SWAC Week 6 Preview
Charles Wells, SWAC Contributor | October 08, 2015
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE AT PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
Saturday October 10 2:00 p.m. CST
Waller ISD Stadium (10,000) Waller, Texas
TV: None
Series: Mississippi Valley State leads, 29-21
Last Meeting: October 18, 2014 – Itta Bena, Miss.
Prairie View 52, Mississippi Valley State 19
Next up for the Valley tour of doom is Prairie View and the Delta Devils are Homecoming bait. The Panthers come in off of a “victory” over University of Faith. Valley was blown out by Jacksonville State. The Panthers are known for their offense as they lead the league in total offense. They are dangerous both running (3rd) and passing (2nd). Quarterback Trey Green makes the offense go and his top threat is Nick Pitre. On the ground the combo of Johnta Hebert and Courtney Brown should gash the Delta Devils league worst rushing defense. Prairie View has their issues on defense (9th in total defense) but Valley has yet to prove that they can do anything with the football (221 ypg). For Valley to have any chance they need to find a consistent way to move the ball (138 yards passing, 83 yards rushing). Ruben Thurston appears to have taken hold of the QB position. Thomas Stokes is the leading rusher for Valley. Most teams score against PVU (48 points allowed per game) but Valley won’t be one of them. Prediction: PVU 56 Valley 8
ALABAMA A&M AT GRAMBLING STATE
Saturday October 10 3:00 p.m. CST
Eddie Robinson Stadium (19,600) Grambling, La.
TV: None
Series: Grambling State leads, 18-6
Last Meeting: October 4, 2014 – Huntsville, Ala.
Grambling State 38, Alabama A&M 28
Grambling is looking very good on offense this season, their passing game is led by QB Johnathan Williams. He has multiple targets at his disposal. Chad Williams and Chester Rogers both rank in the top 10 in the SWAC in receiving stats. One key difference in this season’s offense is that Grambling has a threat running the ball, they have a two headed monster at RB with Jestin Kelly and Martez Carter. Carter is the home run hitter, a change of pace that has made this offense even better. That only means more problems for the AAMU defense who is coming off of a throttling against Coastal Carolina. To put it lightly the Bulldogs have struggled on defense, ranking 10th in the league in total defense. If there is a bright side for AAMU that would be the fact that Grambling has struggled on defense. The Tigers rank 8th in total defense and 7th in scoring defense, that means all of their games have been high scoring shootouts. The Bulldogs will have opportunities to score, it’s up to QB De’Angelo Ballard and RB Harvey Harris to keep the Tigers off balance. Tevin McKenzie has become Ballard’s top target. Grambling needs this game to keep pace in the West battle with Southern and PVU. AAMU can’t fall any farther behind Alcorn. I expect lots of points to be placed on the scoreboard but I think Grambling will score most of them. Prediction: GSU 49 AAMU 28
SOUTHERN AT ALABAMA STATE
Saturday October 10 6:00 p.m. CST
The New ASU Stadium (26,500) Montgomery, Ala.
TV: None
Series: Southern leads, 26-9
Last Meeting: November 1, 2014 – Baton Rouge, La.
Southern 28, Alabama State 21
This is an interesting game, although some of the luster is lost due to the Hornet’s getting off to a slow start. The matchup that interests me the most in this game is Southern’s offense against ASU’s defense. The Jags have shown they are able to score points against their first two league opponents. And even though they only generated 6 points against Georgia they were able to move the ball a bit. Southern likes to run and the Hornets are great against the run (2nd in the SWAC rushing defense). The Jags rushing attack is led by the conference’s leading rusher Lenard Tillery. Kourtney Berry is the leader of the Hornets defense and I expect another huge game for him. The key to this matchup is can Southern QB Austin Howard move the ball thru the air, with targets such as Willie Quinn, Randall Menard, and Mike Jones, the Jags could test the ASU secondary if they focus on the run. On the other side of the ball, ASU seems to have found their QB, the Hornets were stung by injury at that position. Ellis Richardson has stepped up to become a dual threat. He is the team’s leading rusher and passer. It’s important for the Jags to be able to get pressure to lighten the load on their young secondary. The X-Factor in this game will be special teams, Shawan Parks of ASU and Willie Quinn of Southern are both capable of breaking a big return. Both teams are careful with the ball, with each team being +1 in turnover margin. I expect a close game as this series is known for competitive games the last few years. Southern has won the last 2 in Montgomery. I think the streak will continue. Prediction: SU 31 ASU 27
