By T. Scott Boatright
The Grambling State University football team looks to get back on a winning track as the Tigers play host to Kentucky State at 6 p.m. Saturday at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.
Both teams enter the game at 1-1.
The teams have only met twice over the years, with Grambling State taking both games — 14-13 in 1952 and 13-0 in 1953.
Grambling is looking to put the sting of a big loss last weekend after falling on the road to No. 1 Ohio State, the defending FBS national champions.
Tigers coach Mickey Joseph said his team is confident they can turn things around now that they’re back on a level playing field.
“I’m proud of my coaches and proud of my players because they competed,” Joseph said of the Ohio State game. “We looked at the film on Sunday — “Tell the Truth Sunday” — and nobody’s effort was questioned, and that’s what we asked them to do.”
Joseph admits he got emotional during that game.
“It’s like a father watching his son go into an uphill battle and all you can do is stand on the sideline and not help them physically. So I had to make sure I made good decisions that game and that’s why we started going to the huddle.
“But nobody quit. Our OLine and Dline guys battled and they won because they didn’t quit. They didn’t back down and I thought for the most part they did a good job.”
Joseph admits that after opening the season with a big win over Langston and then losing in a game they weren’t supposed to win, he understands why the G-Nation is still unsure about what they have in a football team this season.
“No, you don’t know,” Joseph said of what fans know about his team two games into the season. “You’re still searching — if you’re not in this building, you’re searching. We know what we have in this building.
“That (big win) was supposed to happen against Langston because we’re on different levels. If you execute and do what you’re supposed to do, that’s how it’s supposed to look because we have 63 scholarships and Langston has five. So, we know in this building what we have, but I think outside is still searching because we stay private in this building.”
He said his team’s practices have been the same this week as they were last week preparing for Ohio State.
“We prepare the same every week, so we’re preparing the same way we prepared for Langston, the same way we prepared for Ohio State,” Joseph said. “There’s two things we ask them to — focus and finish. And this is a pretty focused group when it comes down to it.
“They take nobody for granted. Really, they take nothing for granted. So they’re looking at Kentucky State just like they looked at Ohio State. Like I said last week, there’s levels to this thing, so we understand (Kentucky State) is a Division II school, but it’s also a school with a reputation of winning some games. They’re 1-1 and they look good on film, so they’ll get our best game.”
And for Joseph, preparing means practicing hard every day.
“It’s how you come out every week,” Joseph said. “How you get them to practice and how you get them to play. Around here, you can’t practice soft and then play hard on Saturday. That’s why we played hard last Saturday. Because that’s what we demand as a coaching staff.
“We demand that you practice hard. We demand that you study hard. We’re about to get on this academic stuff. So, we demand that you do everything right around here.
Kentucky State opened the season with a 34-24 neutral site win over Central State before falling last week to Albany State, the eighth-ranked team in this week’s BoxToRow HBCU football poll, 49-21 at home.
And while the Thoroughbreds are a Division II program, Joseph said he realizes they’re capable of putting up a fight.
“They’re a really athletic football team. Well-coached, very aggressive on defense,” Joseph said. “They’re going to come in here to play. They won’t be intimidated coming in here.”
GSU Quarterback C’Zavian Teasett has completed 29-of-40 passes so far this season for three touchdowns with one interception while Tyson George and Brandon Myles, Jr. lead the Tigers with five receptions and one score each.
Graduate senior Tre Bradford leads GSU in rushing with 13 carries for 71 yards and a score.
That averages out to 7.8 yards per carry, even after facing one of the best defenses in the country.
Speaking of defenses, the Tigers are led by Tyrell Raby and Quintin Talley with seven tackles each.
Raby also has Grambling’s only interceptions on the year with two.
