Alabama State hosts Lane College on Saturday for the return of the Labor Day Classic to ASU Stadium after a two-year absence, with kickoff set for 5:05 p.m. in Montgomery. It is the 25th all-time meeting between the two programs and the first since 1975, when Alabama State was still a member of the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Alabama State leads the all-time series 15-8-1. The game will be shown on SWAC TV with James Verret, Stan Beckton and Symone Stanley on the call, and can be heard on WVAS FM 90.7 with Graham Dunn and Mike Peacock.

Robinson Wants No Letdown After a Big Win

Alabama State (1-0) enters off a 30-17 win over Southern in the inaugural Birmingham Football Classic at Legion Field, while Lane College (0-1) is coming off a 16-3 loss to NAIA opponent Bethel in its opener. Head coach Eddie Robinson made clear this week that he is not treating the matchup as a trap game, even after recalling a similar spot from earlier in his tenure. “We beat Southern on Labor Day Classic a couple years ago, and we lost to Miles the next week,” Robinson said. “We’ll definitely put that in their mindset. But if we’re not having the mindset of being defensive, we’re having the mindset of leave no doubt. We need to go out there and show that we’re a better team. We’re a Division One program playing a Division Two team at home, so we’re expected to win the game and dominate the game, so that has to be the mindset we’re going into it with, as opposed to looking at it as a setup game. It’s a game that we need to dominate.”

Robinson also cited situational preparation as the reason his team remained composed during a tight first half against Southern. “We practice a lot of situational football, so we executed that at the end of the half,” he said. “Your preparation breeds confidence. It was nothing that happened in the game that we had not prepared for.”

How Alabama State Rallied Past Southern

Alabama State fell behind by about 10 points early against Southern before its defense took over. The Hornets’ Black SWARM defense yielded 17 points over the first 27 minutes, then shut Southern out over the final 33, holding the Bulls to just 119 total yards in the second half. Redshirt senior cornerback Greg Mangle, a former walk-on now playing on an academic scholarship, intercepted a pass inside the Southern 10-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter, the first interception of his career. Robinson also credited a defensive line rotation of roughly 15 players, many of them younger, with limiting Southern running back Terrel Holly and containing the scrambling of quarterback Christian Falk.

Offensively, Alabama State got a boost from 26 players making their Hornet debuts, including 21 transfers and five true freshmen. Transfer receiver Randall King caught four passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Running backs Jamarie Hostzclaw and T.J. Ramsey combined for 100 yards on 22 carries, and quarterback Andrew Body, the SWAC’s preseason offensive player of the year, passed 2,500 career total offensive yards in the win. Kicker Andrew Abu-Akel made all three of his field-goal attempts.

Scouting Lane College’s Option Attack

Lane College is in its second season under head coach Stanley Connor, who has spent most of his career coaching in Alabama, including two stints at his alma mater Alabama State as a receivers coach from 1986-89, two stints at Alabama A&M, and head coaching jobs at Concordia, Miles and Benedict before taking over at Lane. The Dragons carry 16 players from Alabama on their roster. Lane was held to just 162 total yards, 80 rushing and 82 passing, in its season-opening loss to Bethel, with running backs Crishon Overton and John Christian III leading the ground game.

Robinson said the challenge with Lane is more about discipline than raw talent. “Their offense is unique, as far as the option-type stuff and multiple people holding the ball,” he said. “You have to have good eyes to make sure you’re following where the ball is, and if it’s your responsibility to be in the flat, be in the flat. Don’t try to make somebody else’s play. From a defensive standpoint, you have to be extra disciplined.”

Alabama State hits the road next week for a Sept. 12 matchup at Troy.