BROOKLYN, NY- Week one is out of the way for the teams of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). With the excitement out of the way, here are some of the coaches’ reactions to their team’s performance.
Alabama A&M
The Alabama A&M Bulldogs (0-1) opened their season on a bad note, losing to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers (1-0) 59-0.
The Blazers torched the Bulldogs on the ground with 240 rushing yards. Jermaine Brown Jr led UAB in rushing with 114 yards on 10 carries.
“They’re a very well coached team,” said head coach Connell Maynor. “They went to the playoffs (last season), and we knew what we were up against. We tried to play competitively, but that didn’t last long.”
One of his takeaways was that the Bulldogs needed to improve with taking care of the ball, as they finished the game with three interceptions and a fumble that was recovered by UAB.
He then mentioned consistency on the defensive side of the ball,
“Our run defense and pass defense needs to get better, stop big plays, and we need to make sure that we can get in the backfield,” coach Maynor said.
Most importantly, he expects the team to execute their game plan better as the season goes on.
The Bulldogs’ next matchup will be against the Troy Trojans on September 10, 7 pm EST.
Alabama State
The Alabama State Hornets (1-0) escaped with a close 21-13 win over the Miles Golden Bears (0-1).
After taking an early 21-3 lead, the Golden Bears crept back into the game.
“We had some penalties and were stuck on 21 points,” coach Eddie Robinson Jr said. “We can be a really good football team, but we are not there yet. We have to run the ball, and we have got to play better in order to compete within the conference.”
He also wants the defense to work on curating more turnovers.
“You never apologize for winning, but it’s never easy. Anything can happen. We were up 21-3 and could’ve gone into overtime. You got to at least appreciate every win and go on to the next game.”
The Hornets’ next matchup will be against the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins on September 10, 5pm EST.
Coach Robinson Jr expressed that he was excited for the Bruins matchup and is looking to see how the Hornets can measure up against a bigger school.
UCLA will be a tough opponent as they cruised through their first game in a 45-17 win against the Bowling Green Falcons (0-1).
Alcorn State
Alcorn State (0-1) had a competitive opening to the season despite a 31-27 loss against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (1-1).
Braves running back Jarveon Howard had a great game with 21 carries and 194 yards. That was followed by quarterback Aaron Allen’s 141 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
“It was a great ball game between two teams,” coach Fred McNair said. “The guys played hard and physical against SFA. Guys played well upfront, we didn’t make a lot of explosive plays, but overall I’m very pleased with how we played against a very physical team.”
He gave credit to the Braves defense for their performance throughout the game. Coach McNair felt that there were a lot of missed opportunities that they could’ve capitalized on against the Lumberjacks.
Tulane Green Wave (1-0) will host the Braves on September 10, 7 pm EST.
Bethune-Cookman
The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (0-1) were dominated by the Miami Hurricanes (1-0), 70-13.
Despite Jalon Jones’ 243 passing yards and one touchdown for the Wildcats, it was overshadowed by the performances of Tyler Van Dukes, Henry Parrish Jr, Thaddius Franklin Jr, and Xavier Restrepo.
Van Dyke threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Parrish Jr and Franklin Jr combined for 186 rushing yards.
Parrish Jr rushed for 108 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns. Franklin Jr ran for 78 yards on nine carries and scored two touchdowns.
Restrepo had 100 receiving yards, five receptions, and a touchdown.
What’s even worse was that Hurricanes second-string quarterback Jake Garcia threw for 100 yards and completed all of his eight attempts.
“Miami took us to the woodshed,” coach Terry Sims said.
He emphasized how their first game taught him what needs to get better for the next game. That includes establishing a better run game.
Overall, he is excited for his next matchup against the South Carolina State Bulldogs on September 10, 4 pm EST.
JSU and Florida A&M
Shedeur Sanders completely balled out for the Jackson State Tigers (1-0) with 323 passing yards and five touchdowns in a 59-3 blowout win over the Florida A&M Rattlers(0-2).
“Shedeur is a pro. This kid prepared like no other, and he approaches the game like no other,” coach Deion Sanders said. “He played his butt off, but we have to give credit to the o-line.”
Coach Prime felt like JSU executed on all three levels of the game and that it was a tremendous win. Especially on the offensive side of the ball.
On the flip side, FAMU coach Willie Simmons had to deal with another loss to the season. In fact, it’s their second straight game where they’ve allowed their opponents to score over 50 points.
“We made some mistakes in key areas,” coach Simmons said. “We played against an extremely good team. It’s hard to beat a team when their QB threw for five touchdowns”.
Coach Simmons felt that the quarterback play of Jeremy Moussa could improve.
At times, the coach felt that Moussa was erratic on some throws. However, he feels that their quarterback can reach the higher level that he expects Moussa to play.
But there was one aspect of the team that he pointed out—the team’s mental head space.
Coach Simmons wants the team, both players and coaches, to be more focused instead of being too emotional.
“We have to figure out what we need to do to get in the right headspace,” he said.
He then admits that he goes to therapy to take care of his mental health and states that therapy is overlooked by adults and student-athletes.
To him, it’s important for everyone to check their mental state, especially as the team continues to play throughout the season, and he should be commended for that.
“We got to pick ourselves up when we are down, and we are confident going against Albany State,” he said.
The Rattlers will host the Golden Rams on September 10, 6 pm EST. JSU will host the Tennessee State Tigers on September 10, 7 pm EST.
