By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Lincoln Parish Journal
PINE BLUFF, Ark. — After a midseason surge, it’s been one step up and two steps back for the Grambling State football team in recent weeks.
The Tigers will be looking to make a big leap forward with a rare Friday game as Grambling State plays at Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 8 p.m. tonight in a game that will be televised live on ESPU.
UAPB stands at 1-8 overall and 0-6 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play while Grambling enters the game at 4-5 overall and 3-5 in SWAC action after falling 17-6 last week at Alabama State in a contest where GSU’s offense never established any kind of rhythm.
“We were very disappointed in the loss to Alabama State,” said GSU coach Hue Jackson. “We didn’t play as well as we could.”
Grambling has lost three of its last four games.
“The bottom line is that we’ve got to play better, coach better, all of that,” Jackson said. “And it is disappointing. We don’t want to be a team only one game better than a year ago.”
A big part of Grambling’s inconsistency is the difference of play from its offense and defense.
“Obviously we’ve been slowed down a little bit,” Jackson said. “As our defense has gotten better, now we’re not scoring as many points as we had been. So we’ve got to kick it back up again.
“It’s the ebb and flow of the football season. Guys have to stay locked in and we have to go finish every game we play.”
Jackson said Grambling’s struggles aren’t about depth but lie in what’s happening out on the field during games.
“I don’t think we have a depth problem,” Jackson said. “I think we have an execution problem. We need to understand play in and play out that we have to execute and be at your best when it’s gameday.”
Jackson said he believes his team is better this year than it was last year.
“We’re better, and I think the numbers show that,” Jackson said. “I think we’re better, but I don’t think we’re where we need to be right now. We’ve got some work to do. We get it. We want to be better than where we are.”
Jackson said he never put a timetable on what kind of success he wanted his team to reach by any specific point in time.
“I knew it was going to take some time because recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. You’ve got to go build those relationships,” Jackson said. “But I’m not going to say that I knew it was going to take this long, or that it was going to be faster. I think every situation is different.
“You’ve got to go in with that thought process. You’ve got to make sure you have the right coaches. You have to make sure you’re recruiting the right players, and all of that goes into the pot to get it all done.”
Jackson will start Myles Crawley at quarterback. The big question for GSU is can Crawley break out of the slump he’s been in after a strong start to the season?
After throwing 10 touchdowns and only one interception in the first five games of the season, Crawley has only connected on three touchdowns over the past four games while being picked off six times.
Contact Scott at tscottboatright@gmail.com
