Sports

ASU vs. FVSU: As good as it gets

Scott Chancey

Quick.

How many Fort Valley State football players does it take to change a light bulb? Or better yet, how many Albany State football players does it take to change a light bulb?

Chances are fans, students and alumni on both sides will toss around jokes like these —maybe even some that can’t be printed here — while both teams get ready for Saturday’s Fountain City Classic in Columbus.

The crowd will be overflowing, traffic will be a nightmare, and it would be harder to find better tailgating anywhere.

And oh yeah, there’s the game.

These two teams are rivals, with no love lost whatsoever, and a win would carry with it bragging rights for a complete year.

Heck, there is even an early-week press conference — the Rams’ only one all year —that takes place at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Columbus.

Then, and only then, will the real verbal smackdown take place.

“It’s always a big game because it usually has something to do with the conference championship or the playoffs,” Rams coach Mike White said. “On top of that, they’re our main rival. We compete against them in every sport, so it’s a big deal.”

It’s the Blue-n-Gold Super Bowl, and one of black college football’s marquee games could not have higher stakes. The winner will advance to the NCAA Division II playoffs. A fifth consecutive conference title for Albany State is out of the question after Fort Valley State beat Lane on Saturday. That enabled Tuskegee — who tied Albany State for last year’s conference title — to win this year’s conference crown outright with one more SIAC game remaining.

Of course, since Tuskegee doesn’t participate in the playoffs, that leaves the right to be the conference’s postseason representative to either Albany State or Fort Valley State.

In a word, wow. But that’s nothing new to Albany State. In 2003, because Tuskegee defeated Kentucky State and took away the Thorobreds’ title hopes on the season’s final day, the conference’s championship hinged on the Rams-Wildcats outcome.

The only difference was that Albany State and Fort Valley State needed some help to win the conference. This year, the game’s implication is clear —win and you’re in.

“I hadn’t really thought about the playoffs thrown into the mix (against Fort Valley State),” White said after Saturday’s win against Morehouse. “You can’t really throw much more gas on that fire.”

Here’s something else that will add fuel to that fire. Both teams are playing their best football. The Rams’ offense, which struggled to find balance for most of the season, accounted for 514 yards and 49 points against Morehouse. Rams quarterback Kisan Flakes found open receivers; and when they weren’t, he simply ran.

Fort Valley State, which has gotten a big year by Dougherty product and safety, Courtney Love, outlasted Lane, 25-22, on Saturday. While Albany State has a strong running game, the Wildcats proved they could do the same thing against the Dragons when Pierre Brown rushed for 262 yards on only 25 carries.

The rivalry between these two teams will always be there, but not always what’s at stake. Albany State and Fort Valley State will play for their season’s lives.

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