the last chance to trash-talk with sworn enemies before the teams do the talking for everyone. It's both exciting and nerve-racking to play out dozens of scenarios in the new season.
It's the smell of a cornucopia of meats being grilled in ...
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Alabama A&M and Tuskegee will both be looking to take a first step toward erasing some bad memories from the 2011 season when they meet at 7 p.m. Saturday at Legion Field in Birmingham.
Despite going 8-4 last year and making it to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game, A&M exited 2011 with the disappointment of blowing a 15-point halftime lead to Grambling in the SWAC title game and losing 16-15. It was the Bulldogs' second consecutive loss in the conference championship game.
"Last year was last year. There's nothing we can do about it now," said A&M coach Anthony Jones, who is entering his 11th season leading the Bulldogs. "The only thing our guys will be thinking about (Saturday) is the guy standing across from us trying to pound us."
Meanwhile, Tuskegee is coming off a rare losing season. The Golden Tigers won nine or more games every year from 2004-2010, highlighted by a 12-0 record in 2007. But Tuskegee got off to a 1-4 start in 2011 - including a 21-6 loss to Alabama A&M - on the way to a 4-6 final record.
GRAMBLING, Louisiana — The setting and cast of characters — and Grambling hopes the outcome — will bear many similarities, but the Tigers see a much different D.J. Williams leading the charge.
The quarterback was a freshman question mark, albeit a confident one, in last season's opener against Alcorn State in Shreveport.
But GSU's coaches and players have a better idea what to expect from a more battle-tested sophomore Williams this time around as they meet the Braves again this Saturday.
"My teammates know that I can do it and I have the capabilities to take this team to where we went last year," Williams said. "I see it in everybody's eyes that they're confident in me, and I'm confident in them, and that's a good feelin'."
ATLANTA, Georgia - Season three of Georgia State football kicks off with a stern test as the Panthers host a South Carolina State program that has posted 11 straight winning seasons in Thursday's season opener at the Georgia Dome.
Thursday's game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will be regionally televised on CSS. Radio coverage is available on the GSU Radio Network, including flagship stations Newstalk 1160 AM (WCFO) and 1690 AM (WMLB) as well as WGST (AM 640 and FM 92.3).
Opening on Thursday night, Georgia State will be among the first college teams in the nation to tee it up, and head coach Bill Curry and his squad appreciate that."It's something that Cheryl Levick, our director of athletics, works very hard to put together," said Curry at his weekly press conference.
"We love the idea of us starting out on Thursday night. Our students love it. Our fans love it. We do get to go first. It's going to be televised. It's an exciting moment and we want to play well. We want to go out and execute.
"And Curry, entering his final season on the sideline, knows that the Panthers will have to play well to give themselves a chance against a very good football team."South Carolina State is one of the better FCS programs, and when I say program, I'm talking about perennial winners," he said.
"They've got 11 consecutive winning seasons to their credit and have won championships in their league. They have a tradition of over a century of excellent football."Included in that century is a victory over Georgia State last season, when South Carolina State scored the game's final 13 points to down the Panthers, 23-13, at Orangeburg, S.C.
"Last year was a lesson playing against them because we played very hard, but they played harder," said Curry. "The game was a good physical match and was won by the team that was more determined. We've got to be more determined when the chips are down."For Georgia State, redshirt freshman Ben McLane of Snellville, Ga., will make his debut at quarterback, with junior Kelton Hill also expected to see action.
"The way to prepare for a game like this, in my opinion, is not to make a big deal out of it," said McLane, whose last game in the Georgia Dome came when he led Brookwood High School to a victory over Colquitt County in the 2010 Class AAAAA state title game.
"We prepared so hard in the off-season and we've had a long training camp. You put so much pressure on yourself that when it comes to a big game like this, it's like another day at work. When you do walk out under the lights and have a bunch of people there, it's just like in practice. We've done that to ourselves, and we embrace whatever comes our way.
"South Carolina State, coached by Buddy Pough, counters with returning starter Richard Cue, an athletic quarterback who passed for 900 yards and seven touchdowns while rushing for 514 yards and eight scores in leading the Bulldogs to a 7-4 record in 2011.
In the game against GSU, he finished 16-for-30 for 213 yards passing while rushing for two touchdowns. Curry announced that the game captains for the South Carolina State contest are senior safety Demazio Skelton, junior wide receiver Jordan Giles - a native of Columbia, S.C. - and junior long snapper Scott McQueen.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Head Coach Reggie Barlow brought a gameday atmosphere to the Alabama State football practice Tuesday night during practice at Hornet Stadium.
The 8th edition of the MEAC-SWAC Challenge between the Hornets and Bethune-Cookman Wildcats kicks off Sunday just after 11 a.m. CT/Noon ET (WVAS 90.7 FM/HSRN.com./ESPN) in Orlando, Fla. at the Citrus Bowl.
The Mighty Marching Hornets band played during most of the night practice in the stands, giving both players and coaches a taste of what Sunday's gameday atmosphere could feel like.
“I thought the guys had good energy tonight,” Barlow said. “We tried to bring additional elements out here to be distracting and see how they would perform. It's a direct correlation to Sunday. There will be a lot of things going on on gameday and we want our guys to be focused on the task at hand. I thought the energy level was good and hopefully we will continue that this week.”
The Wildcats posted an 8-3 record last season, 6-2 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. B-CU led the conference in scoring (33.9 ppg) and total offense (435.3 ypg), based on a potent rushing attack that averaged nearly 260 yards per game, also a conference-best.
“They have several outstanding running backs,” Barlow said of the Wildcat offense. “They like to change their formations in a variety of ways, and have had a lot of success with it. We have to make sure we're dialed in and read our keys defensively.”
Last season, the Hornet' D struggled at times against the run, allowing on average 158.1 ypg. With several returning veterans in the front seven, Barlow is confident the run defense will be effective this Sunday.
“Brandon Slater is a big, strong guy for us in the middle, along with Winton Steward,” Barlow said in discussing some key pieces of the linebacker corps. “It's all about our alignments, making sure we're where we are supposed to be and fighting off blocks. We believe we have quality guys in the lineup, but they haven't been tested yet this season. They'll be tested on Sunday, and hopefully we'll be able to hold up.”
The Hornets will practice Wednesday at 3 p.m. and Thursday at 11 a.m.
COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
Season three of Georgia State football kicks off with a stern test as the Panthers host a South Carolina State program that has posted 11 straight winning seasons in Thursday's season opener at the Georgia Dome.