TUSKEGEE, Ala. | Tuskegee University and Morehouse College will meet for the 80th time in Columbus (Ga.) on Saturday afternoon inside A.J. McClung Stadium, and will meet for the 105th time overall at 2 pm (est).

Tuskegee (4-1, 1-0 SIAC) comes into the game after suffering their first defeat of the season to UNC Pembroke last week.

"We are coming off of a loss so we are not happy," Tuskegee head coach Willie Slater said. "Now we have to focus our attention to Morehouse, which says enough in itself. We had good days at practice the week, and I think we will be ready.

"I think last week's game will help us and we can learn from it. Some of things that happened to us in that game, I had been fearing particularlly on the offensive side of the ball. We saw some things we have not seen before, and it hurt us a little bit. At the same time we had enough situations to win the game, we had four legitimate opportunities to score but we didn't take advantage of them."

But all of those things are in the past when it comes to the Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic.

"I expect the guys to be ready to go," Slater said. "We are young so our guys may not really understand what the rivalry is all about. It is not in them yet, but we have some that have been here and those are the guys that are running around getting ready."

The Golden Tigers have had the run of the series lately in the series, winning eight of the nine games in the series under Slater - including winning the last three in the series. However, Morehouse (3-2, 1-0 SIAC) enters the game with a different set of skills players and a quarterback who has been in the series.

"They are a different team than they have been in the last years," Slater said. "Coach (Freeman) said they were able to get their fill on scholarships so they have a much better team, so it is going to be tough especially with us being so young. They have some guys coming back who played against us last year so that gives them a little bit of an edge."

The classic will be played in the Columbus for the 80th time on Saturday and will bring people from all over the country back to watch two of the most historic HBCU football programs. The Golden Tigers hold a 54-20-5 series advantage in the games played in Columbus.

"This is a big for the fans and for the alumni," Slater said. "As far as we go, it is a big game for us anyway. The game last week was a big game and the game after this is going to be a big game. The fans let the players know how big this game, and builds up the momentum."

Although the Golden Tigers lead the all-time series, this year's game will be a match of the one of the SIAC's most productive offenses in Morehouse and one of the best defenses in Tuskegee.

Morehouse leads the conference in scoring at 29.6 points per game, which ranks them 68th in NCAA Division II. The Tigers are led by junior quarterback Monqavious Johnson, who leads the conference in five different categories, and freshman Amyr Smith who has been named the SIAC Newcomer of the Week on a couple of different occasions.

"They have guys who have been in the system," sophomore safety Jonah McCutcheon said. "Their quarterback has been in the system for three years now, and they have some great receivers that we have to be ready for in the secondary."

Meanwhile, Tuskegee ranks as one the best in the country and in the SIAC. The Golden Tigers currently are allowing 14 points per game, which is tops in the conference and is 10th in the nation. They also rank third in the country in red zone defense and 23rd in rushing defense.

"Normally after a defeat it is always interesting to see how you respond on Monday," defensive coordinator Joseph Carter said. "Our guys responded well. They are eager to get back out there and improve, but at the same time you have to work to get in position for this week. They are athletic all over the place. They have several guys who have been in the system for three years, and normally those are your best guys. From a quarterback standpoint, he has been moving the ball around to everyone and in the past it was one or two guys. They understand the concepts."

The game will be televised nationally by ASPiRE, can heard on HSRN (XM 204/Sirius 126) and can be seen/heard on the Tuskegee Sports Network beginning with the kickoff at 2 pm (est).

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