Tulane not taking Grambling lightly — and for the Green Wave, that's not a chiche

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- Although Tulane never has lost to a team from the Football Championship Subdivision, Grambling has the Green Wave’s full attention entering Saturday’s season opener at Yulman Stadium.

Players and coaches always say they take every opponent seriously, but the Tigers have the credentials to make anyone take notice. Ranked No. 21 in the preseason FCS coaches’ poll, they are coming off a 12-1 season, and the loss came with an asterisk.

Grambling led Arizona 21-3 at halftime before falling 31-21. The Tigers played the final 2½ quarters without star quarterback DeVante Kincade. He was hurt after throwing a pair of early touchdown passes, and the Tigers imploded with six turnovers in the second half.

They outscored everyone else 528-174, coasting to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

“I was in the FCS for four years at Sam Houston State, and we really felt like we could compete with most Division I schools in the country, so this (Grambling) is a top flight I-AA program,” Tulane coach Willie Fritz said. “We know it's going to be a tremendous challenge for us.”

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Lyles to start for JSU, but Hayes will play too

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Brent Lyles will start Saturday against TCU, but Jackson State coach Tony Hughes is hedging his bets when it comes to a long-term answer at quarterback.

Hughes said Wednesday that the game plan is for junior college transfer Jarrad Hayes to see some playing time as well.

"Whether that's in the first quarter, the second quarter or the second half, we don't know that yet," Hughes said. "We'll see what the game dictates."

At the end of the day, Lyles and Hayes got the nod over Jordan Williams and Tavis Williams because of their leadership. Both have shown the ability to command the Jackson State offense, read defenses and get their teammates lined up.

Lyles, in particular, showed in spring camp and through the fall he is ready to become Hughes' on-the-field general.

But the quarterback battle between Lyles and Hayes, and even Jordan Williams and Tavis Williams, is clearly not finished.

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PVAMU Football Returns To Practice, Turns Attention To #3 SHS Bearkats

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- The Prairie View A&M University football team returned to practice Wednesday night to begin preparations for the season opener next Thursday against #3 Sam Houston St.

The Panthers and Bearkats will kickoff just after 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7 at Panther Stadium in a live nationally televised game on ESPNU. Tickets are available for the contest at pvpanthers.com/tickets.

Wednesday was the first practice since Friday morning, as the Panthers and the Houston area dealt with Hurricane Harvey.

"It feels good to be back out here," said PVAMU head coach Willie Simmons. It really puts things in perspective as to what's really important at the end of the day. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers continue to go out to everyone affected by the storm and the flooding over the past week. As the saying goes, 'life will go on' and Prairie View A&M University will go on and football has to go on with our responsibility to our program. We have a huge challenge ahead of us against the #3 ranked team in the country. It felt good to get back to practice and get our minds off of everything and get back to what we love to do."

The return to practice brought a sense of normalcy as well as focus for the program. Last week the focus shifted to Texas Southern and the Labor Day Classic XXXIII game scheduled for this Saturday. With the decision announced Monday to postpone the game until Thanksgiving Weekend, a new opponent comes into view, but just as importantly, game week is here with the Thursday contest a week away.

"I think the uncertainty which was there earlier this week is over," Simmons said. "I think it felt good for the guys to touch a football, to put the pads on, and be in our element. We know that barring something unforeseen, the game will be here next week. I know there was a lot of uncertainty of when we would play TSU. Now, we can put that behind us and clearly focus on our Sam Houston St."

The Bearkats were the only team in FCS football to go undefeated during the regular season. Sam Houston St., which had its opening game against #7 Richmond Sunday postponed due to Hurricane Harvey, will face the Spiders Friday in Waco, Texas at Baylor's McLane Stadium.

"It's a great challenge and a great opportunity for us," Simmons said. "We knew when we scheduled the game that it was a great opportunity for this university to continue our push toward national prominence. Sam Houston State is one of the most respected programs in FCS Football. They were ranked #1 most of last year, and are ranked preseason #3 this year. The job that Coach K.C. Keeler has done is nothing short of amazing. He's an outstanding coach, and they have outstanding players. We understand the challenge of a team of their caliber coming in to Panther Stadium. We'll be up for the challenge, and we're looking forward to the opportunity on national television to show what we are as a football team, as a program, and as a university."

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

XU Nuggets start 3-1 for first time in program history

DEARBORN, Michigan — Xavier University of Louisiana didn't secure its first-ever victory against a ranked volleyball opponent Friday, but the Gold Nuggets concluded the UM-Dearborn Early Bird with their best-ever record through four matches.

XULA improved to 3-1 after its second victory of Saturday and third of the tournament, 25-12, 25-22, 25-14 against Fisk.

