Southwestern Athletic Conference play is here for Prairie View A&M University football as the Panthers play at Alabama State Saturday night.
 
PVAMU (0-2, 0-0) and the Hornets (0-3, 0-0) will kickoff from ASU Stadium Saturday at 7 p.m. The Panther Sports Network Radio Broadcast will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Synergy Radio 1480 AM and online at pvpanthers.com/sportsnetwork.
 
In most years, the Panthers would have already had a conference game under their belts, with the annual matchup against Texas Southern opening the season. Due to Hurricane Harvey, the Labor Day Classic has been rescheduled for Thanksgiving weekend for the first time since 2005.
 
That, combined with the ultracompetitive Western Division of the conference, gives a different feel and thought process for third year PVAMU head coach Willie Simmons. The winner of the division has combined for one loss in league play in the past three seasons.
 
"Playoff mode," Simmons said. "In the last two years, the winner out of the West (Grambling) has been undefeated in conference play during the regular season. That's our mindset. We're in playoff mode. We definitely have to take that mindset to come in and feel like we can't afford to drop a game, thinking that Grambling and Southern will lose twice. If we take that mindset, we will give ourselves the best chance to win."
 
Coming off last week's loss at Nicholls, the Panthers have refocused to have a good week of preparation in the first conference game. PVAMU has had great success under Simmons on the road, winning all eight contests in opposing team venues in league play, including a 38-13 win in Montgomery in 2015.
 
"The energy in practice has been good," Simmons said. "The senior leadership started to step up as practice went on, which was good to see. Wednesday was a huge fundamental day for us to really get a great feel for them and work on a lot of key situations, and on Thursday we put it all together. I feel like we've had a good week."
 
The Hornets have dropped home games against Tuskegee (14-6) and Kennesaw State (20-14), along with a road loss at Troy (34-7).
 
"Offensively they are trying to establish the run," Simmons said. "That's typically been the M.O. of offensive coordinator Mark Orlando as a play caller. His teams have always been able to run the ball effectively wherever he's been. During his time here at Prairie View, he had Johnta' Hebert and Courtney Brown. Khalid Thomas for Alabama State last year was the biggest part of their offense. Now they are trying to find that new guy, and George Golden appears to be that guy for them. They want to establish the run, and get the ball on the perimeter within the run game."
 
Alabama State has been stout defensively, limiting opponents to less than 23 points per game and only 105 yards per game on the ground.
 
"Defensively, you see a sound team that doesn't beat themselves," Simmons said. "They keep everything in front of them, and force you to execute for four quarters. The opposing challenge for us is to test our fundamentals, and test our patience as play-callers and as players."
 

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