Morgan Beard
Staff Writer
The Jackson State University Tigers will travel to Montgomery, Ala., on Nov. 5 to take on the Alabama State University Hornets in hopes of continuing their journey to the SWAC Championship.
The Hornets bring in a (2-6) record with (2-5) record in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play. Alabama State is in 4th place behind Jackson State’s 2nd place standing in the SWAC Eastern Division.
ASU is coming off a nail biting loss to Alabama A&M in the 75th Annual Magic City Classic. Hornet’s kicker Nick Carden missed an extra point following an 18-yard touchdown reception by Alabama A&M Jonathan Dorsey, giving the bulldogs a 42-41 overtime win.
Alabama State’s only two wins have come from the worst teams in the SWAC, Arkansas Pine Bluff (41-21) in week 5 and Mississippi Valley State (56-24) in week 7.
The Hornets have lost a host of games to SWAC teams. Alcorn State (21-18); Southern University (64-6); Texas Southern (31-27); and Prairie View A&M (24-17). Their first loss of the season came from University of Texas at San Antonio of the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision).
JSU leads the all-time series record (33-12-1). This will be the 46th meeting on the gridiron between both HBCU’s. Last year, ASU defeated JSU 17-12. In 2014, ASU defeated JSU 26-10. In 2013 JSU defeated ASU 30-23.
Alabama State has the #1 rushing offense in the SWAC and senior running back Khalid Thomas is the 2nd leading rusher in the SWAC behind Southern University running back, Lenard Tillery.
To win this weekend’s game on offense, the Tigers need to score fast and cut down on the turnover mistakes. Have a balanced attack with the rushing and passing game. Cut down on the penalties and take the points on every drive.
On the defensive side of the ball, the team needs to continue stopping the run and force turnovers on the Alabama State offense, play good red zone defense and cut down on the Hornets scoring. They also need to put pressure on the quarterback and prevent big plays from being made.
For special teams, the Tigers need to punt the ball in good field position and make every field goal in the red zone to put points on the scoreboard, have great yard returns yards on kickoff and punt return. The Tigers have the #1 punt block team in the SWAC and they need to continue blocking punts and field goals.
The game will take place this Saturday at the New Alabama State Stadium in Montgomery, Ala. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. You can watch the game on JSUTV’s Livestream or listen to the game on radio at 95.5 FM.