Freshmen Kayla Black and Anna Dalla Vecchia led the Gold Nuggets against the Lady Bulldogs (0-3). Black had nine kills, and Dalla Vecchia served four aces for the second time in three matches.

Juliana Tomasoni had five kills and finished with 21 for the day, and Tiffany Phillips served three of XULA's eight first-set aces.

XULA produced a 10-1 first-set run and 10-1 and 9-1 runs in the third.

Earlier in the day, XULA defeated Lawrence Tech 25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 15-25, 15-12. On Friday the Gold Nuggets swept Trinity International, then lost in five sets to NAIA No. 24 Madonna.

It was the 12th time that the Nuggets won twice in one day and the first time since the 2015 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.

Next for XULA volleyball will be the third annual Big Easy Blastoff at its Convocation Center. The Gold Nuggets will play Friday at 3 p.m. against Texas Wesleyan and 7 p.m. against Rust. The two-day, five-team, 10-match event will conclude Saturday.

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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HBCU Football Judgment Day Schedule Week 1

THURSDAY, AUGUST 31 

Mississippi College at Clark Atlanta, 6 PM
Fort Valley State at West Georgia, 7 PM
Saint Augustine's at Catawba, 7 PM
Winston-Salem State at UNC Pembroke, 7 PM
Tennessee State at Georgia State, 7 PM, ESPN3
Delaware State at Delaware, 7 PM
Florida A&M vs. Arkansas at Little Rock, AR  8 PM, TV: SEC Network, ESPN



SATURDAY, SEPT. 2

MEAC
Bethune-Cookman at Miami, FL,  12:30 PM, TV: ACC Network, ESPN
Virginia State at Norfolk State, 6 PM
Morgan State at Towson, 6 PM,  ESPN3
North Carolina A&T at Gardner-Webb, 6 PM
North Central at Duke, 6 PM, TV: ACC Network, ESPN
Hampton at Ohio, 7 PM,  ESPN3
Howard at UNLV, 9 PM

SWAC
Mississippi Valley State at North Dakota State, 3:30 PM, ESPN3
Alabama A&M at Alabama-Birmingham, 3:30 PM
Morehouse at Arkansas Pine Bluff, 7 PM
Miles at Alcorn State, 7 PM
Jackson State at Texas Christian (TCU), TV: FOX
Grambling State at Tulane, 8 PM, ESPN3
Tuskegee at Alabama State, 8 PM
Prairie View at Texas Southern - Postponed

OTHER

Charleston (WV) at West Virginia State, 12 Noon
Lincoln (MO) at Langston, 3 PM

CIAA

Lincoln (PA) at Cheyney, 1 PM
Elizabeth City State at Cenral State (OH), 1 PM
Virginia Union at LIU Post, 1 PM
New Haven at Shaw, 1 PM
Bowie State at Seton Hill, 3 PM
Livingstone at Benedict, 5 PM
Wingate at Johnson C. Smith, 6 PM
Fayetteville State at Chowan, 6 PM

SIAC

Lane at Texas College, 1 PM
Slippery Rock at Kentucky State, 1:30 PM
Valdosta State at Albany State, 6 PM

SUNDAY, SEPT. 3

MEAC/SWAC Challenge
South Carolina State at Southern, 2:30 PM, TV: ESPN2, ESPN

'If you haven't been through it, you can't even imagine it:' Preparation goes on at Southern as its thoughts go out to Houston

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- It was only a year ago that some Southern football players sheltered their families in their apartments after historic flooding inundated Baton Rouge and the surrounding area.

It hasn’t been long, but those days will not soon be forgotten by Southern coach Dawson Odums. What his community endured last August also provided some perspective for the situation Houston now finds itself in, suffering from widespread flooding brought on by Hurricane Harvey.

“If you haven’t been through it, you can’t even imagine it,” Odums said. “Our prayers go out to all those involved.”

Some of those involved are players on his current roster.

Four players on Southern’s roster list Houston as their hometown, and a few others come from surrounding areas also at risk of flooding. They are forced to deal with the disaster from afar.

Odums had a conversation with those players Sunday.

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Miami Hurricanes Spotlight: Bethune-Cookman

MIAMI, Florida -- Scouting Report:

The Wildcats finished last season with a 4-6 record (their first losing season since 2009), but came on strong at the end of the year winning four of their last five games. It was a subpar showing by the Wildcats standards as they have won the MEAC Championship in four of the past seven years (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) and won the HBCU National Championship in 2010 and 2013. Third-year head coach Terry Sims said the team is is expecting to get back to its winning ways this season.

Series History with the Hurricanes:

Bethune-Cookman is 0-3 all-time versus Miami. The first game came in 2011, which was the Wildcats first game against a major college opponent in 86 years. Miami also won in 2012 and in 2015.



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