By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Lincoln Parish Journal
FORT WORTH, Texas — It’s a classic matchup of David vs. Goliath as Grambling State travels to Texas Christian University for a 7 p.m. showdown on Saturday.
And it won’t help the underdogs that 2-0 GSU will be facing a 0-1 TCU team still smarting after being upset by North Carolina 15-10 in Ireland in the Horned Frogs’ season opener Aug. 29.
It’s simply one of those things HBCUs are basically forced to do — play for the money they can get facing Power 4 conference programs.
After overwhelming two lower-division opponents at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium, the shoe will be on the other foot in TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium.
This will be Grambling’s second time visiting TCU. In 2012, the Horned Frogs won 56-0.
“Gotta pay the bills,” Grambling coach Mickey Joseph said. “You gotta pay the bills at Grambling. I think that the value in it is that we get to see where we’re at. We get to use it as a measuring stick outside of a Division II school. We’re overmatched. Financially, they’re better than us. Talentwise, they’re better than us.
“But it’s good to see where this team is at because there are certain things that we’re going to get away with against Division II schools that we’re not going to get away with Saturday night.”
Joseph said his Tigers know what they will be facing but won’t be intimidated.
“Just like last year against Ohio State, we won’t be intimidated.” Joseph said. “We want to be clean. We want to make sure the matchup is clean and we want to come out healthy.”
“Just follow the money in college football,” Joseph said. “Just follow the money in college football and you’ll see who the better teams are. That’s why the team up north in Michigan is having so much hoopla right now — they’ve got more money than Western Michigan, so how did it get like that?
“Like I told my kids, it’s a one-game series,” Joseph said. “It’s not a four-game series, it’s not a five-game series, it’s a one-game series. So now, we’ve got to go play our best ball for one game. We’ll never have to see TCU again. TCU has nothing to do with us winning the (Southwestern Athletic Conference) West (division). Nothing to do with us winning a SWAC championship or a HBCU championship.”
Grambling has used four quarterbacks this season with Reginald Johnson seemingly taking over the No. 1 reins last week.
Johnson, a transfer from Florida A&M, got the majority of work at quarterback for the G-Men in the 38-26 win over Central State, completing 18-of-23 passes for 250 yards, including a 50-yard pass to Tyson George, who led Grambling with five receptions for 93 yards.
Jakobe Robinson, a transfer from Southern Mississippi, first entered the game as Grambling’s second quarterback at the 5:44 mark of the first quarter and completed 1-of-3 passes for 25 yards and a third quarter interception that wasn’t his fault. That pass hit the GSU receiver in the hands, but it went through the attempted receivers and was picked off by the Marauders.
Sophomore Hayden Benoit directed Grambling’s final scoring drive, taking a QB sneak into the end zone with 31 seconds remaining.
But despite the fact Johnson has recorded 33 of Grambling’s 44 completions and 40-of-66 attempted passes for the G-Men, during his weekly press conference on Monday, Joseph declined to name a No. 1 starting quarterback heading to TCU.
“Yeah, you want to name him (the starter),” said Joseph, a New Orleans native who was a star quarterback for Tom Osborne at Nebraska. “I told him that I’m going to keep him in a (quarterback competition) battle until after TCU. Remember, RJ (Johnson) just got here. We want RJ to keep getting better.
“Sometimes, with this generation of players, once you say, ‘You’re the guy,’ they get complacent. He knows I’m going to keep the heat on him. He knows if he misses two passes, I’ll pull him out. We’ll start him again, but we’re going to play (Robinson) and Frye also. So, he’s still in a quarterback battle. I know everybody thinks it’s stupid, but I have to do it my way.”
Contact Scott at tscottboatright@gmail.com