PRAIRIE VIEW – The Prairie View A&M University athletics department has announced the start times for all home games in the 2020 football season. The Panthers are set for multiple regular season night games for the second year in a row.
The Panthers open the season against arch-rival Texas Southern on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. for the Labor Day Classic in search of their sixth-straight win over the Tigers. This marks the first time since 2017 that Prairie View A&M will begin the campaign at home, and it will be the first time since 2016 that the Panthers open the season against TSU. The game is the 76
th all-time meeting between the sides.
"I'm very excited about this one, and it's going to bring a sense of normalcy back," PVAMU Head Football Coach
Eric Dooley said. "The nation's at a standstill right now with this terrible pandemic going on, but I have faith in God that it's all going to work out for the better not only for Prairie View A&M, but for the rest of the country as well. I'm looking forward to getting our rivalry cranked back up to start the year."
Prairie View A&M returns to friendly confines on Oct. 3 when the Panthers take on Southland Conference member Northwestern State at 6 p.m. to begin a home-and-home series with the Demons. This will be the first-ever meeting between the teams and will be PVAMU's "Pink Out" game in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
"Northwestern State is a school I'm very familiar with," Dooley said, speaking of his Louisiana roots. "It's good for our guys to have the opportunity to take on a team from a different conference, as it's another opportunity to test ourselves."
The Panthers welcome Alabama A&M on Oct. 17 for a 3 p.m. kickoff. This date is designated as Prairie View A&M's Homecoming, this will be the first meeting between the teams since 2016. Prairie View A&M has won four straight over the Bulldogs, with three of them decided by four points or less.
"I know (AAMU) Coach (Connell) Maynor well," Dooley said. "He's had the team in the hunt over the last two years, and with him being an offensive guru in his own right, there should be some fireworks and I think it'll be an exciting atmosphere. Personally, I haven't coached against him in about five or six years, so I'm looking forward to it. We know it won't be an easy matchup or a pushover by any means, as both sides are expecting to compete for the conference title and Maynor is used to coaching in big games."
Kick-off for the Panthers' Nov. 7 game versus conference-runner up Southern is also set for 3 p.m. kick, and is designated as Military and Veterans Appreciation Day. Prairie View A&M then wraps up the home slate with a Nov. 14 contest versus defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Alcorn State at 3 p.m. The Panthers and Braves have been evenly matched in recent meetings, with each side winning five against the other over the past 10 games.
"These two are definitely going to be a challenge," Dooley said. "They've played for the SWAC championship in each of the past two years, so we know what they will represent and we know that we have to bring our best. We feel comfortable playing them in our place and with our fans behind us, we're also confident that we can go out there and get it done."
Keep up with all the latest news and information for PVAMU football by following pvpanthers.com as well as through Twitter via the PVAMU general sports account (@PVAMUPanthers) or the team account (@PVAMUFootball). You can also follow along on at Instagram.com/pvamupanthers.
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