The Magic City Classic is always a big game. But this year it is even bigger, if that’s possible.
That’s because the SWAC East Division title will be in the balance when blood rivals Alabama A&M and Alabama State meet for the 71st time Saturday at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.
Alabama A&M (6-1, 5-1) is the defending division champion and is in first place. Alabama State (4-3, 4-2), the preseason pick to win the division, is tied for second place with Jackson State. Alabama A&M will grab a stranglehold on its sixth division title with a victory; on the other hand, Alabama State can throw the race into a mad scramble with by winning and will be playing for survival. With just three conference games remaining for each of the contenders, Alabama State Coach Reggie Barlow two weeks ago said “every game for us is a one-game season type deal for us’’ as the Hornets try to overtake the Bulldogs.
“This is a great game,’’ says Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones, who is 8-2 in the Magic City Classic, “great atmosphere, great tradition. It’s all the things that you expect out of great game. It’s two teams competing to keep control over their fate. It’s a game you excited about, but you’re glad to get it over.’’
This will be the ninth time in Jones’ 11 years at Alabama A&M that the Magic City Classic has had championship implications.
“Its’ probably going to always be that way,’’ Jones says. “The winner usually has the inside track (to the division championship). But regardless of who wins, there’s still work to be done. But this is a huge opportunity to put yourself in good position.’’
Last year’s Magic City Classic attracted 66,473 fans – with almost an equal number tailgating in the parking lots and never entering the stadium – making it the best-attended game in the Football Championship Subdivision (FBS). With the stakes being what they are, an even bigger crowd is expected Saturday.
“It’s our annual huge, huge game,’’ Barlow says. “I think it’s why we play it. It’s a fun time. You like to play for something. This is a really, really big game for obvious reasons, (but) because it’s the Magic City, and if both we were 0 for the season, it would still be our fans talking about this game. For a lot of them this is the only one they care about. You might not have to win another game. Because there is something to play for makes it even more fun. We all understand what the game entails. Rather than look at as pressurized situation I look at it as another opportunity to still be alive and compete for something other than just the pride of winning the game. If it’s perceived as pressure we’ll take it. But we try to take a different approach.’’
Both teams are coming off weeks lost the last games that they played. The coaches agree that having an open date the week before the Magic City Classic is beneficial. Alabama A&M has had a bye nine of the last 10 years; the Hornets have been off four of the five previous seasons that Barlow has been coach.
Even though the Magic City Classic, in reality, is just another regular season game, the festivities surrounding it and the media demands on the head coaches sets it apart from other contests on both teams’ schedules. That’s one of the reasons Jones and Barlow make a point of not playing the week before. They also say it gives their squads and coaching staffs time to generate mentally and physically.
“It’s just a constant reminder (about the game),’’ Jones says. “There’s a lot of pressure, pressure from within pressure from all about to try to be successful in this game. There are some significant challenges. That’s why you try to get an open week. It’s late in year; you’re beat up as a team and bogged down as a coaching staff; you’re mentally fatigued, then you jump into Classic Week with its different obligations. A bye week is something you try to do. It’s needed.’’
Barlow says the biggest benefit that he has seen from having a bye week is that it allows time for injure players to recover. That will be the case with Hornets cornerback Saeed Lee who missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.
“Having a bye is good,’’ he says, “but it’s a little painful when you have a loss and have to sit with it for a whole week. These student athletes are so different though. Don’t a whole lot affect these guys. We have 48 hour rule whether we win or lose. We turn the page. One snap and clear, and try to focus on the next game.’’
.Saturday’s game features two of the top three offensive teams in the SWAC. The Hornets (32.9 points a game) and Bulldogs (28.3) are 1-2, respectively, in scoring; Alabama A&M is No. 1 in rushing (188.3 yards a game), and Alabama State is No. 3 (186.7).
Alabama A&M quarterback Deaunte Mason, the leading candidate for SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, leads the conference in total offense (227.9 yards a game), is No. 2 in passing yards (1,353) and No. 1 in touchdown passes (12).
“It’s going to be a huge challenge and task for our defense,’’ says Barlow, whose team has allowed an opposing ball carrier to rush for at 100 yards three times and had three runners for Bethune-Cookman to crack the century mark. “I wish there was some way we could hide it and say everything is good. Our defense and our players understand we have to play better. We have to be efficient against the run and play our responsibility in the passing game, have gap integrity up front and we have to tackle.’’
The conference’s top two rushers will also be on display in senior Kaderius Lacey, the leader with 694 yards for Alabama A&M, and sophomore Isaiah Crowell, the highly celebrated transfer from the University of Georgia who is No. 2 with 555 yards for Alabama State. Crowell leads the conference in scoring with 10 touchdowns.
Lacey had a big for the Bulldogs in their victory last year with 189 yards, and he has the Hornets’ full attention this time around.
“That’s a little bigger than big,’’ Barlow says. “That’s huge. That guy is big and strong. Tackling is lost art in all football, and it’s even harder against a guy like Lacey who is big. The first guy rarely gets him down. You have to gap integrity, be where you’re supposed to be in the scheme. Then you got tackle this big guy. You got to bring him down. You got to get more guys to the ball. It takes more than one guy to bring him down. We’re encouraging our guys to get to the ball as many as possible and try to take him down.’’
Crowell started the season slowly but has rushed for 100 or more yards in two of his last three games. He had a season-high 149 yards three weeks ago.
Quarterback Greg Jenkins, however, is the Hornets’ offensive catalyst with his running and passing. Jenkins averages 203.4 yards total offense a game. He has rushed for 388 yards, No. 6 in the conference, and passed for 1,036, fourth-best in the conference.
In the past opposing coaches have said they preferred to make Jenkins throw the ball rather than having him run. However, Jones says he’s equally as wary of Jenkins in both departments.
“He can do both,’’ Jones says. “I’ve seen him win games running the ball and I’ve seen him win games throwing the ball. He’s like a good fighter. He can hurt you with his left hand, and he can hurt you with his right hand. You have to be aware of both.’’
And there is Crowell.
“He’s a big kid with good speed,’’ Jones says. “They get Crowell to the outside, and you always got to play the receivers down field. They have a good scheme and they’re scoring a lot of points. We have to try and find a way to contain them.’’
