Week 7 in the SIAC

Oct. 7, 2006

Skegee/FAMU/FVSU

Week 6 Review and Week 7 Prognostications

Week 6 was a week where there were very few upsets. Week 6 also did not really do much in determining any clear-cut conference favorites. In the SIAC, there are three schools (AlbSU, Miles, and Lane) all at 3-0 and tied for 1st, and Tuskegee only a half game behind at 3-1 in the conference. In the MEAC, Hampton sits atop, alone with a 4-0 record in the conference followed by BCC with a 2-1 record. There are four schools (FAMU, DSU, NSU, and MSU) that are at 1–1 in the conference. I don’t need to tell you that both conferences are still wide open at this point. This is definitely a year where no one is a shoo-in to win their conference. OK, Hampton may be the closest thing to a favorite, but there is still too much football to crown the Pirates at this point. These conference races are going to get really interesting in the next couple of weeks. Oh, by the way, I was 9-3 overall, 5-1 in the SIAC, 4-2 in the MEAC. My own Golden Tigers let me down by blowing a 16-point lead. Mrs. Mary’s boys from Daytona also let me down. Even though my Rattlers won, they cost me a pick. That’s what I get for picking with my head, not my heart. At any rate, we are going to go charging boldly into week six or seven, depending on your perspective.

Da Review from Week Six:
Albany St. barely got out of Columbia with a win over Benedict… Alcorn had a convincing win over DaHouse… Tuskegee blew a 16-point lead to allow Arkansas PB to even the series at 1-1… KySU handled their business against CAU… Lane beat Stillman… Miles remained undefeated against SSU… In the MEAC, FAMU won a thriller against TnSU… Morgan St. chased BCC out of their bear cave, all the way back to Daytona… Hampton remains undefeated, at the expense of DSU. Howard came back from a 19-6 deficit to get its first win of the year over a rebuilding FVSU team… NSU whipped up on this year’s favorite MEAC whipping boy (or should I say, whipping dog) A&T… Finally, our dismal record against PWC’s failed to improve with WSSU’s loss to Coastal Carolina.

The co-featured games of week 5:

Hampton vs Central St in Indianapolis (Circle City Classic):
This years CCC is a classic in name only. This is one of the biggest mismatches of this HBCU season. Yes, CSU may have scored 53 points against VUU, but I betcha that doesn’t happen against Hampton. Hampton has smooth sailing to its sixth win of the season. 
Tuskegee vs Morehouse in Columbus, GA (Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic):
One of the oldest HBCU classics, this classic has been overwhelmingly in favor of TIU over the years. Even though TU isn’t playing up to its expected level of play, they are still head and shoulders above Da House. While no one expected Da House to win the SIAC, no one expected them to be as terrible as they have been this year. Don’t think that TU will blow a 16-point lead this time around. TU by a sizeable margin over Da House.

Miles vs Albany State in Albany, GA:
Can you believe the fact that AlbSU, Miles, and Lane (yes, you heard right) are in a three-way tie atop the SIAC with TU one-half game back? Miles has had very little offense, but have been very opportunistic to take advantage of everyone else’s turnovers and miscues. AlbSU’s offense hasn’t exactly been a scoring juggernaut, either. So far, Miles (along with Lane) have been the Cinderella’s of the SIAC, but I have a feeling that the clock is about to strike midnight for them in Albany on Saturday night. A side note: AlbSU is undefeated in night games in their new stadium. Look for that streak to continue as the Rams head butt their way to victory and restore some order to the SIAC standings. 
SIAC GAMES


Stillman vs Fort Valley St. in Tuscaloosa, AL:
Believe it or not, Stillman is just a handful of plays away from having a winning record, possibly an undefeated season. They have given all of their opponents all that they could handle. They just haven’t been able to make that one crucial catch, or stop on defense when it counted. FVSU has shown some flashes, but have been bedeviled by untimely penalties, a lack of discipline, and conditioning. Some go as far to say that it’s a lack of coaching. They had a 19-6 lead over Howard, only to lose by a score of 34-19. Stillman has been on the verge of winning a game all season. However, I still don’t think this is the weekend they finally break through. At this point, FVSU has nothing really to play for, so their goal will be to go out and salvage their season and knock some teams out of contention. FVSU over Stillman.
Clark-Atlanta vs George Mason in Atlanta (CAU Homecoming):
Homecoming? So what!!! George Mason rains on CAU’s parade, not to mention the rest of the Homecoming.
Kentucky State vs Lane College in Frankfort, KY:
The clock is about to strike midnight for the other Cinderella team in the SIAC. KySU prevails.
Bye Week: Benedict



MEAC/SWAC PICS


Bethune Cookman vs Delaware St. in Daytona Bch:
Mrs. Mary’s boys lost to Morgan by a two-touchdown margin. DSU lost to Hampton by a similar margin. This is somewhat of an elimination game in the MEAC scheme of things. The loser of this game has a serious uphill battle to win the MEAC. This should be a good game between two pretty good teams. I give BCC the edge, being that they are the home team. We already know at least two things: that Shine will win the wardrobe contest, and that the Pride will win halftime. 

WSSU vs Howard in Winston-Salem, NC:
Even in losing, WSSU is earning much respect around the MEAC. On last week, Howard was down 19-6 to a rebuilding FVSU team before coming from behind. To be quite frank, WSSU’s performance against Coastal Carolina wasn’t any worse than SCSU’s performance against them a couple of weeks ago. The question of the weekend is what WSSU team is going to show up. Whichever WSSU team shows up, it will be victorious over the Bison. 

NCA&T vs Morgan State in Greensboro: 
Morgan gets another win, evens its overall record at 3-3, and believe it or not, puts themselves back in the thick of the MEAC race!
South Carolina State vs Norfolk State in Orangeburg:
A month ago, SCSU would have been a prohibitive favorite in this game. I don’t think that’s necessarily the case today. The dogs have lost the bark and the bite they had during the preseason. A case can be made that SCSU has had a tougher schedule than NSU until this point. However, NSU is playing with a lot of confidence at this point and are putting some points on the board. I’m going out on a limb to say NSU by a slight margin over SCSU. On second thought, is it really going out on a limb to predict a NSU victory?
Savannah St. vs Charleston Southern in Savannah:
When will the losing streak end for SSU? I’ll give you a little hint. It won’t be this weekend. In fact, I’m giving out Burger King buy one Whopper, get one free coupons to the reader who successfully guesses the end of SSU’s losing streak.
Alabama State vs Jackson State in Mobile, AL: (Gulf Coast Classic)
Coach Comegy owned ASU during his tenure at Tuskegee. Even though the school has changed, the results will be the same. So far this year, JSU has a 3-1 record. They are only one fluke play away from being undefeated. JSU over ASU.
Bye Week: FAMU