By Donald Hunt | For The Birmingham Times
Tuskegee University is off to a roaring start. The Golden Tigers (1-0, 2-0) will have to continue to play great football when they face Jackson State (0-0, 1-1) from the Southwestern Athletic Conference on the road Saturday, Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. The Tigers are one of the top FCS teams in the country. Nevertheless, they take a two-game winning streak into this non-conference game.
Tuskegee quarterback Raequan Beal has been playing extremely with some great receivers in EJ Hall, Jermaine Hardy and Malik Thomas. Last week, the signal caller completed 15-of-25 passes for 226 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the team’s 38-0 victory over Central State.
Defensively, the Golden Tigers could use a strong effort to slow down the Tigers’ powerful offense. Tuskegee University has two playmaking linebackers with Devon Irving Jr. and Kaquan Kimber.
This isn’t the only matchup between the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference this weekend. Miles College (0-1, 0-2) will travel to Alabama State (0-0, 1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 13. The kickoff will be at 4 p.m.
The Golden Bears will have their hands full with the Hornets, a very talented team, led by their brilliant signal caller Andrew Body who has already thrown six TD passes along with 510 passing yards so far this season.
Miles College will attempt to keep ASU from exploding offensively. The Hornets have produced 72 points over the first two games. On defense, freshmen linebackers Robert Williams and Keshun Marbury have been solid contributors. Williams and Marbury can play the run and come up with some big tackles.
In other action in the SWAC, Alabama A&M (0-0, 1-1) will visit Tennessee State (0-0, 1-1) in the inaugural Legacy Series with a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. The Bulldogs are led by Cornelious Brown and running back Maurice Edwards IV. Brown earned HBCU FCS National Player of the Week for his exploits in guiding Alabama A&M to a 41-31 win over Alcorn State. He amassed 329 yards of total offense and tallied five TDs. Edwards is the team’s leading rusher with 110 yards and two TDs. He also averages 4.1 yards a carry.
Alabama A&M head coach Sam Shade has two players who can provide some exciting football on offense.
