Southern University Human Jukebox Half-Time Show vs. PVAMU Marching Storm 10/25/08

Missed chances, turnovers prove costly in NSU Spartans’ loss

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FAMU defeats Norfolk State
FAMU Pregame

NORFOLK, VA - Norfolk State found another way to lose Saturday when a field goal in the final four seconds cost the Spartans moments after they thrilled the homecoming crowd at Price Stadium by rallying for a tie. The 31-28 Florida A&M win sent the Spartans to their fifth consecutive loss. "For a while we were clicking," said NSU receiver Dario Walker, a line repeated by just about every Spartan. "But we just keep coming up short every week. "

Just when NSU looked finished, Dennis Brown overcame a 4th-and-7 by completing his longest pass of the day from 37 yards out to Walker, who made a diving catch in the left corner of the end zone with 35 seconds left. After the extra point the game was tied at 28. Florida A&M had all its timeouts and Curtis Pulley, the transfer quarterback from Kentucky, whose ability to escape the blitz had stymied NSU much of the afternoon.

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TAKING CONTROL: Bulldogs take over first place in the MEAC

Travil Jamison was in his own world in the South Carolina State locker room during halftime of Saturday’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference showdown with Hampton. Held to zero yards in a scoreless first half, Jamison kept to himself as he gathered his thoughts in hopes of putting together a more productive second half.

When Jamison returned to the Oliver C. Dawson Stadium field, he entered a “zone” which propelled him to the best game of his college career and the Bulldogs into the driver’s seat of the MEAC title race. His career-best four touchdowns and 151 rushing yards – all in the second half – helped turn a scoreless game at halftime into a decisive 35-13 victory over the Pirates.

“Obviously, he had a really good game,” said an ecstatic S.C. State head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough. “This guy has always been right on the edge of being a real good guy for us.”
























Travil Jamison runs ball again Benedict College earlier in season.

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Week Nine: MEAC/SWAC Football Results

Florida A&M Rattlers 31, Norfolk State Spartans 28

The Joe Taylor two-headed Rattler experiment is over at the expense of the Norfolk State Spartans. Starter Eddie Battle gave the Spartans homecoming crowd hope, with two interceptions thrown and a fumble in completing 3 of 7 passes for 10 yards in the first quarter action. With the Spartans leading 14-0, in steps QB Curtis Pulley to get the Rattlers focused with his running and passing. Pulley completed 13 of 27 passes for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns, and ran for another 101 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries.

RB Philip Sylvester had 16 carries for 105 yards, with a 44 yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave FAMU a 21-14 lead. Rattler receiver Kevin Elliott had seven catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns (16 and 25 yards). Isaac West hauled in a fourth quarter bomb of 60 yards from Pulley to give the Rattlers a 28-21 lead that the Spartans would match with a Dennis Brown 37 yard pass completion to Dario Walker for a touchdown to tie the game again, with .35 seconds remaining.

FAMU's Pulley then drove the Rattlers 67 yards in 5 plays (.31 seconds) to set up Rattlers kicker Trevor Scott for the game winner from the 26 yard line.

Spartans 1-A transfer QB Dennis Brown ( UConn.) and Miami (FL) Booker T. Washington H.S., had a magnificent game completing 22/37 for 192 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Brown lead the NSU rushing attack with 131 yards on 16 carries for one touchdown.

The FAMU defense has shown little improvement--allowing Norfolk State to score with 35 seconds remaining in the game with a blown coverage on a 37 yard touchdown pass and allowing the Spartans to be successful on 3 of 4 fourth down plays. The inspired 2-6 Spartans were able to gain 371 yards and control the clock for 29 minutes against the Rattlers.

The Rattlers FAMCAST system failed again! As advertised, the game was not broadcasted at the appointed 1:00 p.m. and video was not received until the second half. Audio was picked up with about three minutes remaining in the 1st quarter. For a first class university, this streaming video/audio system sucks and is not representative of the fine work that this university can produce. No excuses--this needs to be fixed as this signal is being sent globally and fans expect to be able to tune in.

