By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Lincoln Parish Journal
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — If nothing else, pride is on the line for the Grambling State football team as the Tigers hit the road for a second straight week to play Saturday at struggling Bethune-Cookman in a game set to kick off at 2 p.m. CDT inside Daytona Stadium.
The G-Men are coming off a 24-17 loss at Texas Southern that dropped GSU to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. The Wildcats are 1-7 overall, 1-3 in the SWAC.
Grambling’s loss at TSU has made it virtually impossible to win the SWAC West. But the Tigers want to win their final three games and end the season with a decent record in head coach Mickey Joseph’s first year at the helm.
Joseph’s Tigers are also facing injury issues that will likely cause GSU to audible away from its usual style of play.
During last week’s loss at Texas Southern, GSU starting quarterback Myles Crawley was knocked out of the game with an early injury. After backup Ashton Frye struggled in his time calling offensive signals, Grambling coach Mickey Joseph turned to his third quarterback of the game, Deljay Bailey, who directed the GSU offense in the final three quarters of the contest.
Grambling gained 110 yards through the air, with Bailey leading the way with 70 yards on seven-of-12 passing.
Changes are likely in store for Grambling against Bethune-Cookman. Joseph said Crawley might be out for 2-3 weeks.
“I think the game plan changes a little bit to more of a run-option,” Joseph said of going with Frye or Bailey behind center. “We’ve got to protect them in the dropback game, but I think just getting them to carry the ball a little bit is going to help them get into the style they play that we’re not used to playing.
“But I think we’ll run the quarterback more and also hand the ball off to the backs more and just probably take some shots.”
Joseph said the Wildcats won’t be a pushover despite having only one win.
“It’s going to be tough,” Joseph said. “Watching them, they played Jackson (State) pretty tough last week. I think Jackson turned it on in the second half. But they ‘re going to be tough.
“I told the kids when you’re playing these teams on the road and they’re playing at home, they’re no different than you. They’re going to play tough at home. Because they don’t have to change their routine at home. They’re in their backyard.
“We’ve got to get in there and run the ball offensively, stop the run on defense and cut down on the penalties.”
Potentially getting more carries this week will be GSU’s three-headed running back monster. Redshirt senior Ke’Travion Hargrove, a Ruston High School product, leads Grambling with 376 yards and four scores on 78 rushing attempts while fellow redshirt senior Tre Bradford has added 311 yards and four touchdowns on 82 carries.
Dedrick Talbert is the punishing power back among the trio and has chipped in with 119 yards and three TDs on 27 handoffs.
Bailey leads the team in yards per carry at 7.9 per attempt.
The Wildcats are averaging 263.6 yards of offense per game while allowing opponents 490.6
Conversely, the Tigers have recorded 300.18 yards per outing offensively while giving up 381.8.
Contact Scott at tscottboatright@gmail.com