Same Ole Song on Bulldogs to Jacksonville
Story by Ivan McDowell, SON sports editor

As I stood in the press box of Jack Crowe Stadium Saturday night amidst the Bulldogs 45-18 blowout loss I couldn't help but hum to myself the old Four Tops classic tune "Oh it's the same… ole song…well you know the rest. For the Alabama A&M Bulldog football team it was the same ole song; the same ole Bulldogs from week one against Tennessee State and the same old Bulldogs when A&M traveled to Jacksonville State.

Now, before I get into the numerous questionable calls made by the obviously biased officials, I'd like to bring up something that is readily apparent for this year's Bulldogs football team. Last seasons' loss of the entire corps of fullbacks is clearly hurting the team. Sure Ulysses Banks numbers were decent Saturday night; as were tailback partner Anthony Green. But looking inside the numbers, Banks and Green spent much of their time looking for holes inside, yet eventually having to bounce everything outside. An interior, between the tackles, power back would greatly aid the Bulldogs' quest for more efficient attack. The problem is there isn't one on the roster.
Now, back to those questionable calls.

Leading 12-10 a little more than halfway through the second quarter, A&M was feeling good about themselves and seemingly had momentum as the clock ticked down towards halftime. Three consecutive "head scratchers", as my colleague Reggie Benson would call them, changed not only the momentum, but essentially the outcome of the contest. One of which took away a pretty sideline connection from sophomore quarterback Kevin Atkins to junior receiver Thomas Harris. The officials ruled Harris didn't have a foot down after catching the ball and before he was forced out of bounds. Clearly, Harris got one foot down. The A&M drive stalled shortly thereafter.

On a subsequent JSU drive, Ryan Perrilloux found his receiver wide open over the middle for a deep gain, but the receiver couldn't hold on and the ball went through his hands, hit the turf and bounced back into his hands. Clearly, it was an incomplete pass. It was ruled a catch, setting up the Gamecocks for a score.

Lastly, and that doesn't mean these were the only calls, just that I won't belabor the points anymore. Oh yeah, Coach Jones was seen attempting to call a timeout on numerous occasions only to get completely ignored by the referee. You get the picture.

A&M travels to Louisiana-Monroe
The Bulldogs travel to the bayou for a rare long distance, out-of-conference road game. Considering the Bulldogs' problems running the ball; their inability to stop the run consistently and the still relative inexperience of quarterback Kevin Atkins, this one probably won't be pretty. Did I mention that the Warhawks beat Alabama last year? More recently, ULM lost a 28-27 thriller last week against another SEC power Arkansas. The "payday" game will kickoff at 6:00 pm.