Mississippi Valley State has found a simple way to make up for its porous defense - just win in a shootout.
The Delta Devil defense, ranked last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, was torched last Saturday for 558 total yards and 29 first downs against Texas Southern. Tiger backup quarterback Cornelius Harmon completed 29-of-53 passes for 456 yards and four touchdowns.
But MVSU won anyway, thanks to a season-high in points for a SWAC team. The Delta Devils rolled up 508 total yards in a 58-44 win at TSU.
"It was a wild one out in Houston," Valley head coach Willie Totten said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. "I didn't anticipate an offensive explosion like that, but I did know we were capable of having a lot of success.
"I was pretty satisfied with the defense even though we gave up a lot of yards. Our defense did come up with six turnovers (including two interceptions returned for touchdowns) and a couple of key stops late in the game."
Valley is giving up a league-worst 432 yards a contest and is ranked ninth in points allowed at 34.2 per game.
The Delta Devil defense, coached by second-year coordinator Dennis Winston, could have one of its better outings this Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The struggling Golden Lions (1-9, 0-5 in SWAC) are ranked last in in the SWAC in total offense and scoring offense.
"They are not playing well on offense, and we're not playing like we want to on defense, so we'll see what happens," Totten said.
Valley comes in at 3-6 overall, 1-4 in the league and looking for its second straight win - something it hasn't done since winning three straight late in the 2006 season.
The Delta Devils have won three straight over the Golden Lions, who won 10 consecutive against Valley before Totten's team ended that streak in 2005 with a 30-17 decision.
in the season opener for both teams.
