Grambling’s matchup with Alabama A&M ends six-game road trip

Courtesy of Brian Howard, Senior Associate AD for Athletic Communications, Grambling State University

The Grambling State University football team has been “Road Warriors” through the first five games of the 2022 season and the Tigers will conclude the season-opening six-game road swing on Saturday with a trip to Alabama A&M. Kickoff in Huntsville, Ala. for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Louis Crews Stadium.
 
Grambling State (1-4 overall, 0-2 SWAC) is coming off a 34-14 loss last weekend in the State Fair Classic to Prairie View A&M. The Tigers trailed at the half, 27-0, but closed the gap to 27-14 after a pair of scores in the third quarter. An unfortunate bad break on a punt paved the way for the final PVAMU score with less than six minutes remaining.
 
Alabama A&M (1-4, 1-1) got into the win column last weekend with a 35-27 victory over Bethune-Cookman at Louis Crews Stadium. The two teams went into the break tied at 14 and the Wildcats had an opportunity to tie the game at 21, but the two-point conversion failed. Cameron Young and Donovan Eaglin caught touchdown passes as the Bulldogs earned their first win of the season.
 
Saturday’s game will be streamed live HBCU GO as Jon Kelley and Charlie Neal will have the call. Grambling State will broadcast and stream the game on the Grambling State Sports Radio Network. The game can be heard in Ruston and Dubach on the flagship station, The Peach (KPCH-99.3 FM), KNNW 103.1 FM in Columbia and Monroe and KEDG 106.9 FM in Alexandria and Pineville. The Tigers’ broadcast crew of Ricky Robertson and T. Lay Collins will call all of the action.
 
Grambling State head coach Hue Jackson said the Tigers are heading in the right direction despite the setback in the State Fair Classic and are looking to put the first five weeks behind them as they gear up for their last road game until Nov. 12.
 
“We’ve got to move forward and have to be able to put these first five weeks behind us and more forward as fast as we can,” Jackson said. “We know we are playing a really good football team regardless of what records are. Coach (Connell) Maynor does a great job with his team, offensively, defensively and special teams wise. They’ve gota lot of different looks they’ll give you and we’ve got a tall task ahead of ourselves getting ready for this football game.

ABOUT THE GAME 

• Grambling State and Alabama A&M will be meeting for the 28^th time
• The Tigers are currently riding a five-game winning streak against the Bulldogs
• GSU will be playing in its sixth straight road game (four true road games)
• Alabama A&M will be playing in its second consecutive home game
• The Bulldogs will take to the road for the next month, with their next home game coming Nov. 19 against Texas Southern
• Alabama A&M started the season 0-4, but is coming off a victory last weekend against Bethune-Cookman
• The Bulldogs were predicted to finish third in the SWAC East Division standings, behind Jackson State and Florida A&M
• The Tigers were chosen to finish fourth in the SWAC West Division standings

GRAMBLING STATE NEWS & NOTES  

• The Tigers are coming off a 34-14 loss in the annual State Fair Classic against Prairie View A&M last weekend
• Grambling State got out of the gate slowly against PVAMU, trailing 27-0 at the half
• GSU finally wraps up its season-long six-game road swing with the trip to Alabama A&M
• The Tigers are averaging 299.2 yards and 21.4 points per game
• Against Prairie View A&M, Quaterius Hawkins started the game at quarterback, but backup quarterback Julian Calvez played nearly the entire second half
• Lyndon Rash has 265 yards on 14 catches, with a pair of scores
• Defensively, Lewis Matthewshas 53 tackles, including 32 solo stops
• Sundiata Anderson leads the team in sacks, with three
• Garrett Urban extended his streak last week and has now had at least one point (field goals and extra points) in the last 13 games, dating back to the 2021 season

WHERE THEY RANK NATIONALLY

• The Tiger rank tops in the country in blocked punts allowed
• GSU is second nationally, first in the SWAC, in fumbles recovered
• Grambling State’s defense is sixth nationally, third in the SWAC, in defensive touchdowns
• Marquis Britten is second nationally and first in the conference in fumbles recovered
• Sundiata Anderson ranks 13^thnationally and second in the SWAC in forced fumbles
• Lewis Matthews is sixth in the FCS and first in the SWAC in solo tackles

ALABAMA A&M NEWS & NOTES 

• The Bulldogs enter the matchup fresh off their first win of the season
• Alabama A&M will be playing in its second consecutive home game
• AAMU will not play another home game until Nov. 19 against Texas Southern
• The Bulldogs take to the road for games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (St. Louis River City HBCU Football Classic), Alabama State (Magic City Classic), Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State (Gulf Coast Challenge)
• Running back Donovan Eaglin was named the BOXTOROW National and SWAC Player of the Week
• Eaglin had his first start, coming against BCU, where he stile the show with 190 yards on the ground with two rushing touchdowns and two receptions for 12 yards
• The Bulldogs are averaging 349.6 total yards and 16.0 points per game
• Defensively, Dre Terry has registered 25 tackles, including 13 solo stops

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

• Grambling State must protect the quarterback
• GSU’s needs to win the turnover battle
• The Tigers must avoid committing a ton of penalties

ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY 

• Grambling State leads the all-time series, 21-6
• The Tigers have won five straight in the series
• GSU owns the longest win streak in the series at seven games
• The Tigers are 7-3 in the last 10 matchups
• GSU won the first meeting, 34-22, in 1989
• Grambling State won the 2021 matchup, 37-28, at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium
• The last Alabama A&M victory in the series came in 2013, a 23-9 victory
• It’s been 10 years since the last time the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers at home (38-17 on Sept. 29, 2012)

WHAT FANS ARE ENCOURAGED TO WEAR

• The Gameday color for Grambling State fans is … wear BLACK

LOOKING AHEAD TO WHAT’S NEXT 

• Grambling State finally has its 2022 home opener
• The Tigers will play host to Florida A&M on Oct. 15
• The home opener marks the first time GSU is playing at home in more than a year (last home game was Oct. 2, 2021)
• The game will be streamed live on HBCU GO, marking the third straight weekend the Tigers will be featured on the streaming platform
• The Tigers will be looking to avenge last season’s 26-3 road loss to the Rattlers
• Tickets are on sale by visiting the GSU Ticket Office or Click Here

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