Indianapolis, Indiana - (October 3, 2009) - A spate of second-half turnovers Saturday doomed the Golden Tigers to a 35-15 non-conference loss to Alabama A&M in the Circle City Classic at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis before an announced crowd of 35,289.
The Golden Tigers led 15-0 at one point in the rematch of last year's Circle City Classic, which they won 34-24, before becoming undone in the final 30 minutes. The Golden Tigers committed four turnovers, which led to 17 points for Alabama A&M. They also had a punt blocked, which the Bulldogs recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
The Golden Tigers, 4-2, statistically outplayed Alabama A&M, 4-1 and first in the SWAC Eastern Division. They out-gained the Bulldogs by almost 100 yards in total offense 250-159, and 17-7 in first downs. Alabama A&M running back Ulysses Banks ran for 104 yards. However, the Bulldogs could only manage 21 yards passing against the Golden Tigers' defense, which limited quarterback Kevin Atkins to only complete four of 11 passes.
The Golden Tigers also sacked Atkins four times, and they recovered an Alabama A&M fumble on their four-yard line on a first-and-goal play in the second period.
"The defense played very well,'' Slater said. The Golden Tigers also played well on offense - but only briefly.
They scored on their first possession. Red-shirt freshman Jeremy Williams led them smartly on a five-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Williams.
Eduardo Murillo's 31-yard field goal and a 26-yard touchdown pass from Jeremy Williams to Antoine Mitchell increased the lead to 15-0.
Banks scored on a 49-yard run for Alabama A&M to make it a 15-7 game. The Golden Tigers had an opportunity to extend their lead in the waning seconds but Murillo missed a 33-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
"The first half we played decent,'' Golden Tigers coach Willie Slater said. "In the second half, we got backed up and had a couple of things happen. That's when it snowballed.''
The Golden Tigers unraveled in the third quarter as they were overwhelmed by an avalanche of physical and mental mistakes that enabled Alabama A&M to take the lead and win the game going away.
First, the Golden Tigers lost field position when Wayne Williams ill-advisedly fielded a punt at his two-yard line rather than allowing the ball to go into the end zone. He returned it to the seven. Alabama A&M held the Golden Tigers without a first down and forced a punt, which the Bulldogs blocked and Larry Lumpkin recovered in the end zone for a score.
Atkins' two-point conversion run tied the game at 15-all after the Golden Tigers were penalized for pass interference on the previous two-point attempt.
The Bulldogs took the lead 18-15 on Jeremy Licea's 46-yard field goal after Jeremy Williams fumbled the ball away when he was sacked.
Alabama A&M put the game away in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns in 24 seconds. Interceptions set up both touchdowns.
"It was a case of too many mistakes - physical and mental,'' Slater said. "We did play better than them until we started turning the ball over. We lost focus and things happened that we couldn't control.''
The Golden Tigers struggled offensively as the running game was unproductive. Alabama A&M crowded the line of scrimmage and the Golden Tigers could only manage yards on the ground while averaging 1.5 yards a carry. They didn't fair a lot better throwing the ball. Jeremy Williams, Joshua Harris and Wayne Williams combined to pass for 190 yards.
"It's a little difficult to run against them with eight or nine in the box,'' Slater said. "You have to be able to throw the ball. They did a good job disguising their defenses. They weren't easy to run against. But we should have been able to run better. We're not blocking the run good. I think we would have moved the ball if we hadn't turned it over.''
The Golden Tigers return to SIAC play Saturday against Morehouse in the 74th Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic in Columbus, Ga., in what could well be an elimination game. Albany State leads the conference at 4-0. The Golden Tigers and Morehouse each have one SIAC loss. No team has won the SIAC crown with two or more losses since 1991 when Alabama A&M, Clark Atlanta, Fort Valley, Morehouse and Tuskegee all shared the crown with 5-2 conference records.
