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Hey everybody, welcome to the road to the celebration bowl. I'm Tali Carr along with my broadcast partner on several different platforms, James Hadnot. James, you and I are are in the thick of football season, but it's time to start thinking about, you know, who might make it to Atlanta at the end of the year. Let's look over in the MAK, man. I don't know that there's anybody I can completely write off. South Carolina State is strong. Morgan State a surprise. Uh, Norfick State better than we thought they would be. Uh, North Carolina Central maybe, look, they might need to get it going, right? But I I don't think, you know, is anybody in the MAK just like totally out of it at this point, especially since, look, it's that magic five, six games you got to play? Yeah. No, I don't think so at all. I mean, we just saw Howard recently when they played Hampton and they showed that their ability to run the football and so you love that from Ted White. Obviously, South Carolina State, [music] they're the top dogs. are the reigning champs for a reason, but they just fell recently to the Citadel, I believe. And so, um, you mentioned kind of North Carolina Central, some fans feel like maybe it's a down year for them, but Trey Oliver, uh, he knows what it takes to win in this [music] conference. And as you said, it's not very many games that they have to play, but it is they have to win those games to get in. Um, and then also Delaware State, can't forget about them. Um, they're a team that has a good win on their schedule this year. And so, all the teams, you can't write any of them off. And as you said, the surprise is really [music] Morgan State. You know, nobody knew what they were going to be this year. They have a great quarterback that has kind of set the tone for them. They're good defensively. Um, so definitely excited to see all these different teams and you had it, you hit the nail on the head. You can't count any of them out at all. And but I feel like still South Carolina State still has the pressure because when South Carolina State is coming, it's like, man, we got to beat the Bulldogs. I don't think I think Morgan State is a good team, but I don't think people like, oh yeah, we got to we got to beat Morgan State. [music] remember all those year like it doesn't have that same feel. I feel like maybe that gives them a little less pressure, a little more ease to play with. Oh, no. Absolutely. I mean, when you are the champs, every [music] the the cliche is we got a target on our back. Everybody's going to give us our best shot. But it cliches didn't just come out of nowhere. [laughter] They have some truth to it. And that is the case. We saw it when Lethun Cookman played South Carolina State. They had a they made it a game there down in Daytona. And so, Coach Barry, he knows this, but he also knows that, you know, the Memphis got to go to work. And so, um, they they are going to come to work every single day. They know that they're going to get the team's best shot, and that's why they have to be on their P's and Q's. And that's another reason why last year it came down to them in Delaware State, and they got the W in that game to kind of move on and play in the celebration bowl. So, just super excited for all these different games, all these different teams because it's really anybody's league, but you have a feeling that South Carolina State, uh, they're the they're in they're the leader in the clubhouse right now, right? Look, people start to maybe not buy their tickets, but they start thinking about possibilities. Uh last year it was it was no chance at all that you were going to get the Mike Vic experience back in Atlanta. But hey, Norfick State fans uh ha have the reason the justification to start dreaming a little bit, right? Yeah. And coach Vic said it. He said we were going to be better this year. I remember talking to him at media day and he was like we're going to win more than a game this year. It's just understand like that's that was not what we wanted to be. It was year one. I learned a lot. coaching staff learned a lot. But this year, and in talking to him on the media call, he said, "We just have a better team this year." And because we have a better team, we're making less mistakes. We're doing the things that we need to do to be a team that is formidable in the conference. And he's a he's a competitor. He's one of the biggest competitors uh overall. And so when you're a competitor, you're leading your team in that same fashion. They're going to compete for you. And that's why uh some Norfolk State fans if they want to start booking their tickets, like you said, it might be a little bit too far in advance. We got to see what they're going to do in the league, but you don't even want to call it a dream cuz, you know, that seems like it's more far-fetched. Uh the idea is starting to open itself up and and kind of start to form. That's that's a good way to kind of think about it. So, we're about two hours from Atlanta, driving distance, because we're in Birmingham right now. You and I are hanging out at Swack Basketball uh media day. So, had a good time here in Birmingham. So that road to Atlanta for the swack. Oh, especially [laughter] after last week. I mean that road that road map it's like it's like when you go uh into an area that doesn't have any sales service. You had Siri telling you where you were going and then it's like uh recalibrating recalibrating. That's after last week. That's exactly what's kind of happening in the swag right now. So you you hate it for Alabama State. Andrew Bod's uh ability to return. We don't know what that is. He has the injury to his nonthrowing wrist, but it's a hard cast situation. Uh they lost last week to Bthoon Cookman. Let's start there in the swag. Coach Woody has those boys looking good. You cannot count out Bthun Cookman having a championship season. Absolutely not. And as we saw it last year down the stretch, it came down to the game versus Jackson State. It came down to the games versus Alabama State. uh they weren't able to win those games a season ago, but now they've already taken over the first hurdle, which was Alabama State. They got that done and now it's going to probably come down to their matchup with Jackson State. Can they beat the team that has pretty much came out of the Swack East over the last couple of seasons and represented them on that side of the league? And if they can do that, why can't they be the team, you know, to come out of the swag and play whoever wins out of the Swag West in that Swag Championship game? You know, it still feels like Jackson State is going to be, you know, the town, the team you got to run through for the East. Uh they had a good showing against Alabama&M with their victory in week five. But, you know, going into that, James, I wasn't quite sure exactly, you know, who Jackson