A&T/TSU Updates - Circle City Classic

[Bornthrilla]

Jslee850 is gonna have a hard time finding a silver lining in this one.

If he can, he needs to be our school's new PR director.

[TOPPDOGG]

I don't know why Morgan continues to play at QB. It's obvious that we need to get multiple QBs ready or we will be in the same position next year if Kindle gets hurt. Morgan has no more eligibility. If we're going to be this bad we may as well get experience for Ricky Lewis or some other returning QB.

[Bornthrilla]

Aggies coming home with 0-5 mark
Sunday, October 3, 2010
(Updated 4:32 am)
By CHRIS NELSEN
Special to the News & Record

INDIANAPOLIS -- The N.C. A&T football team ran out of luck at the Circle City Classic.

The Aggies, who brought a 3-0 record at the event into Saturday's showdown against Tennessee State, couldn't draw from past success, dropping a 37-7 decision to the Tigers at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Aggies, with previous victories over Southern (1994) and Tennessee State (1997 and 2005), were the only undefeated team in Classic history with at least three appearances. The game, which was established to showcase Historically Black Colleges and Universities, has been played each year since 1984.

"Coach (Alonzo) Lee told us we were 3-0 coming in, so we tried to keep the legacy alive," said Aggies junior running back Mike Mayhew, who finished with 114 yards rushing and one touchdown. "We didn't make it happen. We came up short."

A&T (0-5) had been competitive in its previous four games, against Winston-Salem State, Norfolk State, Hampton and N.C. Central.

Saturday was a different story. Tennessee State finished with 521 yards of total offense, compared with the Aggies' 213. The Tigers had 23 first downs, while A&T recorded only 13.

"It's very disappointing," Mayhew said. "There's no way we should have gotten blown out like that. Our offense is way better than seven points. We can put up more points than that any day."

The Aggies weren't able to capitalize on the opportunity to play in front of a crowd of 35,217 at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts.

"When I was a little boy, I was wishing I would be in an NFL stadium," Mayhew said. "It just gets you hyped. There's tons of motivation to do good in this game."

Despite the loss, Lee said playing in the Circle City Classic was a great experience for everybody involved.

"There's quite a bit of pride that goes into it," he said. "It's an outstanding game for the young men, an outstanding game for the university on a national level. We came up short, but we ran up against a good team."

The Tigers (3-2) went up 10-0 in the first quarter, but A&T responded with an eight-play, 63-yard drive that resulted in Mayhew's 13-yard scoring run to close to 10-7.

Tennessee State tacked on another touchdown before halftime, and the Tigers scored three more times in the second half to put away the victory.

"I thought we did some good things," Lee said, "but we did some bad things, also."

Read more:

www.news-record.com/content/2010/10/03/article/aggies_coming_home_with_0_5_mark

[Blackfoot]

so who was the third announcer on our broadcast???

[aggiepride96]

I cant completely blame Morgan for going 9 of 31. He played fairly well and hit open receivers. All the receivers were dropping passes. Raper dropped a wide open pass on 3rd and 10 which would easily been a TD and made the score 17-14. The offense has to do a better job yes, but I dont see putting all the blame on HBK

[steadymovin]

I agree with both Thrilla & AP96....Morgan isn't getting ANY help from his WR's but at the sametime, Ricky Lewis may as well get a shot!

[Bornthrilla]

Oct 3, 2010 19:08:53 GMT -5 aggiepride96 said:

I cant completely blame Morgan for going 9 of 31. He played fairly well and hit open receivers. All the receivers were dropping passes. Raper dropped a wide open pass on 3rd and 10 which would easily been a TD and made the score 17-14. The offense has to do a better job yes, but I dont see putting all the blame on HBK

That's why he is the HBK. He will do just enough to get your hopes up ... and then break your heart. I have seen this same story for 4 years now and frankly is time to close the chapter on the HBK Chronicles.

Remember, HBK is a fifth year season and he has not improved one iota since he stepped on campus. I remember how good he looked in the first half of that Central game in 2007, and then how bad he looked in the second half when he threw those two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. Next season we will be in the exact same position we are now, with no experienced backup behind Kindle, unless we start getting Lewis or Webb some real reps.

For once our coaches need to be proactive and make some tough decisions. This season is a complete wash so lets at least try to get ready for 2011.

[aggie75]

I agree with most of what you are saying thrilla, but the truth is, Morgan still gives us the best chance to win Homecoming.

[Jesse Jackson's Side eye]

I'm sure the Root Woman that Lee Fobbs, Dee Todd & Bill Hayes have hired will be working overtime this week to make sure our Homecoming streak continues...

Is it basketball season yet?

[mudabo]

Morgan was a 3rd team QB. Knowing that, I think both he and the OC have made considerable improvements over the last 3 weeks. He is actually throwing the ball down the field, and that keeps the defense from stacking the box and stuffing the run. Now if we can just get the receivers to help him out, we'd have a more balanced offense. Mayhew will continue to be the feature of this offense. Young man is relentless. From the defensive side, it is obvious that injuries and disqualifications have severely hurt our ability to shut down opposing offenses. We are down to a freshman that was recruited as an offensive tackle as our MAN in the middle. Right now, he is like a fish out of water. Kid lacks technique, and right now he is being handled on every play. His backups are just undersized. This allows opposing blockers to get to our second tier of defense (Linebackers). They are being blocked, and can't get off of the blocks to make plays. When your safeties have to continually make tackles, you are gonna have a BAD day defensively. To add to our defensive woes, our guys do a lot of ARM tackling. No real tough guys on that side of the ball. BUT... I remain opptomistic

[steadymovin]

If the recieving core can just catch ANYTHING we will be DECENT on offense but until this happens then we will continue to be predictable. HELL, I don't blame Berry for running it the way we are. The offensive line has finally been consistant and Mayhew is just racking up his yards off of it but we just will not win AT ALL this season if the Defense continues these F*CKING arm tackles and our d-line continues to be DESTROYED and our offensive doen't put points on the board! I'm just disappointed with the state of aggie football right now!

[steadymovin]

JESUS CHRIST! I just saw two stats that I don't know how to feel about...1) Michael Mayhew is leading the conference in rushing 501yards & 4 TD's congrats....2) Justin Ferrell is leading the confernce in TACKLES with 43, but Ferrell plays safety so that means.....smh

[Bigboy]

Our WR's dropped a few passes but most of the time they were either over thrown or under thrown by Morgan. And the bad thing about it he had time to make better throws. The first pass of the game Morgan over threw Raper who was wide open. I know Raper dropped one pass when he was wide open but that pass was thrown behind him and he tried to adjust, but it hit him in his hands and maybe he should have caught it. A better pass by Morgan and it would have been a TD. To be honest I have not seen any improvement in Morgan's play. If anything it has gotten worst!!

[Aggie Monster]

Oct 4, 2010 10:28:25 GMT -5 Bigboy said:

Our WR's dropped a few passes but most of the time they were either over thrown or under thrown by Morgan. And the bad thing about it he had time to make better throws. The first pass of the game Morgan over threw Raper who was wide open. I know Raper dropped one pass when he was wide open but that pass was thrown behind him and he tried to adjust, but it hit him in his hands and maybe he should have caught it. A better pass by Morgan and it would have been a TD. To be honest I have not seen any improvement in Morgan's play. If anything it has gotten worst!!

Those 2 passes were ones that would have been TD. He also had another pass that he overthrew that would have been a TD. Miles was wide open. I think it was 17-7 at the time in the 3rd.