Saturday will mark the 38th edition of the Labor Day Classic featuring a pair of in-state rivals who are projected to be in the thick of the SWAC West race.
Both Texas Southern and Prairie View came within a game of playing in the SWAC Championship Game last season.
Prairie View has controlled the series recently, winning 14 of the last 17 matchups since 2004, including taking the last eight contests dating back to 2015.
Texas Southern holds an all-time edge of 44-33-1 in the series in 78 meetings.
“It’s about us going out and executing against a good defensive team,” said Prairie View coach Bubba McDowell in Monday’s press conference. Prairie View had the most prolific rushing attack in the SWAC last season, averaging 205.7 yards per game. The Panthers added to that after acquiring former Mississippi Valley State running back Caleb Johnson from the transfer portal.
Continuity was essential to McDowell in his second full season at the helm.
“This is the first time since I’ve been here that these guys as a group, as a whole, have played together throughout the entire training camp,” he said.
Texas Southern head coach Clarence McKinney was optimistic about a team that was picked to finish third in the SWAC West behind Southern and Alcorn State.
“We feel like this is the best team we’ve had in the last few years. A couple of years ago, we played about 40 or 50 freshmen,” he said. “We’ve grown and developed those guys, and now they’re juniors and some seniors, and guys are so excited about this opportunity to end this streak finally.”
McKinney, in the larger scheme, also encouraged fans to attend Saturday’s game in droves to support both teams.
“There’s no reason this game should not be sold out,” said McKinney. “These kids on both sides of the ball work extremely hard to represent their university, and they deserved to be honored by people showing up.”
