You talk about perfect timing.
The football gods have thrown a sacrificial lamb at the feet of the struggling Mississippi Valley State offense in form of hapless Texas College.
The Delta Devils rank last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in scoring offense with a meager 5.7 points a contest and last in total offense with just 157.7 yards a game.
"We've got to find some continuity on the offensive line. We're juggling some guys around trying to find the right mix," Valley coach Willie Totten said.
Valley (1-2) was outgained 363-236 in total yardage last week in a 10-3 win over Alabama State.
"We played a little conservatively on offense because our defense was playing so good. We didn't want to turn the ball over," Totten said.
"There is no doubt we're not where we want to be offensively."
But Texas College - Valley's opponent Saturday for homecoming - should prove to be the perfect cure for what's ailing the Delta Devils.
The Steers (0-4) likely have the worst defense in all of college football - giving up a whopping 71.75 points a game.
Texas College was off last week but gave up 515 total yards and 24 first downs two weeks ago in a 75-6 loss to Texas Southern. Stephen F. Austin hung 50 on the Steers by halftime and coach J.C. Harper even pulled his starters midway through the second quarter.
The Delta Devils have to be licking their chops. Totten just hopes his guys don't try to do too much.
"Just because your opponent is really struggling to stop folks doesn't mean you take more chances. We just have to play within ourselves," he said.
So does Totten feel sorry for first-year Texas College coach Ricky Carson, who played with Totten at Valley and was his offensive coordinator last season?
"Well, I know it's been tough on him, but he is used to being short-handed having coached here and at Paul Quinn," Totten said. "I put a call in to him earlier in the year and told him to just keep working.
"He told me he had some guys playing both ways, and I knew it was a bad deal."
So how did Texas College get so bad?
When Carson swapped his administrative duties for the coaching reins in late spring, he inherited a team coming off a 1-9 season. Between defections and ineligible players, he has lost 20 starters and all but a handful of seniors.
In the last three games, Carson struggled to dress three dozen players.