State was because they they hadn't yet played somebody. We were like, "Oo, that's a tough tough game." They won the games they were supposed to win, but I I thought&m gave us a more of a glimpse into who Jackson State really is. Oh, yeah. because you don't know what you're going to be until you hit a rock or until you hit a hard place. And for Jackson State, we know they have talent. We could talk about Jared Lockard. We could talk about Nate River. We could talk about even Nate Blunt the fourth and what he's [laughter] been able to do having to sit behind a lot of guys uh recently um in his tenure at Jackson State. Uh but they played some division 2 teams and we said the same thing about South Carolina State. You're beating up on division 2 teams, putting up 60. What does that really mean? You haven't really played anybody yet. But Alabama&M gave them a great effort and they almost beat them. And so that says a lot about Alabama&M, but it also says a lot about Jackson State because we we almost talk about the mark of a champion and your ability to weather a storm while you're in the storm and to be able to get to the other end of it. We saw it versus Tennessee State. We saw it versus Alabama&M. And so we now we know a little bit more about Jackson State, especially this TC Taylor le side because again, I love all these coaches and their sayings that they have. The standard is the standard. you know what it is at Jackson State and the standard is winning but it's winning um despite whatever the circumstances are and we've seen that we saw that in their last game rest Alabama&M so when you look at the uh at least through week five you look at the top 10 division one poll for black college football the only team under 500 ranked is Prairie View&M uh people have not given up hope on Prairie View but this is coming off a loss against Mississippi Valley State they had those tough outofconference games, you're like, "Okay, all right. I see what you're doing." But to return back to the swag and lose uh to Valley, did you lose any confidence in the ability uh for Prairie View&M to potentially make it back to Atlanta? Uh I wouldn't say loss of confidence. It just really shows the parody that's within the swack this year. Because if Mississippi Valley State is giving the reigning champions not only a run for their money, but handing them an L, then it really shows you what this league is this season. Similarly, we talk about Alabama&M and what they did versus Jackson State. They gave the reigning Swag East champions a run for their money and almost gave them an L. And so, um, they're no days off in this league this year. I still think that Prairie A&M has all the pieces to be the team to potentially not only come out of the West, but go to Atlanta. uh especially with Tevin Carter, you know, 300 yards rushing uh to go along with he just threw his first interception in the last game versus Mississippi Valley State. So he came in, I think seven touchdowns, no interceptions, and he was playing pretty much a seamless year. He again, and then really doubling down on that point, no interceptions versus Baylor, no interceptions versus a Stephen F. Austin or a Charlton State, putting up lots of points against Charlton and Stephen F. Austin. Um it shows that they have the quarterback, they have the defense. Um, so there's no reason to lose any hope in them, but it also shows you that they are not unbeatable. My exciting teams uh that have been putting up numbers, giving us great games, UAPB, Grahamling, Alorn State, uh, that that's a little that's a little wasp nest with those threes. Yeah. And then Alorn State, uh, they're the team that I really think about most. We even going back to conversation with Steve Weiss at the beginning of the year. And talking with Cedric Thomas, the head coach for Alorn State last year, they lost the close games. Now, they did have a a tough close loss versus Gramling State on their homecoming, but they have won the close games, I think, versus Texas Southern and versus UAPB. And so, if you're winning more than you're losing, then you're giving yourself a chance. And when you're putting up 60 points, [laughter] you're definitely giving yourself a chance. And so that offense is crazy when you think about what they have, the amount of receivers that Jaylen Tolbert is hitting consistently. You think of Frederick Robertson and Ernest Temple and what they can do on the ground. Their offense is multiple. And they are really something that is exciting. And so if you're putting up that many points, you can beat anybody. And that's a Jackson State. That's a P&M. You're giving yourself a chance when you put up that many points. But Gramling State, they're another team [music] that they I mean they had to put up 60 points in that game. I think it was 63 to 63 59. Yeah. To beat all Cord State. So if they can have that ability themselves, it just shows that there are fireworks that are going to be going all throughout this league. And you can't sleep on Arkansas Fire Bluff because they went toe-to-toe with all Corn State in that Southern Heritage Classic. Yeah. So we have always known it's the same thing every year. The swack is going to come down. you know, you're going to get down to the to the Bayou Classic, you're going to get down to late in the season, and you're still going to be trying to figure things out. But I think even by its own standard of unpredictability this year, it took it up a notch so far. Completely bonkers. I mean, when you think about some of the scores that we mentioned, you know, 6359, um, the two overtimes in the Southern Heritage Classic, more than 90 points combined between [music] Arkansas Pine Bluff and Alorn State. When when you have these just crazy score lines, it it shows one where college football is going in regards to the offense and just what is possible, but also that it's up for grabs, and that's what you love as a a competitor. It shows that nothing [music] is understood or nothing is to be expected uh when you are a fan. And also as us as broadcasters, we go into games thinking, "Oh, this game is going to be competitive and it's going to be entertaining." And that's that's what the fans want. That's what we want is competitive, entertaining games. And there's been no shortage of competitive and entertaining games in the SWAT this year for sure. He's James Hadot. I'm Tally Carr. The road to the Celebration Bowl rolls on. We'll check in with what's going on next week. The road to football glory ends in Atlanta on Saturday, December 12th. The champions of the MAK and Swack collide at MercedesBench Stadium. One game, one trophy, one H.B.CU national champion. From electrifying plays to worldclass marching bands to a celebration of H.B.CU excellence. Be there when history is made. The Qriket Celebration Bowl presented by Toyota. December 12th at noon Eastern. and get tickets at celebrationbowl.com.