Albany State, Savannah State meet Saturday in SIAC football opener

ALBANY — Albany State is 0-2.

In the race that matters most, the Golden Rams are 0-0.

And David Bowser wants his players to understand the difference.

After opening the season with back-to-back losses against Florida A&M and Johnson C. Smith, Albany State travels to Savannah State Saturday night for the SIAC opener for both teams.

The start hasn’t been pretty.

The goals haven’t changed.

“We still have our goals ahead of us,” Bowser said. “All of our practices, walk-throughs and work has been positive. The guys know we have had a tough start, but they are encouraged. We can still go win the SIAC and make the playoffs.”

That’s what makes Saturday different.

Albany State’s first two games came against formidable competition — a 20-7 loss at Division I FCS Florida A&M followed by Sunday’s 27-7 loss to Johnson C. Smith in the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic.

Now the eight-game SIAC grind begins.

And if Albany State is going to contend for a championship, Bowser knows where the improvement must start.

“The defense is obviously a little ahead of the offense,” he said. “In our two games, our defense held both FAMU and Johnson C. Smith to under 70 snaps and less than 300 yards of offense. That’s pretty impressive.”

Bowser isn’t blaming the offense for being behind.

He’s asking for patience with it.

Albany State has only one returning offensive starter. There’s a new quarterback learning a new system and an offensive line featuring two freshmen and two sophomores.

“They are going to be good, they just need some time,” Bowser said.

What they can’t afford are mistakes that make the learning curve even steeper.

Bowser pointed to penalties that have erased runs of 20 or 25 yards. Quarterback decisions need to come quicker. Against Johnson C. Smith, Albany State managed 227 yards and threw three interceptions.

“I really believe that if we can get to the point where we can score early, we can get some confidence going,” Bowser said. “I think that’s what we really need.”

Special teams must clean things up, too.

Albany State has had a field goal blocked, while a kickoff return for a touchdown and a punt return that would have flipped field position were erased by penalties.

Those are mistakes the Golden Rams can ill afford Saturday.

Savannah State is also searching for its first victory under a new head coach. Thomas Howard’s debut ended with an 87-0 loss at South Carolina State, the top-ranked Division I HBCU team, before the Tigers had last weekend off.

But Albany State knows better than to judge Savannah State by one ugly score.

The Golden Rams needed a late interception to preserve a 21-18 victory over the Tigers last season. And the last time Albany State went to Savannah, the Tigers won 28-26.

Albany State leads the all-time series 47-19-2, but recent history suggests Saturday could be another fight.

Two winless teams.

Two first-year head coaches looking for their first victories.

And, most importantly, two teams starting from exactly the same place in the SIAC standings.

0-0.

For Albany State, the difficult start can’t be changed.

Everything that comes next can.

Kickoff: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Theodore A. Wright Stadium, Savannah
TV: SIAC Network