SIAC Leaders Showdown In Tuskegee

Tuskegee and Fort Valley State hope to remain close to Albany State

Sept. 20, 2007

By Eric N. Moore

Special to CSTV.com

	Eric Moore Eric contributes a twice-weekly HBCU column for CSTV.com. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- HBCU FOOTBALL 12/15: Oliver The Catalyst 12/13: Old Rivals Meet Again 12/3: Tuskegee Completes Perfect Season 11/29: Pioneer Powers 11/21: Final Weekend Of HBCU Features Classics 11/19: The Last Hurrah 11/15: Last Division Standing 11/12: CIAA, MEAC Crown Champs 11/8: Title Time In CIAA And MEAC 11/5: East Meets West As CIAA Title Game Set 11/1: Judgment Day In HBCU 10/29: Homecoming Hurts 10/25: Weeks Winding Down 10/22: Two Tigers Teams Take Steps Toward Titles 10/18: SWAC Division Leaders Set For Showdown 10/15: Hampton's Pirates Walk The Plank 10/11: Queen Isn't Only Title At Homecoming 10/8: Southern Goes South 10/4: Classic Games Take Center Stage 10/1: Hello To October 9/27: Battle Of Unbeatens In Atlanta 9/24: The Pursuit Of Perfection 9/20: SIAC Leaders Showdown In Tuskegee 9/17: Stars Falling In Alabama 9/13: Rematch of '06 CIAA Title Game Set For Big Time 9/10: Pirates, Bulldogs and WWHornets Strike Early 9/6: Who's HU In HBCU 9/3: Southern Breaks The MEAC Streak 8/30: Calling Their Bluff 8/27: HBCU Opening Week Recap 8/23: Beginning With A Rematch 4/12: A Great American Is Laid To Rest 4/4: A Coaching Legend Has Passed Away 12/18: Alabama A&M Finally Wins A SWAC Title 12/4: Winding Down 11/23: Playoffs, Bayou Classic, Dominate HBCU Weekend 11/20: Two HBCUs Fall in Playoffs 11/16: Six HBCU Schools Heading to Postseason 11/13: Three Down, One To Go 11/6: It's Title Time 11/6: Rams Are First...Who's Next? 11/2: CIAA Championship Game Berth On The Line 10/30: Surprise Results Revise SIAC Title Race 10/26: MEAC Logjam Could Be Broken On Saturday 10/23: Pirates Walk The Plank 10/19: Showdown Saturday in HBCU Football 10/16: Jackson State No Longer SWAC Pushover 10/12: Homecomings Abound In HBCU Football 10/9: Albany State Takes SIAC Lead 10/5: SIAC Leaders Face Off in Albany, GA 10/1: Pirates Keep Win Streak Alive 9/28: Hampton Tries to Extend MEAC Winning Streak 9/25: NCC Wins Game, Loses Belongings 9/21: Eagles, Jaguars Meet for First Time 9/18: Panthers Get Over the Hump 9/11: Traditional Powerhouses Hit Bumps 9/7: Conference Play Begins in Earnest 9/5: Grand Stages Open Season 8/28: All Sorts of Change In 2006 HBCU BASKETBALL 2/23: North Carolina Central Earns First National Ranking 2/23: Virginia Union Returns To Top Of CIAA Tournament 2/15: North Carolina Central Is So Hot Right Now 2/15: Returning Courtside 2/9: Delaware State, Mississippi Valley Among HBCU Standouts 2/9: HBCU Notebook: It's Title Time

        ---   HBCU Links   --- MEAC Standings MEAC Scoreboard SWAC Standings SWAC Scoreboard CIAA Standings CIAA Scoreboard SIAC Standings SIAC Scoreboard

Key conference matchups and two Carolina rivalries highlight Week 5 of the HBCU football season.

SWAC division Leaders Meet

Grambling State (1-1, 1-0) opens its home season against Alabama A&M (3-0, 1-0) Saturday.  The Tigers start the first of seven consecutive SWAC conference games as new coach Rod Broadway makes his home debut.

Although A&M won last year's meeting in Huntsville, GSU leads the series 12-4 and the Bulldogs have never won in Robinson Stadium.

The defending SWAC champions are led by quarterback Kelcy Luke and running back Ulysses Banks.  Luke has already thrown for 838 yards and 10 touchdowns and Banks is averaging a 114 rushing yards per game.

Grambling plans to counter the conference's most potent offense with some fireworks of its own.  The Tigers are ranked second in the SWAC in passing offense thanks to the efforts of quarterback Brandon Landers.  Landers has tossed five TD passes in two games to a receiving corps led by Reginald Jackson and Clyde Edwards.

Defensively, the Bulldogs are led by linebackers Avery Moland and Carlton Rice.

The G-Men's DeMichael Dizer and Keefe Hall lead the Tiger defense.

SIAC leaders meet in `Bama

SIAC co-leaders Tuskegee (2-0, 2-0) and Fort Valley State (3-1, 2-0) face off in the Abbott Stadium in Tuskegee Saturday afternoon to see who remains tied with Albany State on top of the conference standings.

TU has breezed through its first two games averaging 42 points per game while holding their opponents to just two touchdowns.

Quarterback Jacary Atkinson leads the SIAC in total offense averaging nearly 300 yards per game.

After being shut out by Valdosta State in their only loss two weeks ago, FVSU fashioned a shut out of its own, knocking off Miles College, 24-0, last week. Quarterback Garret Williams and RB Richard Willis lead the Wildcats offense.

Albany State has the week off, so the winner of this game keeps pace with the four-time defending champions.

Showdowns in Carolina

North Carolina's two largest HBCUs renew their rivalry when N.C. A&T (0-3) hosts N.C. Central (3-1) in Greensboro Saturday afternoon.  This will be the 79th meeting between the Aggies and Eagles dating back to 1924.

A&T has won 14 of the last 16 matchups, but NCCU holds bragging rights thanks to a 23-22 win in their last meeting Sept. 5, 2005 during the Aggie-Eagle Classic in Raleigh, N.C..

The last time these two teams meet in Greensboro was 1991, when the Aggies blanked the Eagles, 48-0.

NCCU looks to start a winning streak over A&T and pick up its first win over an FCS opponent during its transition year to Division I.  A&T looks to rebound from its 18th consecutive loss last week to end the nation's current longest losing streak.

While the Aggies and Eagles are battling in Greensboro, Elizabeth City State (0-3, 0-0) and Shaw (1-2, 0-0) will be meeting in a CIAA showdown across the state in Rocky Mount.

ECSU has struggled out of the block this season after being anointed preseason pick to win the CIAA title.

Shaw has shown flashes of success but has two heartbreaking, last-second, one-point, losses keeping it from being undefeated.

The Down East Viking Classic has become a big event in eastern North Carolina over the past 10 years with tailgating featuring some of the state's best barbeque.

CSTV will feature a broadband telecast of St. Augustine's (0-3, 0-0) hosting Johnson C. Smith (1-2, 0-0) in Raleigh.  St. Aug was a preseason pick to win the CIAA west and JCSU represented the conference in the Pioneer Bowl last year.