For the first time in more than a decade, Prairie View is nationally ranked.
The Panthers made its debut in the STATS FCS poll on Monday as it sits at No. 24 carrying a 7-1 overall record and 6-0 in SWAC play.
“I really don’t have words to say,” head coach Eric Dooley said during the SWAC coaches media availability when notified that Prairie View was ranked for the first time since 2010. “It’s great for the university and gives us some type of publicity, but it goes back to that word work. These young men and these coaches — they gave it their all and sacrificed. It’s huge.”
Also read: SWAC Football Midseason Report Cards: Jackson State, Prairie View might be on a collision course
Prairie View has an opportunity to win the SWAC West outright with a victory at Alcorn State on Saturday. If the Panthers do accomplish the feat, it will be the program’s second division championship since 2009.