From Grambling State Sports Communications:
Tigers Prepare For SWAC Showdown at Alcorn State
GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University football team will look to string together back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victories for the first time in two years as the Tigers visit Alcorn State in a key Western Division showdown. Kickoff is set for 2:05 p.m. from Jack Spinks Stadium in Lorman, Miss.
Grambling State (2-3 overall, 1-1 SWAC) ended a six-game conference losing streak, which dated back to the end of 2019, with a huge 37-28 home victory over Alabama A&M on Saturday.
Alcorn State (2-2, 1-0) was off last week and comes into the contest off a 39-38 come-from-behind victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 23.
Saturday’s game will be streamed live on ESPN+ as Santoria Black and Ken Moore will have the call. In addition, Grambling State will broadcast and stream the game on the Grambling State Sports Radio Network. The game can be heard in Ruston (KRUS – Hitz 96.3) and in Monroe (KNNW – 103.1 FM). The Tigers’ broadcast crew of Ossie Clark, Nick Harrison and T. Lay Collins will call all of the action.
“We played against a great, great football team,” Grambling State head football coach Broderick Fobbs said. “Alabama A&M is the top team in the conference and the defending champion. For some reason they don’t get the respect they deserve and they give the credit to everybody else, but we give them the utmost respect. They have a great quarterback and have a really good football coach and good staff.
“It was just important for us to play hard, to play fast and to play with the emotion we need to play with. When you play against really good teams, you have to play with great emotion and you have to force them into some uncomfortable situations in order to have a chance for victory. I thought we did a really good job of that. I thought we played well in all three phases. Offensively we had a breakthrough. We had really good quarterback play and the offensive line was able to create some holes when it counted the most; the receivers and tight ends were able to make some plays. That’s what it is going to take in order for us to have a chance to make a run at this thing. Of course we are going to need a little bit of help, but we can’t be concerned about that. We’ve got to focus to what we need to do in order to win this particular week.”
ABOUT THE GAME
– Grambling State and Alcorn State will be meeting for the 72nd time in the series
– Alcorn State will be celebrating homecoming
– The Tigers have won five out of the last six matchups against the Braves
– Grambling State will be playing in its second consecutive game on ESPN+
– GSU ended a three-game slide with the win over Alabama A&M and could win two straight for the first time since 2019
– While Grambling State competed in the spring, Alcorn State elected to forgo the 2021 Spring COVID season
– Alcorn State will be playing for the first time since it’s 39-38 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 23 (16 days)
– Grambling State and Alcorn State are the only two teams to represent the SWAC in the Celebration Bowl
GRAMBLING STATE NEWS & NOTES
– The Tigers are coming off a 37-28 home victory over Alabama A&M
– Noah Bodden made his first collegiate start at quarterback against the Bulldogs
– Grambling State trailed 14-0 early in the second quarter, then scored 34 unanswered points in between the second and fourth quarters
– The Tigers swept the weekly SWAC honors as Noah Bodden earned newcomer and offensive player of the week honors, while Garrett Urban was tabbed the specialist of the Week and Cameron Richardson garnered defensive player of the week
– Grambling State earned the STATS PERFORM FCS National Team of the Week after the win over AAMU
– Grambling State was picked second in the SWAC Western Division in the preseason poll
ALCORN STATE NEWS & NOTES
– The Braves come into the contest off a thrilling 39-38 come-from-behind victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 23
– Alcorn State quarterback Felix Harper has thrown for nearly 1,000 yards and has six touchdowns and a pair of interceptions
– Niko Duffey paces the ground game with 282 yards on 58 carries and two touchdowns
– Alcorn State will be looking to avoid back-to-back losses to Grambling State
– The Braves are averaging 21.7 points and 369.3 total yards per game
– Alcorn State was predicted to win the SWAC Western Division
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
– Grambling State leads the all-time series, 46-22-1
– The series dates back to 1952 with the Tigers picking up a 27-13 victory
– Grambling State has won five out of the last six matchups against Alcorn State
– The Tigers own the longest winning streak in the series – 11 games
BRODERICK FOBBS TRENDS
– Grambling State is 9-2 in the state of Mississippi
– GSU has dropped its last two road games (Southern Miss and Houston)
– The Tigers are 7-2 against Alcorn State – one in the SWAC Championship game (2015) and one regular season contest (2018)
– GSU is 22-2 in games played in October
WHAT FANS ARE ENCOURAGED TO WEAR
– The Gameday color for Grambling State fans is … wear RED
LOOKING AHEAD TO WHAT’S NEXT
– Grambling State returns home for homecoming to take on Texas Southern
– Texas Southern is in action this weekend against Southern in the Arlington Football Showdown
– Texas Southern ended a three-game losing streak to begin the season with a 69-0 victory over North American University
– Grambling State and Texas Southern were scheduled to play in the spring, but the game was cancelled due to COVID
– GSU won the 2019 matchup, 55-20, at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium
FOLLOW GRAMBLING STATE ATHLETICS
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