Post by Aggie One on Oct 15, 2014 18:28:09 GMT -5
No Walkover In Dover
By Craig R. Turner
Bluedeathevalley.com
N.C. A&T has gotten in a few extra days rest and preparation time by virtue of the Aggies 31-14 win over Hampton on ESPN’s Thursday Night College Football matchup last Thursday night. It was the second collegiate start for quarterback Hassan Klugh after a less than stellar debut just the week before against SCSU.
The 6-3 185 pound true freshman quarterback was caught like a deer in the headlights two weeks ago in Atlanta. But last week the same freshman played pretty much error free football in managing the A&T offense to nearly 500 yards in total offense.
Klugh didn’t have bad numbers by game’s end with 15 out of 17 in completions for 167 yards including a 68-yard touchdown catch and run to tailback Tarik Cohen with no interceptions.
Granted, most of his passes were of the high percentage variety (9.8 yds. per completion) but those dinks and dunks kept A&T out of many long yardage situations throughout the second half and allowed the Aggies to create a lot of style points plays by getting the ball into the hands of their home run hitters like Cohen and WR Desmond Lawrence.
The A&T defense stayed on course by holding Hampton to just 14 points and again won the turnover battle with +2 for the night. This young defense, while giving up more yards this season than normal between the 30’s, continues to drop their points allowed average down below what it was last season while topping the FCS in takeaway margin again this week.
Overall, the Aggies put together a solid game plan against the Pirates and with a little halftime prodding by Broadway, executed exceptionally well in erasing a 14-7 halftime deficit and exploding for unanswered 24 points and delivering a goose egg on the defensive side.
This was a very important team win not in terms of just finding points but the fact that they proved they could dominate play and seize control even without all the pieces being at hand. The Aggies regained their confidence in a big way against a team that a lot of onlookers thought would be too hard for them to handle.
Shows you what the average fan really knows.
**********************************************************************************
Ask anyone who’s been around Aggie football for any length of time and they will tell you that Delaware State has long been a royal pain in A&T’s backside for long time.
The Aggies have only beaten the Hornets once in their last eight meetings which was in 2012 in Greensboro and A&T has lost ten straight on the field meetings in Dover.
This opponent has had A&T’s number like no other and has knocked some really good A&T teams out of serious MEAC conference contention on at least 7 different occasions since 1990. Each time the Aggies appeared to be really set to break through in the MEAC race, the Hornets have been there to pull the wire and trip them up.
On top of that A&T always seem to appear on the Del State schedule as their homecoming opponent every time the Aggies head north. This by far has always been the toughest venue in the conference for the Aggies in which to play and win.
So come Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. will history once again repeat itself as it has over the last decade of bus trips up to Dover? Well maybe not.
Delaware State has played consistently good defense under Coach Kermit Blount and this year is no different as evidenced by their recent 13-10 overtime win over Norfolk State. It was the play of DSU’s defense which led to a blocked punt which help put the Hornets back into the game after trailing 10-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Hornets finally nailed a 43-yard field goal, which was a career best for kicker Mitchell Ward, in the overtime period to seal the win after the DSU defense again came up with a key interception to squash any Spartan hopes on their only possession.
What makes this year different is the fact the Hornets are not nearly as good offensively as they have been in the past. The offensive line for the Hornets has been anything but consistent this season. Del State has rushed for a entire team high of just 811 yards (2.7 ypc.) which is just 44 more than A&T’s Tarik Cohen has individually. They have passed for even less output with just 779 yards total through the air.
This year’s Hornet team simply does not have that stable playmaker QB that could carry the offense like All-MEAC Nick Elko did for them a couple of years back. That has been a major reason for the stagnant offense, that and an offensive line that has five different names other than the starters that were there for Blount back in mid-September.
Quarterback play in a word is questionable. The Hornets lost their projected starting quarterback right before the season began to a season ending ailment so Blount inserted backup JUCO product Gilbert Rivera (72-144, 7 INTs, 4 TDs) through the first five games of the year. Rivera is fair passer but not a very mobile quarterback and that has led to lots of sacks and unforced turnovers with a o- line that has not protected well all season.
