Five takeaways from FCS Week 9

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – There were enough games matching two teams in the STATS FCS Top 25 that having 10 nationally ranked teams fall on Saturday was surprisingly typical.



The number of unbeaten teams dropped from four to three as Columbia fell 23-6 to Yale in the Ivy League. Top-ranked James Madison, No. 2 North Dakota State and No. 7 North Carolina A&T each take an 8-0 record into November. Jackson State, Savannah State and Tennessee Tech notched their first wins, leaving VMI (0-9), Cal Poly (0-8), Portland State (0-8), Indiana State (0-8) and Texas Southern (0-7) as the five winless teams in the FCS.

As always, the season’s biggest FCS crowd – an announced 61,221 – turned out for the “Magic City Classic” between Alabama A&M and Alabama State at Birmingham’s Legion Field. Alabama State won the defensive battle 21-16, forcing two turnovers and controlling the game clock with its rushing (221 yards). The Hornets, who are 2-5 overall, but 2-0 under interim coach Donald Hill-Eley, will now root for its rival A&M, which visits SWAC East Division leader Alcorn State next Saturday. If Alcorn wins, it will be on cruise control to a fourth straight division crown. An A&M win makes it a three-team fight to the finish.

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Passing game peaking at right time for Grambling State

GRAMBLING, Louisiana – The offensive coaching staff at Grambling State has played the waiting game through the first two months of football season.

During preseason camp, head coach Broderick Fobbs knew patience would be key for a Tigers offensive unit that felt the loss of the majority of their yardage and production at the receiver position with the departure of Chad Williams to the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals as well as their other two top targets in Verlan Hunter and Dominique Leake, combining for 172 receptions and 2,443 yards.



Quarterback DeVante Kincade delivered the ball to the trio last season, completing 64 percent of his throws overall while averaging 251.9 yards a game through the air with 31 touchdowns. The new senior signal caller has spent first seven contests this year searching for the right chemistry with his receiving corps, passing for 211.4 yards per game at a 59.4 completion rate (104-for-175) with just 10 passing touchdowns.

After the aerial outburst in the 50-24 homecoming victory Saturday against Texas Southern – the first time the team has scored 50 this season – the waiting game may be over for Grambling State (7-1, 4-0).

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Southern and Prairie View have combined to score almost 400 points against each other the last four years

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- If recent history is a useful indicator, the A.W. Mumford Stadium scoreboard operator may be busy at this Saturday’s game between Southern and Prairie View A&M.

The two teams have combined to score 346 points in their last four meetings (86.5 points per game), including barnburners like the 62-59 Southern win in 2013 and the 47-42 Prairie View win in 2015.

Only once in the last four seasons has either Prairie View or Southern failed to crack 34 points in the game, when the Panthers were held to 24 points in 2014.

The reason, Southern coach Dawson Odums said, was obvious.

“It’s because you had some really explosive football players and two very good offenses,” Odums said on the Southwestern Athletic Conference coaches teleconference Monday.

Perhaps that is why both Odums and his counterpart, Prairie View A&M coach Willie Simmons, stressed the importance the defenses will play in Saturday’s matchup.



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HBCU Football Judgement Day Scoreboard - Week 9

OCTOBER 28, 2017

OVC
Tennessee Tech 30, Tennessee State 26

SWAC
Prairie View A&M 34, Bacone College 17
Grambling State 50, Texas Southern 24
Jackson State 24, Mississippi Valley State 5
Alabama State 21, Alabama A&M 16
Southern 47, Arkansas Pine Bluff 40

MEAC
Florida A&M 34, Morgan State 31
Howard 28, South Carolina State 20
North Carolina Central 42, Delaware State 14
Savannah State 27, Norfolk State 9
Bethune-Cookman 24, Hampton 21

CIAA
Virginia State 26, Chowan 23
Bowie State 86, Lincoln (PA) 14
Saint Augustine's 24, Johnson C. Smith 0
Virginia Union 37, Elizabeth City State 21
Fayetteville State 28, Livingstone 26
Winston-Salem State 27, Shaw 21 O.T.

SIAC
Miles 38, Clark Atlanta 17
Tuskegee 45, Central State (OH) 0
Fort Valley State 52, Morehouse 7
Kentucky State 32, Lane 5
Benedict 17, Albany State 12

CSFL
Langston 27. Pmanhandle State 14
Arizona Christian 56, Texas College 0

PSAC
Millersville 59, Cheyney 7

GLVC
McKendree 36, Lincoln (MO) 12

MOUNTAIN EAST
Fairmont State 34, West Virginia State 27

Southern beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff 47-40 behind record-tying day from Austin Howard

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas -- On a day the Southern defense allowed too many points for comfort against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, senior quarterback Austin Howard turned in a performance as crisp as the autumn weather Saturday.