Arkansas-Pine
The Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (1-0) defeated the Lane Dragons (0-1),48-42.
Bluff running back Kayvon Britten carried a lot of the offensive load with 237 rushing yards on 31 carries and three touchdowns.
The passing game for Arkansas-Pine was also solid as quarterback Sklyer Perry threw for 222 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
However, their defense was a big issue this game.
“We played undisciplined at times on defense. Too much, even,” coach Doc Gamble said.
Michael Huntley threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns against the Bluff’s secondary.
O’Joshua Bunton had 110 receiving yards on five receptions, and Jacques Jones had 106 yards on four receptions against Arkansas-Pine.
“It was a good win for us. We played against a good Lane team, and they have some good players,” the coach said.
Arkansas-Pine will host the North American University Stallions on September 10, 7pm EST, and coach Gamble is looking forward to handing another loss to the Stallions.
Mississippi Valley
The Mississippi Valley Delta Devils (0-1) suffered a 29-13 loss to the Tarleton State Texans (1-0).
Defensively, the Delta Devils allowed 111 rushing yards from DeAngelo Rosemond and 207 rushing yards total from the Texans.
They also allowed Beau Allen to go off for 294 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Offensively, they struggled as they only mustered 70 passing yards from Jalani Eason.
Their bread and butter came from running the ball as Caleb Johnson and Jakobe Thomas rushed for 163 yards combined.
Johnson rushed for 83 yards on 23 carries, filled by Thomas’s 80 rushing yards on 14 carries.
“We went into this game wanting to show physicality,” coach Vincent Dancy said. “We just need to do better on our passing and to start the game off faster.”
He continued,
“The team got stagnant at times, as well as getting penalties throughout the game. We need to get our passing game going.”
He also urged that the defense has to step up, especially in third down situations.
He wants his team to play “The Valley Way,” which is to play hard and physical on both sides of the ball.
Although, he expressed how the scariest part of the game is the bumps and bruises that’ll come through the course of the season.
His next opponent, the Austin Peay Governors, put up 63 points against the Presbyterian Blue Hose and were successful both running and passing the ball.
The Governors had 301 passing yards and 308 rushing yards against Presbyterian.
“Our next opponent is a very good team offensively, and they can score the ball well,” coach Dancy said. “We are going to do what we are going to do, which is to run the ball.”
The Governors will host the Delta Devils on September 10, 4 pm EST.
Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern
The Prairie View A&M Panthers (1-0) took a convincing 40-23 win over the Texas Southern Tigers (0-1).
The Panthers did something almost impossible, and that’s beating a team without a single passing yard.
However, PVAMU combined for 388 rushing yards against Texas Southern. Their rushing attack was led by the three-headed monster in Jaden Stewart, Ahmad Antoine, and Trazon Connley.
Stewart had 119 yards, Antoine had 115 yards, and Connley finished the game with 109 yards.
“We came into this game with the plan to run the ball,” PVAMU coach Bubba McDowell said. “We had our guys focus on a game that was run based. We got some big guys up front and for them to stay throughout the course for four quarters was incredible.”
He also said that their team did a great job executing as a whole and that the players were focused at all times.
“Prairie View did a good job with holding on to the ball and preventing our offense from getting onto the field and scoring,” Texas Southern coach Clarence McKinney said.
Coach McKinney credited his defense for completely shutting down the Panthers passing game. However, he stated that their run defense needs to be better.
PVAMU didn’t leave this game without criticism on the defensive side of the ball as well.
“We want to put as much pressure on the rival quarterback as possible,” coach McDowell said. “We got to Andrew (Body) in the backfield, but we couldn’t get him down. We have to do a better job at tackling in the backfield for the next game.”
Texas Southern is searching for their first win of the season against the North Texas Mean Green in Apogee Stadium on September 10, 7:30 pm EST.
Meanwhile, coach McDowell expects a tough road game against the Abilene Christian Wildcats on September 10, 8 pm EST.
Southern University
The Southern University Jaguars (1-0) dismantled the Florida Memorial Lions (1-1) in a 86-0 shutout.
The game was over in the first quarter as they scored 42 unanswered points.
“I thought we did good on offense, defense, and on special teams,” coach Eric Dooley said. “Our defense caused turnovers, curated points, and caused three-and-outs. Guys that we expect to make plays, made plays and we continue to expect that from our defense.”
Coach Dooley is more excited to face off against a tough Louisiana State Tigers team on the road, for 60 minutes.
“We take games one step at a time and it’s exciting not just for our team, but for the City of Baton Rouge,” he said.
LSU suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Florida State Seminoles after a blocked extra point attempt that could’ve tied the game.
The Tigers are looking to take their frustrations out against the Jaguars at home on September 10, 7:30 pm EST.
“We are going to play for 60 minutes. We know what our challenges are, and we are looking forward to the challenge,” coach Dooley said.
Grambling State
Grambling State Tigers (0-1) coach Hugh Jackson didn’t say much about the team’s 58-3 loss to the Arkansas State Red Wolves.
He stated that the team didn’t play well and he is looking forward to the next game.
“Week one showed us what we were. It showed what we need to work on and how important it is to play hard from the first play, to the last play.”
He wants to correct the mistakes made throughout the game before Grambling State travels to Harry Turpin Stadium.
It’ll be an interesting matchup as both the Northwestern State Devils and Grambling State are looking to win their first game of the season on September 10, 7 pm EST.
. With the excitement out of the way, here are some of the coaches' reactions to their team’s performance.){kind=link}