Alcorn Heads to Grambling for ESPN3 Contest
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Alcorn Heads to Grambling for ESPN3 Contest

Alcorn Game Notes | ESPN3 | Live Radio | Live Stats

GRAMBLING, La. – Looking to stay unbeaten in conference play, the Alcorn State University football program will travel to Grambling State for a 2 p.m. kickoff on ESPN3 at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.
 
The Braves (6-2, 4-0 SWAC), who are coming off a bye week, have won seven consecutive games against SWAC West Division opponents. Most recently, they erased a 6-3 halftime deficit against Southern to score 24 unanswered points in a 27-13 victory in their last outing.
 
Alcorn is riding a five-game winning-streak overall. The Braves are the only unbeaten team in league action and have a one-game lead over Jackson State in the SWAC East Division standings.
 
Since taking over as the starting quarterback over the last five games in-place of an injured senior Noah Johnson, junior Felix "Triggerman" Harper has thrown for 1,423 yards, 18 touchdowns and no interceptions.
 
Harper was added to both the CFPA and the Walter Payton Award Watch Lists this week, which goes to the player nationally in FCS. Harper currently ranks third in the nation in offensive efficiency (186.1), fourth in points responsible for (20.0 ppg), top-10 in yards per completion (14.8) and top-15 in completion percentage (.656) and passing TDs (20).
 
His top targets have been senior Chair Blair and junior LeCharles Pringle. Blair leads the nation in yards per reception (25.38). He's the team's leading receiver with 533 yards on the year and has also hauled in five touchdowns.
 
Pringle is having a breakout season at the wide receiver position. He's recorded 429 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. It came after he finished with 128 receiving yards and two touchdowns all of last year. His eight touchdowns this year ranks 13th in the nation.
 
On defense, senior Solomon Muhammad is the team's leading tackler with 57. He's also recorded 5.5 tackles for a loss and two interceptions this year. He currently ranks 23rd in the country in solo tackles per game with 5.0. Muhammad was the SWAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honoree.
 
As a team, the Braves rank first in the SWAC in scoring defense (19.9 ppg), total defense (322.9 ypg), interceptions (10), fourth down conversion percentage (1.000), fewest first downs allowed per game (19.1), and offensive efficiency (161.3).
 
The Tigers (4-4, 2-2 SWAC) are looking to keep pace with Southern in the SWAC West Division. They are one game back in the loss column, but still have a head-to-head match-up with the Jaguars on Nov. 30.
 
GSU has won four games in a row, which includes conference victories over Arkansas-Pine Bluff 39-33 on the road, and Texas Southern 55-20 at home. The Tigers dropped their first two SWAC games to Alabama State 23-20 on the road and Prairie View A&M 42-36 at home. GSU also beat Jackson State 44-21 and Alabama A&M 23-10 in non-conference games.
 
Geremy Hickbottom quarterbacks the offense and has thrown for 1,381 yards, 10 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. GSU leads the SWAC in rushing with a 217.0 yards per game average. Hickbottom is also the team's leading rusher with 65.8 yards per game and four touchdowns.
 
Saturday marks Senior Day for GSU.
 
In addition to ESPN3, the game can also be heard live for free on 91.7 FM or wprl.org with Charles Edmond on the call.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn is looking to defeat GSU for the second straight year. Last season, the Braves won 33-26 as Blair caught the game-winning touchdown pass with 12 seconds left.
 
- Alcorn is one of two teams in the country to maintain a perfect 100 percent conversion rate on fourth downs, along with fellow HBCU North Carolina A&T. The Braves also rank top-five in the nation in fewest interceptions thrown (3), and top-10 in interceptions (12) and team passing efficiency (161.3).
 
- The Braves are 18-0 when leading at halftime since 2017.
 
- Alcorn has outscored the opposition 66-31 in the fourth quarter this year. It came after it outscored the opposition 102-42 in the fourth quarter in 2018.
 
