Bulldogs come up short in Magic City Classic

BIRMINGHAM -- The Bulldogs overcame a first-half 14-point deficit but couldn't climb the mountain one more time and fell to Alabama State 35-20 in the 74th annual Magic City Classic.

Trailing 7-0 after the first 30 seconds and then 14-0 with 8:17 left in the first quarter, the Bulldogs rallied on a pair of Brandon Eldemire touchdowns to tie the game with 9:54 left in the second quarter.

However, the Hornets answered with two more touchdowns in the quarter and added another early in the second half to clinch the win.

Statistics didn't tell the story in Saturday's game. The Bulldogs had 229 yards passing and the Hornets had 228. A&M picked up 178 yards on the ground and ASU rushed for 216 yards.

But quarterback De'Angelo Ballard was 17 of 44 passing for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs, the least penalized team in the SWAC, were hit with a string of penalties early in the game which stymied the offense and handcuffed the defense.

A&M, which mounted a comeback to win last year's Classic 37-36, after trailing 33-21 in the fourth quarter, couldn't find the same magic this year after cutting the Hornets' 35-14 lead to 35-20 midway through the third quarter.

The Bulldogs fall to 2-3 in the SWAC and host Mississippi Valley State next Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Brandon Eldemire: RB; 5' 8"; Senior

#18 De'Angelo Ballard: QB; 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#1 Brandon Eldemire
: 5' 8"; Senior
: RB

#18 De'Angelo Ballard
: 6' 0"; Junior
: QB

Players Mentioned

#1 Brandon Eldemire

#18 De'Angelo Ballard

Players Mentioned

#1 Brandon Eldemire

#18 De'Angelo Ballard