When Albany State hosts Morehouse College this Saturday, it will feature two teams trending in two completely different directions.
Morehouse continues to be the laughing stock of the entire SIAC as the Maroon Tigers are currently 0-8, averaging just 10 points per game on offense and allowing 35 points per game on defense.
The Albany State (6-2, 4-1 SIAC) is currently in a second-place tie with Fort Valley State in the SIAC East. The Golden Rams have won five of their last six games, which includes a 31-20 win over Savannah State last week.
ASU is scoring 31 points per game and allowing 14 points per game on defense. Quarterback Dionte Bonneau has thrown for 1,229 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions so far this season which also includes three rushing touchdowns. Running backs Marcuis Fulks and Kamran Ward have rushed for six and five touchdowns, respectively.
Wide receivers Rashad Jordan and Ralph Lovett have combined for 623 yards and six touchdowns. For the ASU defense, Stephan Pierre, Malik Barnes, Anthony Harvey, Joshua Hill and Eric Price have combined for 16.5 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss.
There isn’t really anyone on offense that stands out for Morehouse, but there are a few on defense that do. There is Caleb Grant (four tackles for loss and two sacks), Tyler Hunter (8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks), and Dantez Simpson (10 tackles for loss and one sack).
These two teams, on paper, seem pretty mismatched, but Albany State would be wise to continue to play smart on both sides of the ball by capitalizing on scoring opportunities and getting off of the field on defense. Morehouse can only hope to turn things around before the season is over and create building blocks for next season.