LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Conference play is here for Prairie View A&M football as the Panthers face Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Saturday's game kicks off at 6 p.m. from Golden Lion Stadium. The Panther Sports Network radio broadcast begins at 5:30 p.m. with Panthers Countdown To Kickoff online at pvpanthers.com/sportsnetwork.
Both teams (PVAMU 1-3, UAPB 1-2) will open league play in a matchup of two of the SWAC's five new head coaches in the Panthers'
Eric Dooley and the Golden Lions' Cedric Thomas (formerly Alcorn State's defensive coordinator).
The Panthers completed the non-conference schedule last week at UNLV. Playing the league's toughest non-conference schedule (at Rice, vs. North Carolina Central, at #4 Sam Houston St., at UNLV), Prairie View A&M ranks third in the SWAC in total offense, averaging 404.5 yards per game. RB
Dawonya Tucker continues to lead all of Division I (both FBS and FCS) in rushing with 603 yards this season.
Defensively, Prairie View A&M ranks third in total defense, yielding 397.0 yards per game. The Panthers have forced six turnovers in the last two games (three fumble recoveries, three interceptions), including an interception in both games by
Jaylen Harris.
"I thought practice went well this week," said PVAMU head coach
Eric Dooley. "We're playing fast. We understand the situation. We understand the magnitude of this game. I thought they came out and competed this week."
Since divisional play began in 1999, only three times (2006, 2011, 2013) has the West champ had two or more losses. In the other 16 years, the West Division champion went undefeated seven times, including Prairie View A&M's 9-0 mark in 2009 en route to the SWAC Championship.
"It's going to be a battle," Dooley said. "It's going to be a hard-fought battle and that's what we've prepared for. We accept the challenge. We just have to play 60 minutes of football."
