When the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff returns to the field Saturday afternoon against Mississippi Valley State, it'll be staring at a team in a nearly identical situation as its own.
The Delta Devils, much like the Golden Lions, are in full rebuilding mode and each has turned to a former defensive coordinator to reset their programs.
Vincent Dancy spent the past three seasons heading up Mississippi Valley State's defense before taking over for Rick Comegy, who was fired two days after the 2017 season ended. Dancy was appointed the team's interim coach following the firing, but the 33-year-old had that tag removed in December.
Mississippi Valley State has lost nine games in a row and 10 of its past 11 overall. The Delta Devils have been outscored 226-61 this season and are last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in offense and next to last in defense, but UAPB Coach Cedric Thomas isn't concerned with statistics. In his eyes, Mississippi Valley State is more than capable of giving the Golden Lions all they can handle.
"I see a ballclub that's similar to ours," Thomas said. "Coach [Dancy] is doing a great job in changing the culture and doing things right. If you look at the product, you can see what those young men out there are doing from a defensive standpoint, offensively and in the kicking game.
"I had a chance to recruit a lot of those kids being from Mississippi, so I know a lot about them. The record doesn't indicate what type of football program and kids coach is dealing with. So we've got our hands full."
The Golden Lions always seem to have a hard time with the Delta Devils. For the past two seasons, Mississippi Valley State has gone into its game against UAPB winless but still found ways to walk away with victories. Last season, the Delta Devils trailed 14-0 early in the second quarter before outscoring the Golden Lions 31-10 over a 20-minute stretch to win 38-31. Needless to say, overconfidence won't be problem for UAPB.
"We're a 1-5 ballclub, and Valley has beaten us the last two years," Thomas said. "How dare we look at anybody as beneath us regardless of the record? We're not there yet.
"We just kind of do a lot of things in house and try to take care of us. You hear a lot of coaches talk about getting better down in the second half of the season, and I think that's what we're striving for."
Good bye week
UAPB Coach Cedric Thomas said he was happy with the work the Golden Lions put in during the team's bye week, but he said he won't know what kind of effect it had until they kick off at 2 p.m. Saturday against Mississippi Valley State.
"Anytime you can go back to the fundamentals and just start from the top, almost like a camp set-up, is always good," Thomas noted. "Got a chance to get some guys in the training room and kinda get some ice on some nagging injuries and things like that. So overall, I thought it went well."
The Golden Lions are mired in a four-game losing streak but showed signs of improvement in their last outing. Thomas mentioned that the team paid extra attention to the defensive side of the ball during the break, particularly putting guys in situations to better suit their skillset. UAPB is last in the league in total defense and gives up an average of 9.4 yards per play.
"That was one of the big things during the off week," Thomas said. "We really just try to hone in and find out what can our kids do the best, what does their skillset allow them to do. We put a structure in from an X's and O's standpoint to allow them to maximize that."
No big rush
Yards have been hard to come by on the ground for Mississippi Valley State this season.
The Delta Devils average just 22 yards per game rushing, which ranks last among all teams in the Football Championship Subdivision. Running back Isaiah Robinson has a team-high 75 yards rushing, with 55 of those coming two weeks ago in a loss to Bethune-Cookman. Slotback John Derrick Smith is second on the team with 49 yards.
According to Mississippi Valley State Coach Vincent Dancy, the issues surrounding the team's rushing attack has more to do with game flow than personnel.
"I don't think it has anything to do with our offensive line or our running backs," he explained. "We're young up front, but I think we've got a good group, and we've proved that in prior weeks. It's hard to get a rhythm in play-calling when you're constantly going backwards and hurting yourself with self-inflicted wounds."
Penalties, penalties
Defense has received the bulk of the blame for the majority of UAPB's losses this season, but the Golden Lions haven't done themselves any favors in the penalty department.
UAPB is seventh in the SWAC in penalty yardage and have been whistled for at least nine penalties in four of its six games. Against Jackson State on Oct. 6, UAPB was flagged 13 times for a league-high 157 yards. The 13 infractions are tied for the third-most in a SWAC game.
Overall, the Golden Lions are 106th in the FCS in penalties per game (8.7), 103rd in total penalties (52), 119th in penalty yards (583) and 123rd in penalty yards per game (97.2).
"Discipline," UAPB Coach Cedric Thomas said last week. "We've got to put them in situations where we strain them mentally. False starts where you go from a second-and-five to a second-and-10. That ball goes from the four-yard line to the nine-yard line, and as a play-caller, that's totally different."
Sports on 10/19/2018