Howard matched his career high with five touchdown passes, tying Dray Joseph’s school record with 73, and leading Southern to a wild 47-40 win Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.

“We needed him to play well tonight,” Jaguars coach Dawson Odums said.

It was the best performance of the season for the senior, who missed two games with a knee injury in September and dealt with rust and limited mobility for several weeks after that.

Howard finished the game 22 of 32 with 245 yards and his five touchdowns. Four of those touchdowns came in the first half, when he was especially sharp.

“He had full command of what we were trying to do, and I was pleased with that,” Odums said.

And Southern (5-3, 3-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) needed that performance Saturday, as the struggling Golden Lions (2-6, 1-3) were determined not to be pushovers.



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Southern grappling with sudden death of beloved volunteer, Dr. Debra Fountain. 'We are going to miss her dearly'

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas -- Southern coach Dawson Odums struggled to keep his voice from breaking as he answered questions following his team’s 47-40 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday.

It had been a difficult 24 hours, he said. His team was about to return to Baton Rouge short one beloved member. Dr. Debra Fountain, née Brown, Southern’s unofficial team psychologist, died in Southern’s team hotel Friday afternoon.

Fountain was 63. The crowd at War Memorial Stadium observed a moment of silence midway through the contest to pay respects.

“It’s been very difficult,” Odums said. “I think there have been some challenges mentally. I can’t really say where they were mentally today. It’s been difficult for me, but I’ve been trying to be strong for them and be there for them.”

It happened after Southern returned from a team walkthrough Friday at War Memorial Stadium. Fountain was found unresponsive at Southern’s team hotel. Paramedics rushed her to the nearby University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital but were unable to revive her.

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Prairie View A&M Panthers Post Homecoming Win Over Bacone

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- The Prairie View A&M University football team posted a homecoming win with a 34-17 triumph over Bacone College Saturday at Panther Stadium.

QB Neiko Hollins threw a pair of touchdown passes, both to WR Khadarel Hodge, and RB Sta'fon McCray rushed for a touchdown. Defensively, CB Ju'Anthony Parker returned an interception for a touchdown as the Panthers improved to 3-4 on the season in a contest in which the teams agreed to play two 10-minute quarters in the second half.

"It was good to get a win after two straight losses," Prairie View A&M head coach Willie Simmons said. "It's good to end the game on the positive side of the scoreboard as opposed to the negative. I'm happy about that, but we have to play a lot better. Again, poor execution across the board. Special teams made some plays, but again allowed a kickoff return for touchdown. That's definitely something we have to fix. The defense held up in the first half. I thought in the second half, we played some younger guys and gave up some plays. Offensively, after halftime we only scored three points."

Prairie View A&M scored on five of its seven first-half possessions, including touchdowns on the first two drives. Following a forced three-and-out by the Panthers' defense, it took only three plays to score. McCray's 54-yard scoring run on the third offensive play gave PVAMU a 7-0 lead less than 90 seconds into the game.

After the defense forced a second straight three-and-out, Markcus Hardy blocked a punt which was recovered by RB Caleb Broach at the Bacone nine-yard line. Hodge caught a touchdown pass from Hollins on the ensuing play to give PVAMU a 14-0 lead with 12:08 to play in the first quarter.

Later in the quarter, a 54-yard punt return by Darius Floyd set up a 45-yard Zach Elder field goal for a 17-0 lead with 2:27 to play in the first quarter.

Just over a minute into the second quarter, Parker's 44-yard interception return extended the PVAMU lead to 24-0.

On the Panthers' next offensive possession, it took PVAMU only two plays to score. Hollins and Hodge connected on a 30-yard scoring pass for a 31-0 lead with just over 11 minutes to play until halftime.

"(Bacone Head) Coach (Lawrence) Livingston and I got together at halftime," Simmons said of the decision to shorten the game. "He wanted to make sure his guys got out of the game healthy. He felt like the game was getting out of hand, and we made the decision to shorten the game. They don't have a big roster numbers-wise. Of course, we're a bigger, faster, stronger team and we wanted to allow them to finish out their season strong, so we made the decision to go to the 10-minute quarters for the second half."

Prairie View A&M football returns to action Saturday at Southern at 4 p.m.



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