Pine Bluff will host an important SWAC Western Division matchup Saturday between two teams needing more consistency from their offenses.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will host Grambling State at 2 p.m. on SWAC TV at Simmons Bank Field.
UAPB (3-3, 1-1 SWAC) has had success running the ball the past four weeks after struggling in the first two games, but the passing offense has had good and bad days.
Starting quarterback Christian Peters threw for 323 yards and a touchdown in the win against Alcorn State, and all five rostered quarterbacks teamed up to throw for 273 yards and three touchdowns in the Golden Lions’ rout of Westgate Christian last week.
However, Texas Southern held Peters and his receivers to 116 yards the last time UAPB played a SWAC game, and Peters threw three interceptions in the first half against Lincoln (Calif.).
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UAPB coach Alonzo Hampton said the receivers need to make plays Saturday.
“We need to be able to catch the ball when the ball is thrown,” Hampton said. “Obviously, against Texas Southern, we had a lot of third and long. We had too many penalties, which is uncharacteristic of who we are. We gotta be able to stay in third and manageable. If we do that, we’ve been pretty good in our third down completions.”
The Golden Lions converted 30.8% of third downs against TSU, only better than their 26.6% against Texas Tech. UAPB converted 50% of third downs against Lincoln and Westgate and 43.3% combined against UCA and Alcorn.
Grambling (3-3, 0-2) enters this game with a defense holding opponents to 194.5 passing yards per game, the second best in the SWAC. The Tigers are one of three defenses in the league allowing fewer than 200 passing yards per game.
Defensive backs Markel Linzer and Tyrell Raby have two interceptions each, putting them in a six-way tie for first in the SWAC. They have been credited with a combined three additional pass breakups.
The defensive front will also be a challenge for UAPB’s offense. The Tigers have sacked opposing quarterbacks 13 times this season, tied with Bethune-Cookman for the league’s most. Defensive end Warren Robinson is third in the conference with four, and defensive tackle Kilas Francis is tied for 10th with two.
The Tigers also rank third in rushing defense, but turnovers have haunted their offense and heavily contributed to their 0-2 start to SWAC play.
Grambling has committed four turnovers in each of its first two conference games. The Tigers lost three fumbles in last week’s 21-20 homecoming loss to Texas Southern, with all three occurring in or near the red zone. Third-string quarterback Amyne Darensbourg threw an interception on what was his first collegiate pass after backup Ashton Frye left with an injury.
Starting quarterback C’Zavian Teasett, who is day-to-day with a left foot injury, threw three interceptions in the prior game against Prairie View A&M, a 28-13 loss in the State Fair Classic. Two of them came on Grambling’s final two drives of the game. The Tigers also fumbled the snap on a punt attempt, which set up the Panthers at the GSU 1-yard line.
GSU coach Mickey Joseph said no team can win turning the ball over at this rate.
“It’s been two weeks in a row that we felt like we gave the game away with the turnovers,” Joseph said. “So we gotta do a better job, myself and with the staff working with the fundamentals, just preaching in it and drawing a line. Lines have to be drawn so when you fumble, you might have to sit for a while. So we’ll do a better job with that.”
UAPB’s defense has recovered just two fumbles this season but has a SWAC-leading eight interceptions, including one for a touchdown last week by defensive back Kristian Gammage.
Special teams could have an impact Saturday. Before last week, no SWAC team had returned a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown. UAPB returned one of each last week against Westgate. Kareem Burke returned a punt 68 yards for UAPB’s opening touchdown, while Bryant Sanchez returned the second half kickoff 90 yards.
Grambling also returned the second half kickoff of its game against TSU for a touchdown, with Jay’Shaun Johnson going 95 yards. Earlier in the game, Tony Phillips Jr. returned a TSU kickoff 84 yards, but the touchdown was wiped out by a holding call.