Week 9: HBCU Football Schedule

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SATURDAY, October 25, 2014

MEAC
Florida A&M at North Carolina A&T, 1 PM, Homecoming
Bethune-Cookman at South Carolina State, 1:30 PM
Savannah State at North Carolina Central, 2 PM
Hampton at Delaware State, 2 PM
Morgan State at Villanova, 3:30 PM

SWAC
Alcorn State at Prairie View A&M, 2 PM
Arkansas Pine Bluff at Texas Southern, 3 PM
Alabama State vs. Alabama A&M, 3:30  73rd Magic City Classic, Birmingham, AL, TV: ESPN3
Southern at Jackson State, 7 PM

OVC
Tennessee State at Eastern Illinois, 2:30 PM, TV: ESPN3

CIAA
Johnson C. Smith at Shaw, 1 PM, Homecoming
Bowie State at Virginia Union, 1 PM
Chowan at Elizabeth City State, 1:30 PM, Homecoming
Livingstone at Winston-Salem State, 1:30 PM
Fayetteville State at Saint Augustine's, 2 PM, Homecoming
Lincoln (Pa.) at Virginia State, 2 PM, Homecoming

SIAC
Kentucky State at Tuskegee, 1 PM
Stillman at Central State, 1:30 PM
Paine at Fort Valley State, 2 PM
Miles at Lane, 2 PM
Clark Atlanta at Albany State, 2 PM
Morehouse at Benedict, 2 PM

OTHER CONFERENCES
Cheyney at Shippensburg, 12 Noon
Wesley College at Virginia University Lynchburg, 1 PM Homecoming
Concordia-Selma at Warner, 1 PM
Virginia -Wise at West Virginia State, 2 PM
Apprentice School at Edward Waters, 3 PM
Southwest Assemblies of God at Langston, 3 PM
Lincoln (Mo.) at Indianapolis, 6 PM


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Jackson wins 6th GCAC Runner of Week award of 2014

Xavier University of Louisiana's Kwame Jackson, center, with Gulf Coast Athletic
Conference Commissioner  Steve Martin, left, and GCAC President Kiki Barnes,
the athletics director at Dillard University.

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Kwame Jackson, who won his third Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's cross country individual championship on Saturday, was named Runner of the Week for Oct. 13-19.

Jackson, a senior from Kingwood, Texas, and a graduate of Kingwood Park High School, became the first GCAC harrier to win three individual titles. He repeated as league champion, running 8,000 meters at City Park in 29 minutes, 3.16 seconds and winning by nearly 42 seconds. He led the Gold Rush to a ninth consecutive GCAC men's team championship.

Jackson set a GCAC record with his sixth weekly award of the season and extended his career record to 15.

The XU men and women will conclude the season Nov. 22 in the NAIA National Championship at Lawrence, Kansas.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

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XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

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TSU to Travel to EIU for an OVC Matchup

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NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- On Saturday, the Tennessee State football team will travel to Eastern Illinois for an Ohio Valley Conference matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

Scouting TSU
The Tigers (4-4, 1-3 OVC) are coming off of a, 21-16, loss at home to UT Main, the most current entry in their three-game losing streak. It is currently the longest slide for the team since a four-game stretch in 2011.

Scouting EIU
The Panthers (2-5, 2-1 OVC) just crushed Southeast Missouri, 52-13, for their second win of the season. The Eastern Illinois defense forced five turnovers in the victory, including four interceptions.

Three Keys to the Game

Win the Turnover Battle
Over the last three games, the TSU offense has given the ball away nine times while the defense has just four takeaways (all against Jacksonville State). Both stats have contributed to the rough patch as the Tigers are 11-1 in the last two seasons when they come out positive in turnover margin. When they have the same or less takeaways than its opponents, Big Blue is just 3-7. It may seem simple, but TSU needs to take better care of the ball against the Panthers to give itself a shot at more scoring drives.

