Southern vs. Mississippi Valley State
This is the game I said Mississippi Valley State would win. When I wrote that a month ago it was a situation of damning the Delta Devils with faint praise. However, after Southern’s demoralizing loss to Florida A&M in the Atlanta Classic, and Mississippi Valley scaring Prairie View on the road, all signs point to the nearly two-year nightmare of Karl Morgan being over. The Pick: Mississippi Valley State 24 Southern 21
Grambling State vs. Prairie View
I am disappointed that not a single writer had the guts to ask Doug Williams this week if there was a quarterback controversy brewing after D.J. Williams was pulled in favor of Frank Rivers in the loss to Alabama A&M. Considering that the head coach doesn’t view the State Fair Classic as a must-win, it would figure that the Tigers might not be motivated against the Panthers: The Pick: Prairie View 35 Grambling State 14
Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Alabama A&M
Arkansas-Pine Bluff only needed nine points to beat Clark-Atlanta last week. In fact, the Golden Lions defense is only giving up 18.7 points per game. The Bulldogs on the other hand — led by the bruising running of Kaderius Lacey — have been ramming the football down the throats of the opponents to the tune of 375 yards the last two games. This figures to be a grind it out game. The Pick: Alabama A&M 13 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 12
Alcorn State vs. Alabama State
Alabama State forced seven turnovers in a win at Jackson State to take over first-place in the SWAC Eastern Division. Right now the Hornets might be the best team in the conference at this point in the season. Alcorn State, however, has been consistently inconsistent. The Pick: Alabama State 27 Alcorn 19