Turkey Day Classic Buzz: Tuskegee at Alabama State

TURKEY DAY CLASSIC BUZZ --Tuskegee at Alabama State

WHAT: Tuskegee (9-1) at Alabama State (7-3)

WHEN: Thursday, 3 p.m.

WHERE: Alabama State's new stadium

TV: The game will be televised live on ESPNU

LINE: None

THIS GAME WILL DETERMINE: Technically, nothing. Tuskegee, the Southern Intercollegiate Conference champion, will go on to to the Pioneer Bowl on December 1st and Alabama State's season is over regardless of the outcome. But it's the 89^th annual meeting between the Division II Tuskegee and FCS Alabama State, making it a perfect kickoff to rivalry weekend. Tuskegee's lone loss came in a 7-6 game against Alabama A&M, the Hornets', arch-nemesis, in Week 1. Alabama State beat the Bulldogs by 18 in the Magic City Classic. Tuskegee has downed Miles and Stillman, which owns a victory against Concordia-Selma. So, if there were a state black college championship game, it'd be this. And all that's not to mention the fact, the Hornets are opening their new $62-million on-campus stadium to cap off their homecoming week with the oldest classic game in all of black college football.

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HU's Rose works toward next season, awaits sit-down with A.D.

HAMPTON, Virginia  --  Donovan Rose walked off the field at Morgan State last Saturday a winner for just the third time all season, a small consolation in as frustrating a year as he has experienced in football.

Yet when Hampton University's head coach reflected on the 2012 season, the message to his players came from one week earlier, after the Pirates lost yet another close game in which they contributed to their own downfall — at Delaware State.

"I told them: Remember this feeling, so you do what's necessary never to feel it again," Rose said. "When we do what we're supposed to do and play the type of football that you're coached and deliver, it's all going to take care of itself.

Hampton U. (3-7) concluded its worst season since going 2-9 in 1991, the final year of the Fred Freeman Era and when the athletic program was firmly planted in Division II and the CIAA.

The season figured to be a huge ...

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The CI: Shakeup in coaching ranks

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  --  It’s firing season for football coaches.

Virginia State fired head coach Andrew Faison after 11 seasons. Faison finished with a record of 58-53 but his Trojans struggled to challenge North Division heavyweights Elizabeth City State and Bowie State.

In the South Division, Livingstone has fired Elvin James, according to Football Scoop, a website that tracks coaches on the collegiate and professional levels. The site said the school was scheduled to name a replacement on Nov. 19.

Fayetteville State cut ties with Kenny Phillips earlier this month after 13 seasons. Phillips led the Broncos to their best stretch in school history, going 75-63 mark during his tenure with three CIAA championships and three appearances in the Division II playoffs. FSU has reassigned Phillips, who still has a year remaining on his contract, to other duties.

Programs and coaches with CIAA ties haven’t been immune from pink ...

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Forward progress at JCSU

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  --  After finishing above .500 and second in the CIAA South, Johnson C. Smith football has a definitive goal: Compete for the division title in 2013.

The Golden Bulls (6-4, 5-2 CIAA) have enough ingredients to at least improve on its 2012 record, which took a hit with upset losses to West Virginia State and Lincoln. They rebounded from a 2-4 record to win four straight to beat preseason expectations of the league’s coaches, who predicted a fifth-place finish in the six-team CIAA South.

JCSU coach Steve Aycock is looking to leverage the Golden Bulls’ consecutive winning seasons – which last happened in 1973 – as a selling point with recruits.

“We’ve had a few guys come in and visit with us that’s excited about what we’re doing,” he said. “We just hope people look at since we’ve taken over as head coach and brought the staff in that Johnson C. Smith is a team on the rise.”

Although Winston-Salem State is the undisputed king of the CIAA, JCSU returns enough personnel to perhaps contend for a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs or Pioneer Bowl.


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No revenge for Jackson State in UAPB rematch

JACKSON, Mississippi  --  When Jackson State players return to campus next Tuesday to begin preparations for Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the Dec. 8 SWAC championship game, there will be no talk of revenge.

UAPB (9-2, 8-1 SWAC) was the last team to beat the Tigers, gashing JSU (7-4, 7-2) for a season-high 319 yards on the ground in a 34-24 win in October.

JSU has won five straight since that loss on a soggy night in Arkansas.

“That was a game ago,” JSU coach Rick Comegy said. “This is a brand new ballgame. We can reflect back on things we did wrong, but I don’t think we need to reflect back in a way of revenge. That takes away from play.

“I think we just go to go in there and play solid football and do what we do best and not worry about any type of revenge,” Comegy said.

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Road trip tests Florida A&M Rattlers

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- The road that FAMU has traveled so far hasn’t been an easy one and it’s getting tougher with every stop that the men’s basketball team makes. The Rattlers’ next stop comes tonight at the University of Arkansas.

During the next 10 days, they’ll travel to Las Vegas for a tournament, then play at Jacksonville before coming home for a Dec. 1 game against Bethune-Cookman University at the Lawson Center.

Being away from home against teams from the Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC has presented some challenges, the biggest of them for coach Clemon Johnson being finding ways to keep his players’ confidence up. The Rattlers (0-3) go into every game as underdogs and, with the exception of a five-point loss to Houston, the games haven’t been close.

Things could have been much easier for the Rattlers against less powerful opponents, but with a financially strapped athletic department the financial guarantee take precedent.

“What I have to do is keep convincing those guys that this (playing against bigger programs) isn’t how it’s going to be for the entire year,” Johnson said Monday night before a team practice.



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FAMU MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE -2012

Date	Opponent	Location	Time (ET)	Results
Thu, Nov 01	Albany State (Exhibition)	Tallahassee, Fla.	7 p.m.
Fri, Nov 09	Houston	at Houston, Texas	12 p.m.	76 - 81 (L) Final STATS
Tue, Nov 13	Stetson	at DeLand, Fla.	7 p.m.	66 - 88 (L) Final STATS
Las Vegas Tournament
Sun, Nov 18	Arizona State	at Tempe, Ariz.	2 p.m.	70 - 97 (L) Final STATS
Tue, Nov 20	Arkansas	at Fayetteville, Ark.	TBA	- (L) (W) (T)
Fri, Nov 23	Longwood	at Las Vegas, Nev.	TBA
Sat, Nov 24	Presbyterian/Longwood/Cornell	at Las Vegas, Nev.	TBA
Thu, Nov 29	North Florida	at Jacksonville, Fla.	7 p.m.
Sat, Dec 01	Bethune-Cookman *	Tallahassee, Fla.	6 p.m.
Tue, Dec 04	Edward Waters College	Tallahassee, Fla.	7 p.m.
Sat, Dec 08	Allen University	Tallahassee, Fla.	4 p.m.
Sat, Dec 15	Clemson	at Clemson, S.C.	TBA
Tue, Dec 18	Texas Tech	at Lubbock, Texas	TBA
Sat, Dec 29	Georgia	at Athens, Ga	TBA

THE SHOW: Alabama A&M University at Auburn