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AREA NOTEBOOK Texas Southern turns over a new season Rutgers loss proves key to Tigers' rebound
by Ronnie Turner, Houston Chronicle , The Houston Chronicle
But after TSU's blowout loss at Rutgers in its non-conference finale, second-year coach Johnnie Cole issued a clean slate.
"We had a meeting after the Rutgers game and talked about how we had done playing our preseason and that now it was our new season," Cole said Wednesday. "We wanted to go 6-0.
So far, the rebuilding Tigers are 2-0 in their "new" season.
TSU (3-4, 2-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) is riding a wave of momentum after defeating Jackson State and Alcorn State in its last two games. The Tigers have back-to-back wins against SWAC opponents for the first time since 2003 and will try to make it three straight in Saturday's game at Mississippi Valley State.
The Tigers' 19-17 win over Jackson State on Oct. 17 was their first triumph in the series since 2000, snapping a five-game losing streak. TSU committed a season-high six turnovers in that game, but its defense held Jackson State to only 196 total yards and forced a key turnover in the waning moments to win.
Ball security remains a concern for the Tigers, who lead the SWAC with 24 turnovers, but they turned in a turnover-free game in Saturday's 51-21 homecoming win over Alcorn State. TSU's offense, led by quarterback Arvell Nelson, racked up a season-high 578 total yards that day, helping the Tigers outscore Alcorn State 30-0 in the fourth quarter.
"We always had the mindset that we could win. We just had those tough losses early," said Nelson, who was named SWAC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing three touchdown passes and rushing for a score against Alcorn State.
With a challenging non-conference schedule behind them and a team that appears to have jelled, the Tigers believe they have a legitimate shot at their first winning season since 2000.
Aston questionable
Sam Houston State could find itself without one of its star players for Saturday's key matchup at McNeese State.
Bearkats senior running back and kick returner James Aston injured his knee in last Saturday's 34-30 win over Northwestern State, and his status is uncertain for this weekend.
Should Aston (1,303 all-purpose yards, 10 touchdowns) have to sit out, he would be replaced by junior Chris Poullard, who rushed for 1,038 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2007.
Blinn, Tyler meet in semis
Fourth-ranked Blinn College will host No. 14 Tyler in the semifinals of the Southwest Junior College Football Conference playoffs at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Spencer Stadium in Brenham.
After eight consecutive weeks as the nation's top-ranked junior- college program, the Buccaneers (8-1, 5-1 SWJCFC) slid three spots in the NJCAA poll because of a 23-20 loss to then-No. 2 Navarro on Saturday. Navarro (9-0, 6-0) claimed the SWJCFC regular-season title and top seed for the conference playoffs and moved up to No. 1 in the national poll, while Blinn received the second seed and a matchup against fourth-seeded Tyler (7-2, 4-2).
SHSU tops preseason poll
The Southland Conference released its men and women's basketball preseason polls Wednesday.
On the men's side, Sam Houston State was tabbed to repeat as West Division champion in both the coaches' and sports information directors' polls. Stephen F. Austin was picked to win the East by the coaches, and Nicholls was favored by the SIDs.
In the women's polls, SFA and Lamar were picked to win the East and West Divisions, respectively, by both the coaches and SIDs.
Texas State on the road
Texas State (5-3, 3-1 SLC) and Central Arkansas (5-3, 2-2) will face off in the SLC's game of the week 6 p.m. Saturday in Conway, Ark. The contest will be broadcast locally on KTBU Channel 55.
ronnie.turner@chron.com
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