But now Rivera has given way to converted wide receiver Marlon Kelly who went the distance for the first time last week against Norfolk while going a cumulative 13-28 for 100 yards, two interceptions, and TD in just two appearances. Running back Malcolm Williams is the leading rusher (100 attempts, 375 yards, 3.8 ypc.). Blount’s offensive options are so limited, his defense is often times stretched too thin for too long and called on to produce points in order to win. ..
On defense, the Hornets have been playing well the last three games in terms of scoring defense but statistically not so much. The Hornets have been gashed badly by teams that run the football effectively as evidenced by their yielding 208 yards per game. They are much better against the pass giving up just 158 yards each outing but opponents are still averaging nearly 30 points per game and 366 yards per game in total offense. that's not a good formula
And while the Hornets have won two out of their last three, they have yet to play a top tier team inside the conference with their two wins coming over NSU and Savannah State, admittedly two of the weakest teams in the MEAC this season.
Coach Rod Broadway is well aware of the Delaware choke hold over the Aggies and has made it point to drive that fact home to his ball club - that despite Del State’s current troubles they always have played A&T like their very life depended on the outcome and now adding in homecoming for 6,000 or so eager Hornets, it can spell disaster if the Aggies aren’t mentally prepared.
I don’t expect any letdown this week, if anything the Aggies may be even more focused considering what happened last week within the conference to the traditional favorites. I expect the Aggies to come out swinging and throwing haymakers going for a knockout early on. It is going to be hard for Del State to get anything consistent against these Aggies up front with their current offensive personnel.
Despite A&T’s youthful roster, there is a distinct talent gap between Del State and A&T this year and that is the real game changer in assessing this matchup. Given all the weapons at Broadway’s disposal and the results from their rebound performance a week ago, A&T is preparing to come out aggressive on the road and not let DSU hang around.
If that plan does indeed go according to script then that Aggie losing streak up in Dover will end in a big way on Saturday afternoon. No one needs to remind A&T about Del State.
PREDICTION:
N.C. A&T - 38
Del State - 7
By Craig R. Turner
Bluedeathevalley.com
N.C. A&T has gotten in a few extra days rest and preparation time by virtue of the Aggies 31-14 win over Hampton on ESPN’s Thursday Night College Football matchup last Thursday night. It was the second collegiate start for quarterback Hassan Klugh after a less than stellar debut just the week before against SCSU.
The 6-3 185 pound true freshman quarterback was caught like a deer in the headlights two weeks ago in Atlanta. But last week the same freshman played pretty much error free football in managing the A&T offense to nearly 500 yards in total offense.
Klugh didn’t have bad numbers by game’s end with 15 out of 17 in completions for 167 yards including a 68-yard touchdown catch and run to tailback Tarik Cohen with no interceptions.
Granted, most of his passes were of the high percentage variety (9.8 yds. per completion) but those dinks and dunks kept A&T out of many long yardage situations throughout the second half and allowed the Aggies to create a lot of style points plays by getting the ball into the hands of their home run hitters like Cohen and WR Desmond Lawrence.
The A&T defense stayed on course by holding Hampton to just 14 points and again won the turnover battle with +2 for the night. This young defense, while giving up more yards this season than normal between the 30’s, continues to drop their points allowed average down below what it was last season while topping the FCS in takeaway margin again this week.
Overall, the Aggies put together a solid game plan against the Pirates and with a little halftime prodding by Broadway, executed exceptionally well in erasing a 14-7 halftime deficit and exploding for unanswered 24 points and delivering a goose egg on the defensive side.
This was a very important team win not in terms of just finding points but the fact that they proved they could dominate play and seize control even without all the pieces being at hand. The Aggies regained their confidence in a big way against a team that a lot of onlookers thought would be too hard for them to handle.
Shows you what the average fan really knows.
**********************************************************************************
Ask anyone who’s been around Aggie football for any length of time and they will tell you that Delaware State has long been a royal pain in A&T’s backside for long time.
