Coaches often use whatever slight they can find as motivation for their players.
Imagine the gift Prairie View football coach Bubba McDowell received when the Panthers were selected to finish fifth in the SWAC West in the preseason poll in July, despite bringing back much of their talent from a team that had either won or tied for the division title the previous two seasons, including third-year starting quarterback Trazon Connley.
McDowell ran with it.
“We made it very clear,” McDowell said to the Defender this week. “‘They voted you guys here even after the season you had last year. What are you going to do about it?’ We’ve been throwing it in their face every chance we get. ‘Now you have to go out there and prove everybody wrong.’”
The Panthers have done just that. As a result of last weekend’s 21-14 home win over Alabama State, they are headed back to the SWAC Championship Game for the second time in the last three seasons. They will face the FCS’s seventh-ranked Florida A&M Rattlers in the conference championship game on Dec. 2 in Tallahassee, Fla.
“It’s the championship game, so I expect those guys to come in and play with the thought that they can win it. That’s what you would expect from those guys. We’ve got to be prepared for a dog fight. That’s championship-level football.”
famu coach willie simmons
It’s a mountain to climb, considering the Rattlers are stacked on both sides of the football and come into this game riding a 16-game winning streak in SWAC play and have won their last eight straight games. And when Prairie View traveled to Tallahassee last month, things didn’t end well after FAMU used a big second half to prevail with a 45-7 blowout victory at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
The Panthers will be a decided underdog again this time around, but it’s still an opportunity nonetheless.
“Going down there, we knew what happened last time. We didn’t have everybody with us last time, had some guys hurt, some guys suspended during the course of that game,” said McDowell, whose team is 6-5 overall and 6-2 in SWAC play. “But we should have everybody healthy and ready to go.”
Since the Oct. 28 loss to the Rattlers, Prairie View has gone on a three-game winning streak to earn at least a share of the West title for the third straight season. Another slipup would have meant another denial of the conference championship and a chance to play for the Black National Championship in the Celebration Bowl, where Howard University awaits.
“It means a lot. It was big,” McDowell said of winning the West Division title. “We’ve been in this position several times when Coach (Eric) Dooley was here and with (Willie) Simmons (the current FAMU coach). We’ve had chances in the past to secure a bid for the SWAC Championship and it didn’t happen. Of course, last year we were in the same situation.
“We still have some work to do, so once we get there, we still have to take care of our business. They knew exactly what I meant by that and they’ve been going out these last several games and putting things together and clicking all on the same page, offensively, defensively and special teams-wise.”
While Simmons is confident in his group, which has gone 10-1 overall and 8-0 this season, he has cautioned them to forget about what transpired in last month’s win over the Panthers.
“It’s the championship game, so I expect those guys to come in and play with the thought that they can win it. That’s what you would expect from those guys,” said Simmons, whose team has won all 10 games it has been favored in this season. “We’ve got to be prepared for a dog fight. That’s championship-level football.
“There are only two teams left standing. Most FCS teams have turned in their shoulder pads. We are blessed with the opportunity to still be playing football. I’m sure those guys are, too. Whenever you have that, you have to expect that those guys are coming in here fired up, ready to play.”
The Panthers will head home for the Thanksgiving Break this week, then return next week to finish preparing for the Rattlers. McDowell has no doubt his team will remain focused on this showdown.
“They know what the task is and they deserve what they have right now.,” McDowell said. “They know what we are going to do. We know what they are going to do. We just have to go out there and play lights-out football against a good football team.
“Without a doubt, they are the best right now, and rightfully so. We are going to their place again and guys have to understand it can’t be a showing like we had the last time down there. It has to be something totally different. And in order for that to happen, they’ve got to stay the course. They’ve got to stay locked in.”
2023 SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL GAME
Who: Prairie View vs. No. 7 Florida A&M
When: Saturday, Dec. 2, 3 p.m.
Where: Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee, Fla.
TV: ESPN2
Tickets: Go to Ticketmaster or check online at https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/22005F63C61D179B
