Alabama State went through a midweek practice on a hot field as they continued to prepare for their Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opener at Jackson State.

"Every year it has been a tough battle between us and them," Head Coach Reggie Barlow said. "We have been able to go there and win a game or two and they have come here and won. Coach Comegy always has his teams prepared and they will be tough and physical. They play the game the right way."

This game will be JSU's first home game of the season after playing at Tulane (34-7 loss) last weekend. The two teams have usually not met this early in the season in the past, so that aspect will be different for both teams.

"This is their first game at home this season, they were just on the road at Tulane," Barlow said. "They are getting their starting quarterback back so it will be a challenge in a hostile environment. Playing Jackson this early on is different for us, but we will get our guys ready to play, go down there and see how we fare."

"It is also big in that it is a East Division game and the winner really has a game up on the other team, while the other team really has their back to the wall for the rest of the season."

The ASU defense had to face a potent running attack in the season opener against Jacksonville State, and was able to hold them to 126 yards rushing on 49 attempts, which was a 2.6 yards per carry average. They will once again have their work cut out against Jackson State's rushing attack.

"JSU has two really good running backs coming back in Tommy Gooden and Rakeem Sims and Sims had a really good game against us last year," Barlow said. "We know they are going to run it with a power running game with the power lead and runs like that."

The ASU coaching staff knows if they can control JSU's running game, they must also pay attention to the Tigers passing attack led by senior quarterback Clayton Moore who led JSU to a 37-34 win in Montgomery last year.

"They started a freshman against Tulane but he broke his leg and is out for the year. Really their starting quarterback Clayton Moore, who started against us last year, has been having some back troubles. So their (JSU) plan was to hold him out last week and have him start against us. I imagine he will be ready to go and excited about playing."

"They have always had good receivers and it is no different this year. They have great size on their offensive line, so it is going to be a challenge. Coach Derrick McCall is the offensive coordinator and last year he scored 37 points on us. They have an offense and can really rack up those yards and points."

The game has been picked up and will be broadcast live on ESPN3 at 5 p.m. The game will then be telecast on a tape delay basis at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.