The first month of conference play showed a much-improved University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff team, but the past three games have gotten away from UAPB.
The Golden Lions will look to rebound and finish the year strong when they host Texas Southern at 2 p.m. Saturday at Simmons Bank Field on HBCU GO.
Head coach Alonzo Hampton said UAPB (3-8, 2-5 SWAC) needs to get back to finishing drives the way it did in October.
“We moved the ball on everybody,” Hampton said. “Let’s be honest. The only outlier in all of these games is the Jackson State game. It’s like they knew everything we were doing, but they’re a good football team. But every team after that, even Alabama A&M, we’re up. We have a chance to go up 14-0, 17-0, and then we just shoot ourselves in the foot.”
The Golden Lions went 2-2 in October with home wins against Prairie View A&M and Mississippi Valley State and a pair of 10-point road losses to Alcorn State and Grambling State.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
During that stretch, UAPB scored 26.52 points per game with quarterback Mekhi Hagens averaging two passing touchdowns per game. The Golden Lions also had seven rushing touchdowns in October.
In November, UAPB is averaging 12 points per game. Jackson State and Southern both kept the Golden Lions out of the end zone, and Alabama A&M gave up one rushing and one passing touchdown. The passing score came in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach.
The Golden Lions have been beaten by an average of 29.3 points per game in November, which is more reminiscent of last season’s 2-9 campaign than the way UAPB began conference play this season.
Hampton said UAPB has made too many mistakes in November.
“When we played Southern, we had a chance to go up 14-0,” Hampton said. “We’re two evenly matched teams. And yeah, you can say the score is what it is, but I know that this football team is a lot closer than those scores the last three games. So, that’s the frustrating part, but we gotta finish strong. Finish strong for these seniors that we have.”
Texas Southern (4-6, 3-4) stands between UAPB and the strong finish to the season Hampton wants.
The Tigers avoided matching UAPB’s three-game November losing streak by beating Bethune-Cookman 17-14 in their home finale last week. Texas Southern is seeking its second road win of the season. The first came in the season-opening 27-9 win at Prairie View in the Labor Day Classic.
Hampton said TSU is a hard-nosed team, and he is glad the Tigers must make the long trek to Pine Bluff rather than UAPB having to travel to Houston.
“They run the ball, ball control,” Hampton said. “Last week, we lost the time of possession, 37 minutes and 22 minutes. So, we gotta be able to keep our defense off the field a little bit, and when we do get those stops, we need to be able to capitalize on them.”
The Tigers are fourth in the SWAC in time of possession, averaging 31:10 per conference game. UAPB ranks last, averaging 26:27.
Although this is a different Texas Southern team and coaching staff than the one UAPB defeated 35-34 in last season’s finale, the Tigers’ identity of running the ball remains.
They aren’t putting up the same rushing numbers as last year, but they have nonetheless favored the run with 371 attempts this season compared to 213 passing attempts. Quintell Quinn averages 55.2 rushing yards per game with four touchdowns, while Athean Renfro averages 26.8 with three scores.
The Tigers’ passing offense ranks last in the SWAC with 112.7 yards per league game. Quarterback Jace Wilson has thrown for three touchdowns and rushed for two this season.
Defensively, TSU has held SWAC foes to 179.7 passing yards per game, but first-year coach Cris Dishman said Hagens and UAPB receiver JaVonnie Gibson will present a big test.
“Those two are two big-time players, so we’re going to have to make sure we pay close attention to those two players,” Dishman said. “I would like to see our defense fly around and play Texas Southern football the way we played versus Prairie View, the way we played last week. Those guys, when they get their motor running, they can play.”
If TSU wins, the Tigers would finish third in the SWAC West, and UAPB would finish last. If UAPB wins, the final standings would also rely on the results of Prairie View’s game at Alabama State and Grambling’s game against Southern.