For the fans, this weekend is as much about the bands, the tailgating, the fellowship and a little smack talking as it about what happens from 3:30 p.m. till about 7 p.m. Saturday during the Atlanta Football Classic.
But for Tennessee State coach Rod Reed and Florida A&M coach Joe Taylor, all of that gravy is nice. But that’s all it is -- gravy.
“To me and my players, we’ve got to take it as any other game,” Taylor said. “We realize the tradition, and that is special to a lot of people, but for us, we’ve got to look at this as a business trip. The will to prepare has to be greater than the will to win.”
Still, this is Atlanta, with all of its potential distractions, and expectations are for at least 50,000 people to pack the Georgia Dome. And the game is nationally televised by Versus. So good luck convincing a bunch of 20-year-olds that this is business as usual.
“Coach tells us to take every game one at a time, but everyone on the team has circled this one,” Tennessee State junior safety Eugene Clifford said. “We’re ready to play.”
Taylor grinned, and Reed cringed just a bit with that moment of honesty. But with Tennessee State having lost the past eight games in this classic, the onus is on Tennessee State. The Tigers are 1-2 this season, having lost twice in the last 30 seconds by a combined nine points. So to say they are antsy to get a win, particularly in this series, would be an understatement.
“I’m sure our guys have circled it more than their guys have,” said Reed, taking some of the pressure off Clifford. “They’ve got they win streak in this series, so maybe it’s more important to our guys.”
Hardly. The Rattlers plan to use this game as springboard to next week’s game against South Carolina State, but know this one comes first.
“We know they’ve come to win, and it’s going to be an uphill battle for us,” defensive end Kendrick Washington said. “Tennessee State is much better than their record indicates, and we’re expecting to see a team that’s better than a 1-2 team.”
During a Friday news conference, there was a fair amount of good-natured gamesmanship. Reed, who was an assistant coach for years, is here for the first time as a head coach.
“First I’d like to congratulate coach Reed for being here as head coach,” Taylor said. “So congrats. And be careful what you wish for.”
The conversation quickly turned to recruiting, and what this game means to both schools in attracting quality players.
“We recruit Florida hard,” Reed said. “And coach Taylor is doing everything he can to keep us out.
“That’s right,” Taylor said. “They came in and got a lineman from Jacksonville last year, and I’m not happy about that.”
Both coaches said playing in Atlanta helps them recruit this talent-rich area.
“This is so valuable to us because we recruit Atlanta hard,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a few on our roster now from Atlanta.”
Florida A&M center Shelley Anthony is from Sandy Creek and running back Lonvontae Page is from Douglas County. Tennessee State features receiver Deandre Dennis from Marietta, defensive back Justin Jennings from Dunwoody and offensive lineman Derek Sibley from Stone Mountain.
As far as the game itself, each team is concerned about the other’s speed. Florida A&M has one loss -- a 45-0 season opener against Miami. Games like that, Taylor said, provide a decent gauge on where the team is, but also lets them know they’ve faced the toughest competition they’ll see all year.
“We want to get better after every game, and I think we’ve done that, and so probably has Tennessee State. The Miami game helped us do that, but we look at the season as a process of getting better.
Reed believes his team is as ready as can be, but knows players such as tailback Phillip Sylvester can make life difficult for the Tigers.
"They are all fast," Reed said. "Defensively, receivers, running backs. We're going to have to keep up with them to have a chance."
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