Post by Aggie One on Sept 30, 2011 18:01:47 GMT -5
A Light at the End of the Tunnel This Week?
by Craig R. Turner
bluedeathvalley.com
This week opens the 2011 MEAC conference season for North Carolina A&T as the Aggies travel up to Baltimore to take on the Bears of Morgan State for afternoon late start game a 4 pm.
Morgan State has managed to even it record at 2-2 by barely squeaking out wins over Robert Morris because of missed PAT by the visitors late in the contest that would have tied the game and probably would have sent it into overtime.
Just last week the Bears barely eked out a 14-9 win against Howard where they were lost in every offensive category possible except on the scoreboard and it was more about Howard’s inability to convert four times inside the red zone in the third and fourth quarters than Morgan’s dominance.
Thus far this season, the Bears have been completely one dimensional depending exclusively on former A&T coach Alonzo Lee’s defense in keeping two struggling offensive teams off the scoreboard when need to be for their two wins.
In their two losses they met up with not really potent offenses but instead efficient ones and those games turned into large blowouts rather quickly.
Morgan coach Don Hill-Eley knows that his Bears are not playing the exactly the same A&T team they have played against the last three years as A&T does have some offensive weapons and is capable of hitting some big plays.
Despite last week’s 31-14 loss to Coastal Carolina, CCU coach Dave Bennett had a lot of good things to say about the undermanned A&T team after the contest. “Shoot after next year we won’t be scheduling them. They are going to get it right. I promise you. I just hope they are still a couple of years away.”
Bennett understood that A&T has some really good athletes on its team, just not the numbers to go against the power players within the MEAC week in and week out.
But Morgan is not in the upper tier of the MEAC. They are not S.C. State, Bethune, Norfolk, or Hampton.
They are one of the middle of the pack teams that sometimes plays well but most of the time will struggle with average football teams especially those teams that can generate any semblance of offense without turnovers or penalties.
A&T will be undermanned again this week but not necessarily anywhere to the extent it has been in its last two contests and that leaves the door open.
A look at the stat sheets between the two teams and A&T seems to have the slight upper hand offensively and despite its smallish defense leads in those areas as well.
Morgan State is not a juggernaut but is a solid defensive team. The key will be A&T’s offense getting off early because if A&T can produce points in this game, Morgan has its work cut out for it because the Aggies are not a bad defensive team and should be able to hold its own against what Morgan has shown so far on offense.
This will be a game of big plays and which team and coaching staff has the extra push physically and mentally to get their ball club over the hump in crunch time when the pressure builds in what should be a close ball game.
****************************************************
This game is really too close to call a clear favorite even though Morgan should have the advantage but past experience says that teams that struggle to score points struggle to win no matter how good a defense may be.
One or two big plays can turn this game on a dime and my instincts tell me A&T has more big play potential and is improving each week while Morgan's offense seems to be stuck in low gear without a consistent quarterback or run game while depending too much on its defense to bail them out.
This will be a close one to the finish but look for A&T to sneak in the surprise of the weekend.
PREDICTION:
N.C. A&T – 20
Morgan - 10
by Craig R. Turner
bluedeathvalley.com
This week opens the 2011 MEAC conference season for North Carolina A&T as the Aggies travel up to Baltimore to take on the Bears of Morgan State for afternoon late start game a 4 pm.
Morgan State has managed to even it record at 2-2 by barely squeaking out wins over Robert Morris because of missed PAT by the visitors late in the contest that would have tied the game and probably would have sent it into overtime.
Just last week the Bears barely eked out a 14-9 win against Howard where they were lost in every offensive category possible except on the scoreboard and it was more about Howard’s inability to convert four times inside the red zone in the third and fourth quarters than Morgan’s dominance.
Thus far this season, the Bears have been completely one dimensional depending exclusively on former A&T coach Alonzo Lee’s defense in keeping two struggling offensive teams off the scoreboard when need to be for their two wins.
In their two losses they met up with not really potent offenses but instead efficient ones and those games turned into large blowouts rather quickly.
Morgan coach Don Hill-Eley knows that his Bears are not playing the exactly the same A&T team they have played against the last three years as A&T does have some offensive weapons and is capable of hitting some big plays.
Despite last week’s 31-14 loss to Coastal Carolina, CCU coach Dave Bennett had a lot of good things to say about the undermanned A&T team after the contest. “Shoot after next year we won’t be scheduling them. They are going to get it right. I promise you. I just hope they are still a couple of years away.”
Bennett understood that A&T has some really good athletes on its team, just not the numbers to go against the power players within the MEAC week in and week out.
But Morgan is not in the upper tier of the MEAC. They are not S.C. State, Bethune, Norfolk, or Hampton.
They are one of the middle of the pack teams that sometimes plays well but most of the time will struggle with average football teams especially those teams that can generate any semblance of offense without turnovers or penalties.
A&T will be undermanned again this week but not necessarily anywhere to the extent it has been in its last two contests and that leaves the door open.
A look at the stat sheets between the two teams and A&T seems to have the slight upper hand offensively and despite its smallish defense leads in those areas as well.
Morgan State is not a juggernaut but is a solid defensive team. The key will be A&T’s offense getting off early because if A&T can produce points in this game, Morgan has its work cut out for it because the Aggies are not a bad defensive team and should be able to hold its own against what Morgan has shown so far on offense.
This will be a game of big plays and which team and coaching staff has the extra push physically and mentally to get their ball club over the hump in crunch time when the pressure builds in what should be a close ball game.
****************************************************
This game is really too close to call a clear favorite even though Morgan should have the advantage but past experience says that teams that struggle to score points struggle to win no matter how good a defense may be.
One or two big plays can turn this game on a dime and my instincts tell me A&T has more big play potential and is improving each week while Morgan's offense seems to be stuck in low gear without a consistent quarterback or run game while depending too much on its defense to bail them out.
This will be a close one to the finish but look for A&T to sneak in the surprise of the weekend.
PREDICTION:
N.C. A&T – 20
Morgan - 10
