Mississippi Valley State was the hot story in the Southwestern Athletic Conference for a couple of weeks, but things have cooled off a great deal for the Delta Devils after back-to-back losses.
After opening the season at 2-0, snapping long losing streaks to Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Southern in the process, the Delta Devils were the media darlings of the SWAC. But then the turnovers came, and with those turnovers, came losses.
MVSU didn't have a turnover in its first two games but committed nine in losses to Alabama A&M (27-13) and Jackson State (33-14). The Delta Devils were off last week and had extra time to iron out the turnover woes.
"The break came at a good time for us after losing our last two games," Valley head coach Willie Totten said. "We've worked hard on eliminating turnovers."
Against JSU, the Delta Devils committed five turnovers -
four in their own territory leading to 23 JSU points - in dropping their 11th straight game to their instate rivals.
"We've got a sense of urgency," MVSU junior quarterback Aries Nelson said. "We've got to get back to playing to our capabilities."
The rested Delta Devils will try to regroup against a tough Grambling State team. The Tigers are 2-1 overall, 2-0 in the SWAC with wins over Alabama A&M (44-0) and Prairie View (50-7).
"This is our biggest test to date," Totten said. "Grambling is probably the best team we will play this year. They have dominated both of their conference games."
But Totten says his team isn't intimidated, because Grambling can be beat if the Delta Devils hold on to the football.
Nelson agrees: "We're not going to back down from anyone. If we play like we did in the first two games, we've got a good shot at winning."
Valley's offense was rolling the first two games, averaging 30.5 points in wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Southern U. Things quickly changed in the next two games, however, as Nelson and Co. averaged just 13.5 points in losses to Alabama A&M and Jackson State.
Nelson and Totten say the dramatic difference in offensive production is directly related to turnovers.
MVSU linebacker Tyler Knight admits the flurry of turnovers in the last two games has been discouraging to the defense, but he says nobody is pointing fingers at the offense for the back-to-back losses.
"It's frustrating," said Knight, who ranks second in the SWAC with 101/2 tackles per game.
"But if (the offense) turns it over, it's our job to keep the other team from scoring. We don't look down on them or blame them. If we don't let the other team score, the turnover isn't a factor."
Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Grambling at Eddie Robinson Stadium. Grambling leads the series with Valley 38-4-2.
