G-Men head out to take on Texas Southern

By T. Scott Boatright

Grambling State and Texas Southern will face off this weekend in a crucial Southwestern Athletic Conference showdown with a lot at stake for both.

Kickoff is scheduled for today at 6 p.m. at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.

The G-Men are 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the SWAC West, while TSU is 2-4 and 1-2.

But both are behind SWAC West Division leader Southern (3-0) and second-place team Alcorn State, so every single game is important for both.

Grambling coach Mickey Joseph says his G-Men are taking things one game at a time and he knows the next game at Texas Southern will be a challenge.

“They are well coached, they play hard, they run the football and have some really good players,” Joseph said. “They really are a dangerous football team when they are in Houston. They get out of the blocks well on the defensive line and have a really athletic quarterback.

“What we see is a well-coached football team and a competitive football team that will get there.”

One thing the G-Men are focused on is reducing the number of penalties they have received so far this season. Grambling ranks 10th in the SWAC giving up 87.6 yards per game.

“We’re working on it,” Joseph said. “We continue to emphasize what we can and cannot do and that we need to recognize how the game is being run. And if it seems like we're doing extra things, we need to stop. I've spoken to the team and it starts with me and my aggressive style.

“I'm aggressive across the board, so we're a little too aggressive for some of the officials, and I understand that, so I've got to go back to the drawing board with them and work on stopping the bone penalties. Personal fouls and face masks and things like that – immobile punishments – that is what is hurting us at the moment. That's why I have to do a better job as a head coach to get them to throw their hands up and not retaliate when they get slapped. I have to get her to do what most men can't: just walk away when someone hits you in the helmet. And that's what I'm going to do. We talked about it this week and made a pact that we will abandon.”

Joseph played part of backup quarterback Ashton Frye in last week's 31-21 homecoming win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and tried to boost his team's offensive output.

Starter Myles Crawley, the preseason SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, completed 15 of 25 passes for 170 yards with a touchdown, while Frye completed three of five passes for five yards.

Joseph admits he is still looking for more production at quarterback and declined to name a starter for the game against TSU during the SWAC's online press conference this week.

“I'm still disappointed that they're not making the reads they need to, so we're going to go back and give them equal reps and see who plays on Saturday,” Joseph said. “Who will be more consistent? Who will read it? Who will put us in the right game? Who will be our quarterback?

“And that’s the problem I have with both of them right now.”

Crawley completed 125 of 213 pass attempts (58.69%) for 1,367 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Frye and Deljay Bailey have had limited time behind center so far this season, with Frye hitting three of six passes while Bailey made three of six attempts in relief duty against Tuskegee and Texas A&M-Commerce.

Texas Southern ranks sixth in both SWAC offense and defense, while GSU ranks eighth in offense and fourth in defense.

Andrew Jones leads Grambling and the SWAC with 11.3 tackles per game.

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