TUSKEGEE, Ala. – The Tuskegee University football program will look to continue its dominance over the Panthers and pickup a win in the conference opener on Saturday.
What You Need to Know
- Time and Date: Saturday, October 2 (1 pm)
- Records: Tuskegee (1-3, 0-0 SIAC) | Clark Atlanta (1-3, 0-1 SIAC)
- Location: Tuskegee, Alabama – Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium ("The Shed")
- Series History: Tuskegee Leads 62-16-2
- Last Meeting: September 15, 2018 | Tuskegee 24, Clark Atlanta 17 | Panther Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia)
- Winning Streak: Tuskegee (W10) | Clark Atlanta's Last Win: October 28, 2006 (10-6)
Tuskegee Overview
Offense
- The quarterbacking duo of Bryson and Louis Williams have combined to average 14.22 yards per completion, a top-40 number in the NCAA.
- Thanks to a surging ground game, Tuskegee now has one of the best ball-control offenses in the nation, ranking 14th nationally and first in the league by averaging 34:18 minutes of possession a contest to go along with converting nearly 40% of its third downs.
- Ivonte Patterson has accounted for most of the offense's production out of the backfield the past two weeks, putting the team on his back with six touchdowns and 250 yards during that span. Patterson is eighth in the country for rushing touchdowns and a top-five back in the conference regarding rushing yards (291) and rushing yards per game (72.8).
- Steven Hodges wrote his name into the TU record book last week, hauling in five catches for 79 yards and a score to surpass the 1,000 receiving yards for his career. He now sits at 1,029 with at least eight more ballgames left in his tenure. The redshirt senior tops the squad with 205 receiving yards in four outings, but Jamaal Pritchett is not far behind at 185 after a breakout performance last week vs. AAMU where he went off for six catches and 104 yards plus a touchdown.
- Taurean Taylor is one huge performance away from a milestone, currently residing at 837 rushing yards during his TU tenure, just 163 yards short of 1,000 for his career.
Defense
- Skegee has been particularly stout against the run on the defensive side of the ball, seceding only 137 yards on the ground per contest.
- The one-two linebacking punch of Woodly Appolon and Carl Matthews have excelled making tackles from sideline-to-sideline, each averaging six solo tackles a contest to slot in at 17th nationwide. In terms of total tackles per game, Appolon is second in the league in that category with 8.5 while Matthews is fourth at 8.2.
- Rorrick Steward has been the most consistent defensive back for Coach Tyler-Frazier's unit, batting down an average of one pass breakup per ballgame.
Special Teams
- Devarens Valcin has proven himself to be one of the most dangerous kick returners in the country, coming in the NCAA top-30 for combined kick return yards with 224 in 2021.
Miscellaneous
- Collectively, the Golden Tigers are a top-five program in the SIAC regarding penalties, being whistled for the fifth-fewest penalties (26), penalty yards (233) and penalty yards per game (58.25).
Scouting The Clark Atlanta Panthers
CAU opened the year with a dramatic 13-10 victory over Livingstone with a last-second field goal but has dropped three straight since, being outscored 122-43 by Lane, Shorter and Albany State in the process.
Clark Atlanta has thrived in four categories; fewest penalty yards per game (45.50), kickoff return defense (14.70), average punt return yardage (11.83) and red zone defense (0.706). The Panthers rank top-25 in the NCAA for the first two and top-50 for the following two.
Carlos Saldana has been one of the more reliable kickers in Division II, converting 3-of-4 field goal attempts including a 50-yarder.
Sharif Brown is the top signal-caller for the Black and Red, averaging 13 completions per game for 143.3 yards and four touchdowns while completing 53.4% of his throws.
His two favorite targets have been Drakar Jerry and Anthony Brown, combining for 212 yards over 18 receptions and three scores.
Defensively, the men from Atlanta have produced 27.5 tackles for loss and five sacks plus recovering three fumbles.
Timothy Jones (21) and Rodney Lewis (20) are the squad's top tacklers while four CAU defenders (Lewis, Charles Crawford, Jordan Johnson, and Breante Glover) have gone for at least three tackles for loss.
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