The Aggies have only beaten the Hornets once in their last eight meetings which was in 2012 in Greensboro and A&T has lost ten straight on the field meetings in Dover.
This opponent has had A&T’s number like no other and has knocked some really good A&T teams out of serious MEAC conference contention on at least 7 different occasions since 1990. Each time the Aggies appeared to be really set to break through in the MEAC race, the Hornets have been there to pull the wire and trip them up.
On top of that A&T always seem to appear on the Del State schedule as their homecoming opponent every time the Aggies head north. This by far has always been the toughest venue in the conference for the Aggies in which to play and win.
So come Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. will history once again repeat itself as it has over the last decade of bus trips up to Dover? Well maybe not.
Delaware State has played consistently good defense under Coach Kermit Blount and this year is no different as evidenced by their recent 13-10 overtime win over Norfolk State. It was the play of DSU’s defense which led to a blocked punt which help put the Hornets back into the game after trailing 10-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Hornets finally nailed a 43-yard field goal, which was a career best for kicker Mitchell Ward, in the overtime period to seal the win after the DSU defense again came up with a key interception to squash any Spartan hopes on their only possession.
What makes this year different is the fact the Hornets are not nearly as good offensively as they have been in the past. The offensive line for the Hornets has been anything but consistent this season. Del State has rushed for a entire team high of just 811 yards (2.7 ypc.) which is just 44 more than A&T’s Tarik Cohen has individually. They have passed for even less output with just 779 yards total through the air.
This year’s Hornet team simply does not have that stable playmaker QB that could carry the offense like All-MEAC Nick Elko did for them a couple of years back. That has been a major reason for the stagnant offense, that and an offensive line that has five different names other than the starters that were there for Blount back in mid-September.
Quarterback play in a word is questionable. The Hornets lost their projected starting quarterback right before the season began to a season ending ailment so Blount inserted backup JUCO product Gilbert Rivera (72-144, 7 INTs, 4 TDs) through the first five games of the year. Rivera is fair passer but not a very mobile quarterback and that has led to lots of sacks and unforced turnovers with a o- line that has not protected well all season.
But now Rivera has given way to converted wide receiver Marlon Kelly who went the distance for the first time last week against Norfolk while going a cumulative 13-28 for 100 yards, two interceptions, and TD in just two appearances. Running back Malcolm Williams is the leading rusher (100 attempts, 375 yards, 3.8 ypc.). Blount’s offensive options are so limited, his defense is often times stretched too thin for too long and called on to produce points in order to win. ..
On defense, the Hornets have been playing well the last three games in terms of scoring defense but statistically not so much. The Hornets have been gashed badly by teams that run the football effectively as evidenced by their yielding 208 yards per game. They are much better against the pass giving up just 158 yards each outing but opponents are still averaging nearly 30 points per game and 366 yards per game in total offense. that's not a good formula
And while the Hornets have won two out of their last three, they have yet to play a top tier team inside the conference with their two wins coming over NSU and Savannah State, admittedly two of the weakest teams in the MEAC this season.
Coach Rod Broadway is well aware of the Delaware choke hold over the Aggies and has made it point to drive that fact home to his ball club - that despite Del State’s current troubles they always have played A&T like their very life depended on the outcome and now adding in homecoming for 6,000 or so eager Hornets, it can spell disaster if the Aggies aren’t mentally prepared.
I don’t expect any letdown this week, if anything the Aggies may be even more focused considering what happened last week within the conference to the traditional favorites. I expect the Aggies to come out swinging and throwing haymakers going for a knockout early on. It is going to be hard for Del State to get anything consistent against these Aggies up front with their current offensive personnel.
Despite A&T’s youthful roster, there is a distinct talent gap between Del State and A&T this year and that is the real game changer in assessing this matchup. Given all the weapons at Broadway’s disposal and the results from their rebound performance a week ago, A&T is preparing to come out aggressive on the road and not let DSU hang around.
If that plan does indeed go according to script then that Aggie losing streak up in Dover will end in a big way on Saturday afternoon. No one needs to remind A&T about Del State.
PREDICTION:
N.C. A&T - 38
Del State - 7