Charge a fee if you must--but develop a first class, reliable and dependable FAMCAST system that fans can enjoy watching--all of the Rattlers sports and other events.

Final Observations....The Rattlers need to stop playing to the level of their competition in the MEAC or they may be sitting at home with a 10-2 record come time for the 2008 FCS (1-AA) playoffs. Eddie Battle should remain on the bench as Curtis Pulley is the superior QB and is getting the job done. Battle is a good kid, but he does not have the running talents of Pulley, who is to valuable for FAMU's success to be platooned. Overall, the FAMU defense sucks and needs a complete makeover.

Attendance: 13,889 (46%) at Dick Price Stadium, Norfolk, VA (Capacity: 30,000).

Morgan State Bears 20, Delaware State Hornets 3

The Bears did the entire MEAC a favor by blasting the Hornets at Hughes Stadium before 6,312 Bear fans to drop DSU out of the MEAC race with a 3-4, 3-2 record. The Hornets self-destructed with 31 yards passing, 87 yards rushing, and four turnovers for the entire game. What happen to all those celebrated Division I transfers that were going to make the Delaware State Hornets Kings of the MEAC?

We will find out how good the Bears really are next week as they are scheduled as the homecoming opponent for the fast charging FAMU Rattlers. The Bears are returning to glory with a 5-3, 3-1 MEAC record.

Attendance: 6312 (63%) at Hughes Stadium, Baltimore, MD (Capacity: 10,000).

South Carolina State University 35, Hampton University 13

S.C. State's Buddy Pough now has a clear path to the MEAC championship and FCS Playoffs. Hampton got hammered by the Bulldogs power running game on Saturday afternoon. No need to over analyze the why's and how's, as 316 yards on the ground speaks volumes about the prowess of the Bulldogs running game.

Will Ford did his thing, gaining 182 yards on 25 carries for one touchdown. But, the surprise of the day was Travil Jamison who exploded for four touchdowns on 10 carries, for 152 yards. We had rain, but SCSU brought thunder and lightning to the Pirates.

The Pirates didn't give themselves a chance getting whistled for 13 penalties for 154 yards. RB LaMarcus Coker was held scoreless on 22 rushes for 109 yards, but caught a 10 yard pass for touchdown from QB Herbert Bynes. Bynes also hit Damon McDaniel on a beautiful 43-yard touchdown pass and completed 27/40 for 272 yards for two touchdowns.

The Pirates season and playoff dreams may be over if Coach Holmes cannot motivate his defense to stop the run.

Attendance: 17,159 (78%) at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, Orangeburg, S.C. (Capacity: 22,000).

North Carolina A&T Aggies 21, Howard University Bison 20

North Carolina A&T (3-6, 1-4) drop kicked head coach Lee Fobbs, Jr. on Monday. And with his assistant coach George Ragsdale in the driver seat, the Aggies kicked the Howard Bison (1-6, 0-4) under the bus to end a six game losing streak. With the Aggies headed in a new direction, one has to ask the question--what direction is Howard headed with only one win this season against the Savannah State Tigers? What has Coach Carey Bailey done for the Bison lately, as he was 4-7 in his first season with the Bison and currently 1-6, 0-4 MEAC?

This victory is the first conference win for the Aggies since October 2005. Michael Ferguson scored two touchdowns to lead the Aggies offense and North Carolina A&T defense recovered a Bison fumble in the last minute to preserve the win. This is the second week that the Bison offense has self-destructed in the final minutes of a game they could have won.

Bethune Cookman Wildcats 27, Winston Salem State Rams 6

The Wildcats are 5-2, 3-2 MEAC and can end the season with 7-8 wins. Winston Salem (1-6, 1-4) is reason #1 the MEAC should move to a seven game North/South divisional format.

Attendance: 12,121 ( 67%) at Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston Salem, N.C. (Capacity: 18,000).

Alabama A&M Bulldogs 17, Alabama State Hornets 16

The Bulldogs move to 4-5, 3-1 SWAC and ASU falls to 1-6, 1-3 SWAC in the annual Magic City Classic affair. It really didn't matter what the records were for this Alabama rivarly, as 69, 113 attended this game, making the Magic City Classic the #1 ranked HBCU/FCS/Division I-AA game in attendance.

