The 2nd game of the season at renovated Williams Stadium is on October 2nd against a familiar foe, Savannah State.

Yeah, the Tigers could use a new logo as much as a winning season … something SSU has not enjoyed in its decade as a Division I program.  The good news for SSU after years of wandering in the abyss of financial despair and FCS Independent status, the Tigers received their best news in years when the MEAC accepted them as provisional members in March of this year.  SSU still needs to upgrade its scholarships, budget and staffing by next year to become a full member.  But for a program that has seem massive turnover in coaches & players, this is a HUGE deal.  Speaking of coaching turnover …

Before the Tigers received the great news from the MEAC, they had to cringe their way through a messy breakup with head coach Robby Wells.  After 3 seasons, Wells states he was forced to resign.  In his resignation letter, he made charges of reverse discrimination and the ensuing lawsuit brought the case to ESPN’s ‘Outside the Lines’.

The best I can tell right now, it appears last year’s defensive coordinator Julius Dixon remains the interim SSU head coach.  You may remember him as the Presbyterian Defensive Coordinator in the Blue Hose’ 1st year at the Division I level under Bobby Bentley.  But it should be noted that all of the official notes list the SSU head coaching position as vacant.  So who knows what direction they might head this fall.

Kurvin Curry leads the Tigers offense.  As a sophomore in 2009, he passed for 1278 yards with 12 TDs & 9 INTs.  He also was team’s second leading rusher with 336 yards and 6 more TDs on the ground.  Justin Babb is back for his senior season after piling up 804 yards & 6 TDs at an impressive 6.2 yards per carry.  Babb is also the top returning receiver with 10 catches for 231 yards and 3 more TDs.  Somebody will have to step up as a receiver for the Tigers to move the ball in 2010.

Courtesy: The Virginian-Pilot

The Tigers were hit hard by graduation on the defensive side of the ball.  The leading returning tackler is cornerback Edward Ndem with 56 in 9 games as well as an interception.  It is tough to say much more about the defensive unit except that it was awful in 2009 and barring some newcomers contributing immediately it will be just as bad in 2010.

In a nutshell, this should be one of the patented poundings we have delivered on the Tigers in recent years.  The only fear is that coming off the trip to Harrisonburg the week before, the Flames might be a little flat.  But Coach Rocco doesn’t allow that to occur very often.