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| GSU Tigers (8-2) take on SU Jaguars (8-3) in the 41st Bayou Classic. Photo credit:SWAC |
+Rodney Fisher
Yes. The Grambling State football team that abandoned their own program a year ago due to the inhumane conditions of the facilities and poor treatment are now 8-2 (7-1 in conference play) and find themselves one win away from advancing to the SWAC championship game in Houston next week. Not bad for a football program that was 2-21 over the last two seasons.
GSU first-year head coach Broderick Fobbs gets majority of the credit for the dramatic turnaround. Fobbs is a graduate of the school and took a personal interest in restoring the football program back to the legacy established by Eddie Robinson. He now finds himself a lead candidate to win the Eddie Robinson Award for coach of the year.
"Some said (it) was impossible", says Fobbs. "I knew it could be done. I believed this could be something special because it always had been."
For the Jaguars of Southern University, a win the break the 30-30 overall tie (20-20 in the classic) with GSU would mean a chance to repeat as SWAC champions. Last year they defeated Jackson State to win the championship.
Southern won last year's Bayou Classic 40-17 and put on a defensive clinic. This season the defense has not been as stout, allowing opponents to score 34.3 points per game.
Alcorn State has already advanced to next week's championship game and will be watching this game closely.
