Breaking down Prairie View A&M vs. Alabama State

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas  -- Records: Prairie View A&M 0-2, Alabama State 0-3.

Series history: Alabama State leads 25-7.

Key players: Prairie View - QB Lavell McCullers, RB Dawonya Tucker, LB Anthony Stubbs; Alabama State - QB Kobie Jones, RB Darrel King, S Treyon Garnett

Who has the edge

Offense – Prairie View A&M. Coach Willie Simons is looking for a faster start this week after his Panthers were outscored a combined 64-20 in the first half by Sam Houston and Nicholls. Still, they trailed only 30-24 against the high-scoring Bearkats after Tucker scored on a 19-yard run with 5:59 showing in the third. The Panthers average 5.0 yards per carry behind Tucker (19-107, 3 TDs) and McCullers (22-131, 1 TD).

Defense – Alabama State. Hornets opponents are averaging ...

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One last chance: Southern to face Alcorn State quarterback Lenorris Footman one more time after years of giving Jaguars fits

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana --The first time Kentavious Preston saw Lenorris Footman on a football field, he had no idea who the Alcorn State quarterback was.

Preston remembers it quite vividly.



It was 2015, and it was pouring in A.W. Mumford Stadium. The Jaguars thought they got a break when Alcorn’s starting quarterback, John Gibbs, left the game on the first drive with an apparent injury.

At the time, Gibbs was the reigning Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, a perpetual thorn in Southern’s side. Over the previous three seasons, he had led the Braves to three straight wins, scoring six touchdowns and piling up 770 yards of total offense.

The Jaguars didn't know who was waiting for them behind Gibbs.

Over the next 46 minutes, Footman ran for 274 yards and four touchdowns, a SWAC record for a quarterback. He also threw for another two touchdowns on 71 yards.

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Visiting bands welcome again for CIAA games

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- And the band played on….

The bands that are a big part of the HBCU game-day experience will be allowed to play in the CIAA this season.

The athletics directors from all the CIAA schools held a conference call with commissioner Jacqie McWilliams on Thursday morning and decided that home-team athletics directors will make the decision on whether visiting team’s band will play, said Tonia Walker, athletics director at WSSU.

Earlier this year, the NCAA mandated a strict 20-minute halftime would be enforced this season for all divisions of football. That means penalties could be called if bands are not off the field before the start of the second half.

With that in mind, there was talk of the CIAA limiting its halftimes to allowing only the home team’s band to play. But Walker said that won’t happen at WSSU home games this season.

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A Day in the Life of the BGMM (N.C. A&T): Alex Somar, Baritone - Euphonium Section Leader

S.C. State Bulldogs prep for Thursday night ESPNU game at North Carolina Central

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The South Carolina State Bulldogs football team needs to hit the ground running, and passing, and kicking and tackling when they open Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play on ESPNU this Thursday night at North Carolina Central.

S.C. State head football coach Buddy Pough realizes the MEAC standings picture could be a lot clearer by the end of this month, once his team plays the league favorites.



S.C. State's next two opponents are in the Top 4 rankings in this week's SBN Sports Network Black College Football Poll and in both the coaches' and media polls from BoxToRow.

The Bulldogs will play in Durham, N.C., against the Eagles (1-1) this week and then play host to unbeaten North Carolina A&T (3-0) on Saturday, Sept. 30. NCCU, the defending conference champion, was picked to finish first again this season, followed by N.C. A&T and S.C. State, at Nos. 2 and 3 respectively.

Coming off Saturday's home-opening 41-0 win against Johnson C. Smith, Pough likes the direction his team is headed, with solid play on defense and special teams supporting an emerging offense.

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HBCU Early Season Half-Time Showcase 2017

Tennessee State football earns second-highest ranking since 1999

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennessee State climbed to No. 20 in both FCS national polls on Monday, which is the second-highest ranking for the Tigers since being No. 1 in 1999.

After defeating Florida A&M 24-13 on Saturday in the Tampa Classic at Raymond James Stadium, the Tigers improved to 3-0 and moved up in both the STATS FCS and Coaches polls.

The Tigers were 22nd in the STATS poll and 24th in the Coaches poll heading into that game.

"What I like about the ranking is that it's not only recognition for the football team and the athletic program, but it also puts Tennessee State on the map," coach Rod Reed said. "You can look in the newspaper and all the other media platforms and see TSU there every day for a solid couple of weeks. It's great marketing for the university."

TSU’s highest ranking ever came in 1999 when the Tigers went 11-0 in the regular season under coach L.C. Cole. That team lost in the first round of the national playoffs to North Carolina A&T.

The best ranking since then came in 2012 when Reed led the Tigers to a 7-0 start. That team climbed to No. 17 in the Sports Network (now the STATS) poll and No. 18 in the Coaches poll.



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