Before I get into it, be sure to check out the banner to your left on Artur Davis’ Magic City Classic ticket giveaway….and get involved in the campaign, Alabama.
Now for the football. The assumption crafted over the last few years is that the SWAC Eastern Division is commonly Jackson State territory. No matter how bad they are out-of-conference or out-of-division, the East is JSU’s to lose.
This year, they are likely to lose it, and the Magic City Classic may be the contest that determines the East representative in the SWAC championship game.
For Alabama A&M, it has been a season of resurgence after a disappointing 2008 campaign. They’ve lost their last two, but scored out-of-conference wins over Hampton and Tuskegee. Three years removed from their 06′ championship, the Bulldogs will look to rattle the hot ASU Hornets quarterback Anthony Speight and work to even up their conference record with JSU and Alcorn State.
The Hornets just have to have this game. They’ve lost three out of their four conference games after beginning the season 3-0. ASU has the second best scoring defense in the conference, but have allowed 17 points or more in their last three contests; two of which were home losses against Prairie View and Grambling.
Both teams have rough roads beyond the Classic; State has the Gulf Coast and Turkey Day Classics, and the Bulldogs draw PVAMU and a barely-respectable Jackson State. For both squads, its a difficult stretch to close the season while chasing a berth in the conference championship.
But the Magic City Classic jumps it all off, and it will be interesting to see which team jumps the highest for the prize.
