SAVANNAH STATE
LOCATION: Savannah, Ga.
ENROLLMENT: 3,200
FOUNDED: 1890
NICKNAME: Tigers
COLORS: Burnt Orange and Reflex Blue
CONFERENCE: FCS Independent (slated to join the MEAC in 2011).
STADIUM: Ted A. Wright Stadium (8,000)
SURFACE: Natural grass

HEAD COACH: Julius Dixon (Furman, ‘90) (Interim)
RECORD: 0-4 (1st season)

2009 RECORD: 2-8
POSTSEASON: None
OFFENSIVE FORMATION: Spread
DEFENSIVE FORMATION: Base 4-3
LETTERMAN RETURNING/LOST: 51/31
STARTERS RETURNING/LOST: 15/7
OFFENSIVE/DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING: 8/7

2009 RESULTS (2-8)
September
5…......at Livingstone…......................W, 34-12
12…....ALABAMA STATE…...............L, 20-17
19…....at McNeese State…................L, 56-0
26…....at Concordia College-Selma…..L, 23-21
October
3…......at Charleston Southern….........L, 47-10
17…....BETHUNE-COOKMAN….........L, 34-24
24…....OLD DOMINION…..................L, 38-17
31….....EDWARD WATERS…...........W, 45-24
November
14….....WEBBER INTERNATIONAL…..L, 35-20
21….....at North Carolina Central….......L, 35-14

2010 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
September
4….......at Georgia Southern….................L, 48-3
11….....at Fort Valley State…..................L, 41-10
18….....at Bethune-Cookman…...............L, 42-7
25….....at Albany State….......................L, 28-14
October
2….......at Liberty…..................................7 p.m.
9….......at Georgia State…........................1 p.m.
16….....at Florida A&M…..........................3 p.m.
23….....at Alabama State….......................1 p.m.
November
6….......at Old Dominion….........................2 p.m.
13….....NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL….....2 p.m.
20….....NORFOLK STATE…......................2 p.m.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

RB JUSTIN BABB
Photo credit: Savannah State University

Babb leads the Tigers with 260 yards on 41 carries and has scored one touchdown.

LB J. VINCE COCHRAN

Cochran leads Savannah State with 46 tackles, including three for loss.

DB CEDRIC CHAMBERS

Chambers has 17 tackles, one interception, a pass breakup and two passes defensed.

***

My vote in this week’s TSN Top 25:

1 James Madison
2 Villanova
3 Appalachian State
4 Delaware
5 Jacksonville State
6 Massachusetts
7 Stephen F. Austin
8 William & Mary
9 Montana State
10 Cal Poly
11 Richmond
12 Furman
13 Wofford
14 Northern Arizona
15 North Dakota State
16 Central Arkansas
17 Eastern Washington
18 New Hampshire
19 Montana
20 South Carolina State
21 South Dakota
22 Northern Iowa
23 Georgia Southern
24 Texas State
25 Liberty

—Quick notes: If anyone can explain to me why a 1-3 Elon team or a 1-3 Southern Illinois team deserves to be ranked, then go ahead. Also, I’m not so sure why South Dakota drops from around No. 20 to out of the poll for losing a road game against a ranked team. I thought the top seven teams this week were pretty clear cut. After that, it’s a mess of teams that will shake itself out here in the coming weeks.

***

And some closing thoughts on the Liberty-James Madison game:

1. The Flames’ running game was a concern before, but now it’s officially a problem, I think. I thought even before last week that the offensive line had been struggling to get a good push, and that was really the case again on Saturday. Korrey Davis picked up 15 yards on his first two carries and then did nothing. Any time SirChauncey Holloway tried to get to the outside, the line couldn’t hold long enough for him to get going. And any success this week won’t convince me that the run game is fixed. This Savannah State team is plain awful. I’d be stunned if one of LU’s backs DIDN’T go for more than 100 yards.

2. James Madison deserves to be ranked No. 3 right now based on what it has accomplished this season. But the Dukes’ offense will have to improve if they want to be a real player in the CAA race this season. Scott Noble seemed to give the Dukes’ a real boost in the second half running the football after Liberty did a nice job of keeping Jamal Sullivan from getting going.

3. Tommy Shaver may have dropped a tough pass in the end zone Saturday, but the fact that the tight end caught three passes over the middle with confidence is huge for the Flames going forward. With the run game stalled, the tight end will have to play a huge role in Liberty’s offense to help the Flames gain some chunks of yards.

4. Mike Brown wouldn’t admit to being hurt Saturday, but he clearly was limited with what Flames coach Danny Rocco called a strained MCL. Brown wasn’t running on nearly as many designed run plays and he struggled to get past JMU’s speedy defensive line and linebackers on the outside when he tried to get going.

5. Liberty’s tackling improved immensely Saturday, a big reason why the game was so close. Save for the one drive on the two-minute drill, where QB Drew Dudzik broke several tackles on a 35-yard scramble that set up the game’s only touchdown, Liberty wrapped up and tackled well, a major improvement from the Robert Morris game, where LU missed 15 tackles.

That’s all for today. I’ll be back tomorrow with updates from Rocco’s weekly Tuesday press conference.