As they practice each week and prepare for the next opponent, first-year head coach Alonzo Hampton and his Arkansas-Pine Bluff football team can’t allow themselves to look at their games on paper, where rankings, statistics, and predictions rarely favor the Golden Lions.
If they ever needed a reminder, it was delivered during last week’s visit to previously winless Mississippi Valley State.
Pine Bluff was soundly defeated, 42-17, returning home without its first Southwestern Athletic Conference victory under Hampton. The Lions fell to 1-5 overall (0-3 in SWAC) and will try again on Saturday, the homecoming game.
Legendary NFL coach Bill Parcells has an oft-repeated quote on judging a team that fights hard and comes close but fails to secure victories due to a key play here or an untimely mishap there. At the end of the day and season’s end, Parcells says, you are what your record says you are.
No matter where the record stands, a team always feels better when its most recent result is positive, outweighing any flaws in the performance. Conversely, the loser is left to lament what it could’ve, would’ve, and should’ve done differently to change the outcome.
The Texas Southern Tigers were rude guests Saturday at Daytona Stadium, opening a big lead and holding on for a 34-31 victory that spoiled homecoming for the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. The Tigers returned to Houston with an overall record of 2-4 (1-2 mark in the Southwestern Athletic Conference). The Wildcats (1-5, 0-3) spent the rest of the day nursing their wounds and imagining what if.
Unlike its peers in the Southwestern Athletic Conference West division – where four schools have one loss and are vying for the top – Texas Southern has an unlikely path to being crowned. The Tigers (1-4, 0-2 in the SWAC) must run the table and see multiple stumbles from division leaders Prairie View, Grambling, Alcorn State, and Southern.
Bethune-Cookman’s prospects in the SWAC East aren’t any brighter (1-4, 0-2), as Florida A&M has yet to lose a conference game, and Jackson State has lost only one. Odds and the remaining schedule suggest one of those schools will claim the division title.
But there’s always something to play for once hopes of contending fade.
Benedict experienced a number of undesirable firsts this season when it visited Miles for a showdown on Saturday.
The Tigers hadn’t allowed any opponent more than one score. They hadn’t yielded more than 193 yards of total offense in a contest. They also hadn’t trailed at any point through five games.
Although all those streaks ended, Benedict did not suffer its first loss. The Tigers capped a long drive with a late touchdown and prevailed, 27-24, to remain undefeated.
As a first-year head football coach whose program lost 18 of 22 games before he arrived, Raymond Woodie must lay a foundation at Bethune-Cookman before anything can rise. Discipline will form the base of his construction project, and shortcuts will only delay the production schedule.
“The standard is the standard,” Woodie said Monday during a call with reporters. “We want to do things the right way, but obviously the smart way. And whatever you do, it always has consequences.”
Results have been mixed for the Wildcats (1-3 overall, 0-1 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference), coming off a bye week as they prepare to visit Alabama State for homecoming. Bethune has produced some of the most disciplined play in the Football Championship Series, ranked fifth nationally in fewest penalty yards per game (35.0) and 16th in fewest penalties per game (4.75).
Pick a sport – any sport – and consider which
athletes are lauded as the world’s best. Take a mental snapshot.
Now look through history’s lens and scroll
through past decades. The picture gets paler and paler the further back you go,
brown faces slowly disappearing like Marty McFly’s hand in “Back to the Future.”
That era is romanticized by those who desire its return, with some bad actors working earnestly to rewind time and reverse progress on a grand scale. Unfortunately for them, no one is lightening major team sports like football and basketball, where dominant Black athletes are plentiful and permitted to thrive. Even worse, colorization is happening in gymnastics, too, where a bevy of Black girls can see themselves in the GOAT, Simone Biles.
Every box for a desirable homecoming was checked on
Saturday when Alabama A&M hosted Tuskegee.
The weather cooperated with warmth and sunshine. Fans
converged to sell out Louis Crews Stadium for the first time ever. The Bulldogs
excelled on the field in every way. And their supporters never worried about
the outcome, a 58-3 rout
that pleased most folks in the crowd of 26,391.
The offense scored at least one touchdown in every quarter. The defense recorded a safety and yielded zero points after Tuskegee’s opening-drive field goal. Special teams contributed a blocked punt and several nice returns. There wasn’t much room for criticism from head coach Connell Maynor.
Coming off a loss to Southern in the Southwestern Athletic Conference on Sept. 16, Alabama A&M faced a stiff test entering its last game five days later.
Playing on Thursday, Sept. 21, meant the Bulldogs had a short week to prepare. Starting 0-2 in the SWAC would greatly diminish their championship hopes.
But they met that challenge in their home opener, earning a hard-fought victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 31-24, on ESPN. AAMU head coach Connell Maynor said their backs were against the wall, and they must win their remaining conference games to control their own destiny.
Before we begin, I’d like to welcome newbies who jumped aboard
this Coach Prime Bandwagon as it’s bulldozing sports and pop culture.
Many of you never imagined staying up to watch such a thing, but
there you were on Sept. 16, when Colorado vs. Colorado State kicked off at 10 p.m.
ET and became ESPN’s fifth most-watched college football game
ever. Tuning in for last
Saturday’s game didn’t require sleep deprivation but it was emotionally taxing
to see Oregon stomp Colorado, 42-6.
Most who watched the thrilling overtime win a week earlier likely endured the depressing blowout, too. Although the Buffaloes are 3-1, the Prime Effect has yet to lose – that game against Oregon on ABC marked the largest Neilsen-measured audience all season. Up next on Saturday is another guaranteed ratings bonanza, a game with star QB/Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams pitted against star QB/Coach Prime’s son Shedeur Sanders.
Grambling State and Texas Southern took turns on the scoreboard
Saturday in their Southwestern Athletic Conference clash. Neither team put up
points without a response from the opponent. Back and forth they went, first
the hosts scoring and then the visitors from Texas scoring, in a one-possession
contest entering the final quarter.
But Grambling’s punishing ground attack ground paid off during
the Tigers’ game-clinching drive, making head coach Hue Jackson seem prophetic.
“I like our offensive line, what we’re doing and where we are right now,” Jackson said prior to Grambling’s 35-23 victory. “I think those guys kind of know each other a little bit better. We have a good group of guys who are starting to gel.”
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