The past two times the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff has wrapped up football season away from home, the Golden Lions won.
UAPB will try to repeat that feat at noon Saturday against Alabama State at ASU Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama. The Grio will broadcast the game.
The Golden Lions finished last season at home with a 31-23 loss to Texas Southern, but they won road games the previous two years.
The last time UAPB played Alabama State was in the 2022 season finale in Montgomery, which the Golden Lions won 19-14. A year later, then-first year head coach Alonzo Hampton earned his first SWAC win against Texas Southern with a 35-34 comeback in Houston to end his debut season.
UAPB (4-7, 2-5 SWAC) hasn’t won a true road game since, and Hampton said the way the Golden Lions have approached longer road trips hasn’t worked.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“We’re going to try to do some things different this week,” Hampton said. “We gotta go to Alabama State. It’s another seven-hour ride for us, so you’re talking about eight hours on the bus, then you’re talking about leaving on Friday. So, we’re working through it, man. The schoolteacher in me, just take a lot of notes, figure out how to get better.”
Hampton did not specify what the Golden Lions would do differently for this road trip.
In conference play this season, UAPB has a +12 scoring margin at home but a -108 margin on the road, not counting the neutral site game against Alcorn State, a Golden Lion victory. UAPB averaged 28 points per SWAC home game but is averaging 10 on the road.
UAPB is 1-14 in road games in three seasons under Hampton, including 1-10 against SWAC opponents.
Alabama State (8-2, 6-1) will not be an easy opponent, regardless of travel. The Hornets enter the week tied with Jackson State for first in the SWAC Eastern Division.
ASU is 3-0 at home and has won eight of its past nine games overall. The Hornets’ last defeat came on Oct. 11 at Jackson State, a 38-34 Tiger win which gives JSU the edge in the division title race.
Bama State hasn’t played in the SWAC Championship Game since 2010. ASU must beat UAPB but also needs Alcorn State to defeat JSU on Saturday to win the division. Otherwise, the Tigers will win it for the fourth time in the past five years and face Prairie View A&M on Dec. 6.
ASU coach Eddie Robinson Jr. said keeping the Hornets focused on their game rather than worrying about the Soul Bowl should be easy since UAPB and ASU kick off roughly 2.5 hours before Jackson and Alcorn.
“I think from that standpoint, we understand that the big picture is we just want to win one more SWAC football game,” Robinson said. “I think if you have that small approach, and you can’t control anything else but that, so just go out there to win the game. I think that’s been our approach all year. Just win today and control what you can control.”
The Hornets have the SWAC’s highest scoring offense and third-best scoring defense. They have the league’s second-best passing defense, which could be a problem for a UAPB team which will be without starting quarterback Christian Peters due to a shoulder injury he suffered last week at Prairie View A&M. Backup DJ Stevenson’s status is unclear after he was also injured.
Robinson wasn’t sure as of Monday whether ASU starting quarterback Andrew Body, who missed the past two games with injury, would be ready to return this week. Whoever plays quarterback will have the SWAC’s leading wide receiver, Jalen Jones, to target in the passing game.