Mississippi Valley vs. State-Alcorn State
On paper Alcorn State should win this game rather easily at home against a Mississippi Valley State school that hasn’t won a game since 2009, and has been outscored through the first two games by 71 points.
However, the Braves were upset by an Arkansas Pine Bluff team which loss the previous week to Langston.
The Pick: An 0-2 Alcorn squad will be looking to take their early season frustrations and disappointments out on the Delta Devils. Alcorn State 41, Mississippi Valley State 14
Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Prairie View A&M
The Arkansas-Pine Bluff defense shutout the high-powered Alcorn offense in the second half in last week’s 27-20 win. Prairie View stunned Texas Southern in a thrilling come from behind victory late in the fourth quarter even though the Panthers only totaled 212 yards of total offense.
The Pick: I have no faith in the Prairie View passing game, considering the Panthers have thrown for a total of 212 yards on 51 attempts in two games. While the Golden Lions defense struggled in the second half against Langston, I think the group more resembles how it played against the Braves. Arkansas Pine-Bluff 23, Prairie View A&M 13
Texas Southern vs. Texas College
A SWAC school playing an NAIA opponent. Where have we see this before?
The Steers, who opened their season Aug. 27 with a 47-3 loss at Belhaven, managed just 64 yards of total offense. Randall Harper and Andrew Vargas combined for 19 yards passing. Vargas threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, and each quarterback was sacked three times. Last week they lost 58-0 to Lamar.
The Pick: Texas Southern should romp over the Steers from Tyler. Texas Southern 35, Texas College 3
Alabama A&M vs. Tuskegee
This is the 47th meeting between the two schools with the Bulldogs leading the all-time series 24-19. The last time the teams squared off Alabama A&M blew out the Golden Tigers 35-15 in 2009.
Tuskegee is coming off losing a home opener for the first time since 1998 after dropping a 33-19 decision to Langston.
Last week Alabama A&M looked flat against Southern and as a result lost on the road 21-6. In that game the Bulldogs defense surrendered 308 passing yards and three touchdowns to SWAC Player of the Week Dray Joseph (QB). For the second straight week the Bulldogs offense was held to just three second half points. The rushing game, led by Terrell Badie, was limited to 60 total yards.
The Pick: I don’t know if blowing a 17-0 lead to Hampton in the Chicago Football Classic two weeks ago has frayed the psyche of the Bulldogs beyond repair. It sure seemed that way judging by the lackluster performance against the Jaguars. Tuskegee 20, Alabama A&M 19
Grambling State-Alabama State
This is the underrated game of the weekend folks. Grambling lost a 35-7 snoozer to Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday as D.J. Williams and the Tigers struggled go get anything going. Alabama State played Eastern Michigan tough on road last week losing only by a touchdown, although the defense was shredded for more than 300 rushing yards.
The Pick: I think the Hornets will give Grambling all it can handle. Alabama State has not committed a ton of penalties and only committed a single turnover in two games while taking the ball away eight times on defense. This will be a really close game. Grambling 21, Alabama State 20
Jackson State vs. Southern
A good old fashioned rivalry game ends the SWAC slate. Jackson State seemingly is the class of the Eastern Division after two impressive victories versus Concordia (Ala.) and Tennessee State in the Southern Heritage Classic. Southern, picked by most to finish near the bottom of the Western Division, surprised Alabama A&M at home.
Not much had gone right for Stump Mitchell and the Jaguars up until last week. But this game could be the signature win Mitchell is seeking to give him some credibility down in Baton Rouge.
The Pick: The key to this game will be how each defense handles the opposing offense. Jackson State quarterback Casey Therriault is arguably the best in all of Black College Football, and he tore up the Tennessee State defense for 337 yards to go along with three touchdowns. But Southern signal-caller Dray Joseph opened some eyes with a 300-yard performance of his own. It might come down to a costly mistake that does in one of these schools. Jackson State fumbled four times in Week 2. Southern turned it over twice. Jackson State 30, Southern 27