Contain Whitlow
EIU’s junior quarterback Jalen Whitlow has been the most productive quarterback in the OVC this season, averaging 258.7 yards per game. TSU fans will remember last year’s EIU QB Jimmy Garoppolo who also led the OVC in total yards. The Panthers’ current signal-caller is more mobile than his predecessor and is second in the league in rushing yards per contest (79.7). The Univ. of Kentucky transfer’s eight scores on the ground are also tops in the conference. TSU leads the nation in passing defense (129.8 y/g), but the unit must also focus on Whitlow’s running ability if the Tigers are to stop their slide.

Maintain Status Quo on Defense
In addition to being the best in pass defense, the Tigers’ D is also third in total defense (251.3 y/g) and eighth in scoring (16.3 p/g). Even in a losing effort last week, Big Blue held the Skyhawks to just 210 yards – 67 through the air. TSU has been dominant on defense the past three seasons, but EIU has gained 567 and 553 yards in the two meetings during that span. The Tigers need to have a short memory and play like they are accustomed to shut down the high-flying Panther attack this time around.

EIU holds a 10-7 edge in the series and won twice last season, the latter of which ended TSU’s season in the FCS Playoffs.

Saturday marks EIU’s homecoming and fans can catch all the action on ESPN3 at 1:30 p.m.

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Expectations change for Livingstone; Blue Bears eye second CIAA championship

SALISBURY, North Carolina -- Livingstone basketball coach James Stinson is philosophical about expectations.

Earning the school’s first CIAA championship, like his Blue Bears did last season, brings presumptions just like being the league’s worst team. In 11 seasons at Livingstone, he’s been in both situations.

“When we were on the bottom we had a target on our back because no one wanted to lose to us,” Stinson said. “It’s the same thing so we just prepare every day. It does get tougher because people are bringing their ‘A’ game and then the CIAA from top to bottom is going to be tough each night.”

League coaches expect Livingstone to be the CIAA’s best, voting the Blue Bears No. 1 in preseason polling. Making it happen, though, will be more difficult after losing the heart of last year’s 21-9 squad. Seven players return, including four who started games last year, with 6-4 forward Eric Mayo leading the incumbents with 19. The returnees combined for 22.2 points per game, but their experience gives the Blue Bears a starting point to compete in the CIAA South.

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Sims finds a home at WSSU

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Even though quarterback Phillip Sims of Winston-Salem State has been on campus for nearly 14 months some find it hard to believe that he’s even there at all.

The way Sims arrived at WSSU isn’t all that complicated.

“Well, some of the assistant coaches called, and I answered my phone,” Sims said this week during an extended interview at the Bowman Gray Stadium Fieldhouse.

Sims, a Parade All-America in high school in Chesapeake, Va., is one of the most high-profile recruits to land at WSSU. After playing a part in Alabama’s run to the national championship as a redshirt freshman in 2011, he transferred to Virginia, where he started half the games for the Cavaliers in 2012.



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Savannah State at NCCU: Young Tigers wary of tough Eagles

DURHAM, North Carolina — Size matters.

In the game of football, the bigger the players are, the harder they fall on opponents who are not as genetically gifted.

Yet strength is at least equally important with respect to smaller players possessing the power to leverage their will against larger opponents.

Second-year Savannah State coach Earnest Wilson III will tell you that he’s got some talent on his team. But the Tigers are young. And they’re not very strong.

Yet the freshmen actually have been more productive than the Tigers’ upperclassmen — the rookies just have to get stronger, Wilson said.

“Their strength is just now beginning to come. They’re beginning to find out how to work out in a Division I setting,” Wilson said.

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A win in Greensboro would put Rattlers near top of MEAC

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- A two-win streak over teams with a combined 1-14 record is one thing, but Florida A&M head coach Earl Holmes knows taking down one of the top teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference could change the narrative of the Rattlers’ entire season.

The Rattlers (2-5, 2-1 in the MEAC) will take on the North Carolina A&T Aggies (6-2, 3-1) Saturday in Greensboro, N.C. Florida A&M is coming off two straight wins for the first time in Holmes’ tenure as head coach, and a third straight win would put FAMU near the top of the MEAC.



It would also help erase an 0-5 start that had Holmes shifting coaching personnel around and contemplating a quarterback change.

“We’re a young team,” Holmes said.

“The sooner the young guys can ...

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