- The Braves have won nine SWAC Player of the Week awards this year. Harper has won SWAC Offensive Player of the Week three times, while senior Corey McCullough has won SWAC Special Teams Player of the Week three times. Muhammad and junior Malik Holbert have each won SWAC Defensive Player of the Week, and freshman Niko Duffey won SWAC Newcomer of the Week.
 
- McCullough, the kicker and punter, is the all-time leader in field goals made in school history with 40. He broke the record in the season-opener with a 44-yarder at Southern Miss.
 
- Duffey, who is coming back from injury, is the team's leading rusher with 445 yards and five touchdowns. He and senior De'Shawn Waller have flip-flopped in the starting running back role due to injuries to both student-athletes.
 
- Fred McNair, the reigning SWAC Coach of the Year winner, is in his fourth season as head coach. The Braves have won the SWAC East Division and played in the SWAC Championship all three years under McNair. He carries a 20-7 SWAC record.
 
- Alcorn sits at No. 2 in the national HBCU Top-10 Poll and is also receiving votes in the STATS FCS Top-25 Poll.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Fred McNair
Recapping the Bye Week
"We wanted to work hard during the bye week, but also try and get some guys healthy. We worked on a lot of the basic stuff; tackling, ball security, those things that help to win ball games. I thought we did a great job, of course the weather was kind of rough for us this past week but we did some great things as we get these guys ready and prepared for Grambling. It was a good week for us and we're playing some good football."
 
Previewing the Matchup with Grambling State
"They do a lot of good things - been throwing the ball well, they can run the ball well so we got a lot of work cut out for our defense. We just have to prepare ourselves for what we're going to face on Saturday. They've got a lot of speedy receivers that know how to get down the field. Geremy Hickbottom [Grambling Quarterback] is a double-threat, he can run the ball and he can pass it so we just got to prepare ourselves for that. They do a lot of great things on the defensive side of the ball, they tackle well, coverage-wise they've done a phenomenal job. Some of the things they're doing we just have to be able to prepare ourselves for as we prepare for a good Grambling football team."
 
On last season's game that went down to the wire
"I tell you what that was a great football game, and we anticipate another one this year. It's going to be a good football game, you hate to see someone lose those kinds of games but they're fun. It's going to be a hard-fought ball game and we need to get our guys ready to play. Coach [Broderick] Fobbs is doing a great job down there with that group coming off a good win against Texas Southern and scored a lot of points. Just watching them on film and seeing things they can do with the football is kind of fun, and we just have to prepare our guys for a hard-fought battle again this year."
 
On what he's telling his team down the stretch
"We have to go 3-0 the rest of the season. We know we're up against a really good Grambling football team and we're definitely not overlooking those guys. We'll take it one game at a time"
 
On the health of the running backs
"De'Shawn is doing a great job of getting himself fit and ready to play each and every week. We're going to run the football like we normally do and its pretty much balanced to what we're doing now, not overextending any guys and putting a lot of pressure on them to do more than they can do. De'Shawn is pretty much healthy right now and just watching him practice, it's exciting to see him run and do everything he's supposed to do. He's getting back into fixing some things to where he'd become last year, the old De'Shawn Waller of last year. Being hurt the first part of the year was hard for him, not being able to play in some games but he's getting back to rep form right now and he's doing some great things for us. We've been starting him for the last couple weeks here lately but he's going to play for us, hopefully all the guys will play for us; [Niko] Duffey, Jonathon Bolton and Trey Turner. All of those guys are really good running backs for us so we just alternate them by committee. I think we'll be fine at the running back spot."
 
On whether Noah Johnson is 100 percent
"He's still in the mix of things and we're just trying to get Noah back to where he needs to be. I think what we're doing with him now is something that will help him be ready when it's time. We're doing everything we can to make sure he's ready mentally and physically."
 
#FearTheBrave
 
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