Attendance: 69,113 (86%) at Legion Field, Birmingham, AL (Capacity: 80,391).

Texas Southern 30, Alcorn State University 29

University of Arkansas Pine Bluff 42, Lincoln (Mo) 0

Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 27, Tennessee State Tigers 20 (OT)

Jackson State 29, Mississippi Valley State 27

Prairie View A&M 24, Southern 23

Idle: Grambling, Savannah State (I-AA Indep.) and N.C. Central (I-AA Indep.).

Norfolk State handling difficult season, hope to turn around with FAMU

Florida A&M at Norfolk State, 1 p.m.
Online: Complete coverage on http://www.rattlernews.com/
Radio: 96.1 FM.
GAME LIVE AUDIO/VIDEO: http://www.famu.edu/famcast/famusports/
NSU: Click here for the audio stream.

Anyone who wants to know what is causing the downward spiral for Norfolk State football team, which came within a touchdown of winning the MEAC last year, only has to look at Florida A&M's 2007 results. Interceptions, missed field goals and injuries are all taking a toll on the Spartans. They desperately need a turnaround and they're hoping it begins when FAMU goes to Price Stadium for Norfolk State's homecoming today.

This time last season, Norfolk State was 6-1 and holding first place in the league. Now it has just two wins with five losses. "It's frustration more than anything," said coach Pete Adrian. "It's frustrating for our kids because they're not playing that bad." Last season when Norfolk State compiled an 8-3 record, it won the close games and ended the season with its best season since it moved to Division I-AA 11 years ago. The close ones have been escaping Norfolk State this time, though.

NSU RB DeAngelo Branche #3 get tackled by Kentucky Wildcat.

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Foes chase improved Tennessee State Tigers

Ranking gives Tigers' opponents some motivation

TSU (6-1, 3-0 OVC ) at SE Missouri (2-5, 0-3)
Where: Houck Stadium, Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Time: 1 p.m. today
TV/Radio: None locally/1470-AM
Last meeting: TSU 31, SEMO 0 (2006)
Key matchup: TSU QB Antonio Heffner vs. SEMO LB Nick Stauffer and DB Eddie Calvin. The coaching staff revealed last week that Heffner has been hampered by a sore shoulder all season, yet he leads the OVC in passing yards per game (223.1) and total offensive yards (271.0). Stauffer has 76 tackles, including two sacks, and Calvin has four interceptions.

There's not enough room on Tennessee State's uniforms for a number and a bull's-eye, but that hasn't kept the Tigers from feeling like they're the target of every team they play. Since moving into first place in the Ohio Valley Conference and climbing into the Football Championship Series rankings, Coach James Webster said the No. 19 Tigers have gotten their opponents' best shots. He expects nothing less from Southeast Missouri (2-5, 0-3 OVC) when the Tigers (6-1, 3-0) visit Cape Girardeau, Mo., today for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
























TSU only loss has come at the hands of the hot Florida A&M Rattlers in the Atlanta Football Classic.

"This football team has earned the right to be where they are because we work them so hard and they have really had to battle to be where they are,'' Webster said. "(We) now have to work even harder to stay there because we have a bull's-eye on our chest and people are going to come at us a little harder." Webster is confident his team's past two opponents played their best games motivated by the opportunity to knock the Tigers out of the conference's catbird seat.

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Does Grambling have the path of least resistance to SWAC title match?

Grambling State, taking a break this week after playing the first eight weeks of the season without a bye, arguably, has the path of least resistance to winning the SWAC's West Division. Grambling's next three games include Mississippi Valley State (2-4), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-7) and Texas Southern (3-5) -- all Southwestern Athletic Conference games.

If Prairie View A&M beats Southern on Saturday, a Tiger win in the Bayou Classic should lock in a second straight appearance in the SWAC Championship game - the third in four years and fifth since 2000. "We just need to get away from it for a couple days," said Grambling coach Rod Broadway, whose team is off this weekend. "We're going to give the kids a couple days off. We need to unwind a little bit, relax. It's been a hard stretch for us."

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