SU head coach says ‘Prairie View not PV of old’

Southern University head coach Pete Richardson is aware that Prairie View A&M has made improvements since the two teams last met almost a year ago, saying the Panthers have grown a great deal, at his weekly press luncheon held on Wednesdays.
Last season Southern lost to Prairie View for the first time since 1971, 26-23 in overtime at Tully Stadium in Houston.
“When you look at them you can see the growth from this year to last,” Richardson said. “I think offensively they got about six or seven transfers that came in along with their quarterback, Chris Gibson. He’s the third leading rusher in the conference and their leading rusher and passer on the football team, so I think he does an outstanding job.”
So far this season for PV, Gibson has completed 26 of 49 passes for 248 yards and carried 24 times for 199 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore running back Calvin Harris has 60 rushing yards and one touchdown, while fellow sophomore Anthony Weeden has 10 catches for 98 yards.
“Weeden exerts some pressure on you,” Richardson said. “They have some receivers that are not very big, but extremely quick. They really like to spread you out and let the quarterback run the ball.”
Defensively the Panthers have already registered six sacks, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. Plus, in last week’s win over North Carolina A&T, sophomore strong safety Val Ford blocked two punts returning them both for touchdowns.
“Their special teams leads the country in terms of blocked punts,” Richardson said. “It’s going to cause some issues for protection in our scheme.”
“Blocking kicks is an individual effort,” Richardson said. “I think they have an individual (Ford) that does an outstanding job of scheming them defensively to get them through. Some players just have that knack of blocking kicks and he’s one of them.”
A plus for Southern may be that of 22 points by Prairie View last week, 14 came from Ford’s blocked punts returned for touchdowns. Also Prairie View’s two wins have come against Texas Southern, which is 4-31 under Steve Wilson, and North Carolina A&T, which has now lost 18 consecutive games.
The Jaguars are also 2-0 and trying to avoid a slip-up similar to the one that sent their season into a tailspin last year, to the tune of 6-5.
“We’re not using last year’s game as a motivational factor,” Richardson said. “I think we have enough individuals that played in that game and understand what happened. Our goal is make sure we get focused and ready to play.”
With both teams coming in 2-0 just like they did last season, Southern’s home opener certainly has the makings of a big game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. in A.W. Mumford Stadium.
“It will be a big game for both teams,” Richardson said. “Both teams are young and gaining confidence each week. It should be an exciting football game.”
Lagniappe
In just two games Prairie View has scored 56 points while only surrendering 21. Also PV’s Gibson has yet to be sacked. He comes into tomorrow’s match-up averaging 103 yards per game through the air with an efficiency rating of 79.3. He’s also averaging 98.9 rushing ypg.
“Their 2-0 and excited about the year they’re having,” Richardson said. “I think their coach is doing an outstanding job of selling their system to the players.
“Their quarterback is an exceptional athlete that makes a lot of big plays,” Richardson said. Our mission is to try to control him. We have to apply pressure selectively and do a great job of man to man coverage trying to cover some of their receivers.”