BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the first time in 85 meetings and over 115 years, the Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic will not take place in Columbus, Georgia instead making its way to "The Football Capital of the South" as the iconic Legion Field plays host.
What You Need to Know
- Time and Date: Saturday, October 2 (7 pm)
- Records: Tuskegee (2-3, 1-0 SIAC) | Morehouse (0-5, 0-1 SIAC)
- Location: Birmingham, Alabama – Legion Field ("The Old Gray Lady")
- Series History: Tuskegee Leads 73-29-7
- Last Meeting: October 12, 2019 | Tuskegee 21, Morehouse 10 | A.J. McClung Stadium (Columbus, Georgia)
- Winning Streak: Tuskegee (W1) | Morehouse's Last Win: October 6, 2018 (30-24)
Tuskegee Overview
Offense
- Ground and pound has been the name of the game for the majority of Coach Slater's 16-year run at the helm and it is no different this season, averaging 33 minutes and 36 seconds of possession per game, good for 17th in the country.
- Bruising tailback Ivonte Patterson will look to run his streak of 100-yard rushing performances to four-in-a-row Saturday evening as he looks to add onto his impressive season. The 5-11, 200-pound senior from Atlanta has six rushing scores (13th in NCAA), 439 yards (34th in NCAA) and averages 87.8 yards on the ground per contest (41st in NCAA) to front the SIAC in all three categories.
- 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
- Defensive Coordinator Kelvin Powell's bunch has made a habit out of causing turnovers, ranking among the top-25 with six interceptions, top-45 in turnovers gained (9) and logged its first defensive touchdown of the year last week versus Clark Atlanta when Kobi Mitchell went 55 yards to the house for a game changing pick-six.
- TU's linebacking corps has emerged as one of the most talented groups in all of Division II with three of the top five tacklers in the conference all lurking in the second level of the Golden Tigers defense: Wesly Appolon (8.2 per game), Woodly Appolon (7.0) and Carl Matthews III (7.0).
- Kevin Scott is one of only 35 players nationwide with multiple fumble recoveries, jumping on the ball against Fort Valley State and Alabama A&M.
Special Teams
- Devarens Valcin continues to make kickers/punters to think twice about giving him a chance, as the sophomore wideout is inside the top-55 regarding average punt return yardage (5.9) and top-50 in combined kick return yardage (231).
Miscellaneous
- Tuskegee has been one of the least flagged teams in the NCAA five games into the season, slotting inside the top-50 nationally for fewest penalties (30), fewest penalties per game (6.00) and fewest penalty yards per game (55.00).
Scouting The Opponent: Morehouse Maroon Tigers
Morehouse has had a rough go of things as we reach the midway point of the 2021 season, being outscored 198 to 44 and having an average margin of defeat north of 30.
One area which the men from Atlanta have excelled in across the board has been on special teams. Both its kickoff and punt return units are 18th in the nation in average return yards with 25.32 and 15.88, respectively, while punter Fernando Sdelamora is 12th for punting at 41.9 yards per punt as well as top-50 regarding net punting (35.97).
Frank Bailey Jr. has quickly established himself as the Maroon Tigers' biggest home run threat, slotting in at third nationally for kick return yards (469), sixth in kickoff return average (32.4) and top-25 in average all-purpose yards (143.00).
Michael Sims has been the primary signal-caller, tossing for 344 yards including 152 of those going to Marqueiz Pride who accounts for 44-percent of the team's production through the air.
The title of quarterback of the defense belongs to Daylon Land as the true freshman tops the team in tackles (30) and tackles for loss (4.5) while punching out one of the unit's three forced fumbles.
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