BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Alabama State returns to the field for the first time in two weeks, hitting the road to Birmingham for the 78th annual McDonald's Magic City Classic against Alabama A&M in a key Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) contest Saturday afternoon.

The game is set to kick at 2:30 pm inside Birmingham's historic Legion Field, with pregame set for 2 pm on the Hornet Sports Network. The game will also be carried on ESPN3, with a tape delay scheduled for ESPNU.

Alabama State (3-3, 2-1 SWAC) looks to win back-to-back games for the first time this season after defeating Jackson State 31-16 two weeks ago. The team finds itself one game back of Alcorn State in the SWAC East Division. Meanwhile, Alabama A&M (4-3, 1-1 SWAC) gets back into conference competition after a week off, looking for their second consecutive win in the series.

The two teams met last season in Birmingham, with Alabama A&M coming out on top 27-10.

The Series
According to records, the overall series stands even between Alabama A&M and Alabama State with each team recording 40 wins and a pair of ties (40-40-2).

The home team has won each meeting dating back to 2013, with the last time a home team not winning the Classic coming in 2012 when Alabama State claimed a 31-13 victory.

The last time a team won back-to-back games in the series came in 2012-13 when Alabama State claimed wins in both contests. The last time Alabama A&M won back-to-back games came in 2008-09 when the Bulldogs were in the midst of a five-game winning streak.

Game Notes
Since 1999, Alabama State has represented the East division four different times (2001, 2003, 2004, 2010) in the SWAC Championship game.

Alabama State defeated Tuskegee earlier this year but has not defeated Tuskegee and Alabama A&M in the same year since 1998. That year, the Hornets defeated Alabama A&M 34-28 and then beat Tuskegee in the Turkey Day Classic by a score of 27-7. Ironically, the last time the Hornets defeated Alabama A&M, Tuskegee and Grambling State in the same year came in 1995 – and Alabama State has defeated the other two this season.

Last year's game was the first time since 2015 that the Magic City Classic had been decided by more than five points, a 35-20 win by Alabama State that season.
  
Michael Jefferson has caught 24 passes heading into the seventh game of the season. He is just 24 catches short of the top 12 all-time in a single season, as Reggie Brown (1990) and T.C. McWilliams (2012) each caught 48.

The Hornets have had three players rush for 100 yards under head coach Donald Hill-Eley since he took over the program, with one of those coming this season – Duran Bell (10-112) – which happened on the same field against UAB earlier this season.

Alabama State has had three players record 100-plus yards receiving this season in a single game, with the latest being Jahod Booker (7-106) against Jackson State two weeks ago.

Alabama State ranks first in FCS football in passing yards allowed this year at 146.2 yards per game, and in the top in six other team categories.

There are some ties between Alabama State and Alabama A&M, as Hornets' defensive coordinator Travis Pearson and strength/conditioning coach Lonnie Brown both served in those roles at Alabama A&M.

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