Albany State’s offense looking for a jump start

Saturday’s 20-0 loss to Tuskegee in the White Water Classic was one that left Albany State head coach Gabe Giardina quite displeased.

Mistakes and offensive inefficiency played major roles in the Golden Rams’ loss in Phenix City, Alabama. It was the first time since a 2015 loss at Delta State that Albany State (0-2, 0-1 SIAC) had been shut out.

“We’re shooting ourselves in the foot constantly,” Giardina said. “We take one foot forward, we go three steps back.”

With a home game against unbeaten West Georgia coming up Saturday, here are five takeaways from last week’s game:

Where’s the offense?: Simply put, Albany State couldn’t move the ball against Tuskegee.

Albany State managed just 192 yards of total offense in Saturday’s loss, compared to 310 for Tuskegee. The Rams were held to nine first downs, eight fewer than the Golden Tigers.

For reference, Albany State averaged 346 yards and 16.7 first downs per game last year.

“Offensively, we’ve just got to wake up,” Giardina said. “That starts with me. It’s on me. I’ve got to get that fixed. I’ve got to get us going, executing.”

Albany State started all of its drives in its own territory. Only once Saturday did the Rams conclude a drive inside the Tuskegee 45.

Time of possession also was a factor. Tuskegee held the ball for 37 minutes and 25 seconds, compared to 22:35 for Albany State.

“We can’t self-destruct on offense and play against good competition,” Giardina said. “Tuskegee’s good, stingy on defense. They played hard, and they didn’t give up the big plays.”

Insecurity at quarterback: Kelias Williams and Stephon Masha have shared duties under center so far this season, with neither establishing themselves as a clear-cut No. 1. Both quarterbacks had less-than-stellar performances against Tuskegee.

Williams completed 7-of-14 passes for 46 yards Saturday, throwing two interceptions and not completing a pass for longer than 12 yards.

Masha, meanwhile, connected on 3-of-7 passes for 45 yards, with 40 of those yards coming on a pass to Javon Wooten in the second quarter.

“Most of the (mistakes) were on offense (Saturday),” Giardina said. “We were never in a rhythm. We just didn’t play well at quarterback. We’ve got to take care of the ball. We had the picks, and they were obviously big in the game.”

Penalties pile up: There were 22 penalties issued for 334 yards Saturday, split roughly evenly between the teams.

While there were some personal foul, pass interference and unsportsmanlike penalties called, there were plenty of flags, especially on the Albany State side, that came about because of procedural issues.

Five of Albany State’s penalties came on false starts. A sixth came on a delay-of-game call.

“We’ve got to eliminate the pre-snap stuff,” Giardina said. “I mean, it’s Week 2. We’ve got to eliminate the pre-snap stuff. It should be over, it should be to bed.”

Progress on defense: With the exception of two big pass plays, Albany State’s defense had a strong outing against Tuskegee.

The Rams held the Tigers to 58 rushing yards on 40 carries, holding Tuskegee to just three drives inside the Albany State 45. Tyler Scott had 12 total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, while Victor Roman had 1.5 sacks.

Albany State, however, let a couple of long-yardage situations slip. Tuskegee’s first touchdown, a 31-yard pass from Jamarcus Ezell to Chardian Johnson, came on a third-and-20 play. The Tigers’ other first-half score, another 31-yard pass from Ahmad Deramus to Javarrius Cheatham, came out of a second-and-22 situation.

“Defensively, we were much improved,” Giardina said. “We just tackled a whole lot better. We played physically up front. We were in our gaps. We played assignment football. We did what we should have done in Week 1. I’m proud of our guys, the way they competed on defense.”

Star of the game: Tuskegee’s Rorrick Steward was named the game’s MVP after picking up a pair of second-half interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown two minutes into the fourth quarter that put the game away.

The interceptions Steward, a junior from Decatur, Alabama, picked up Saturday were the first two of his collegiate career.

Steward’s pick-six was one in which he went sideline-to-sideline in order to find open running room. He slipped a couple of tackles, eventually finding his way to the end zone.

“I just knew I just had to get up under (the receiver) on the high route,” Steward said. “Once he threw it to me, I just saw daylight. I just had to go.”

Monday afternoon, the SIAC named Steward its defensive player of the week.