The Alabama State football team turned its attention Tuesday night to its upcoming Southwestern Athletic Conference showdown with the streaking Prairie View A&M Panthers.
Saturday's game will kickoff at 1 p.m. at Blackshear Field on the PV campus. The game will be broadcast live on WVAS 90.7 FM and will be video streamed live on the Panthers website for $5.95.
“Practice was a bit inconsistent; not the type of energy we'd like to have,” head coach
Reggie Barlow said after the first practice following Saturday's impressive 31-13 win in the State Farm Magic City Classic. “It was the first day back, and it was a bit of a cold night, so I understand these guys mindset, but we'd like to have more energy, and work at a faster tempo. We have to continue to work on that.”
For the third consecutive season, Alabama State (5-3 overall, 5-2 SWAC) enters the final month of the regular season in the hunt for the SWAC Eastern Division title, as ASU is tied with Alabama A&M (6-2, 5-2) and Jackson State (4-4, 4-2) in the loss column. Among several scenarios for the Hornets to win the division, the shortest route is to post victories in the final two conference games at Prairie View and at Southern, plus Jackson State loses one of its final three games at Grambling, vs. Alabama A&M or at Alcorn State.
“It's great; all you want at the end of the day is a chance to be alive in the race,” Barlow said of his team's position. “It's a playoff atmosphere. Every week is important and every week is a big week. We're vying for it and that's what you play for.”
Alabama State will face a Prairie View team (3-5, 3-3) playing its best football of the season. After a winless September, the Panthers won all three games in October, scoring 31, 52, and 49 points against Grambling State, Alcorn State, and Southern, respectively. QB De'Auntre Smiley earned national Offensive Player of the Week honors after totaling 568 yards (398 passing, 170 rushing) and accounting for five touchdowns in the win over Southern.
“I really like their scheme; they do a lot of good things and get the ball out of the quarterback's hands really quickly,” Barlow said. “(Offensive Coordinator Mark) Orlando has a good approach about putting guys in position to make plays. They have really exciting players, and are scoring a boatload of points. The only way we're going to have a chance is to try and slow them down.”
Alabama State will practice Wednesday at 3 p.m. and Thursday at 11 a.m.
