Bulldogs to welcome Alcorn State for Louis Crews Classic

NORMAL — The Alabama A&M University football team will have its home opener Saturday as the Bulldogs welcome Alcorn State to The Hill for the 15^th annual Louis Crews Classic.

Kickoff against the Braves is set for 6 p.m. at Louis Crews Stadium.

Saturday’s game marks the 25^th installment of the series, with Alabama A&M leading the all-time series, 13-11.

“We look to build upon our opening week at Arkansas,” Alabama A&M head coach Sam Shade said. “We started the game well and had some mistakes in that second drive. We can’t afford to make those mistakes against good opponents. This game on Saturday is a good test for the program.

“While this isn’t a conference game, it is a conference opponent, and this will get us prepared for the tough conference slate.”

The game will be broadcast live on HBCU GO as Charlie Neal (play-by-play), Jon Kelley (analyst) and Lawrencia Moton (sideline) will have the call.

In addition, fans can tune into WJAB (90.9 FM) as Thai Floyd (play-by-play), Maurice Brooks (analyst) and Evan Hayes (pregame and postgame) will bring all the action.

ABOUT THE GAME

• Both teams come into the game seeking a victory
• Alabama A&M is 25-23-1 in home openers since 1970
• The game marks the first time the Bulldogs will open against the Braves
• Alabama A&M is 10-4 all-time in the Louis Crews Classic, which began in 2010
• The Bulldogs have not lost a home opener since a 28-3 loss to Austin Peay in 2022
• Saturday’s contest is a White Out game as fans are encouraged to wear White

BULLDOGS AT A GLANCE

• Alabama A&M is coming off a season-opening loss to Arkansas last Saturday
• The loss to the Razorbacks marked the fourth straight season AAMU has begun the year 0-1
• The Bulldogs return to the friendly confines of Louis Crews Stadium, where they have not lost more than two homes since 2021
• In the loss to Arkansas, AAMU marched 75 yards in its opening drive, scoring a touchdown, which marked the first time in program history the Bulldogs scored a touchdown on its opening series against an SEC opponent
• Cornelious Brown IV went 5-for-5 to begin the game versus Arkansas and finished the day 9-of-19 passing for 130 yards
• Defensively, Jalen Wright finished with nine tackles and one quarterback hurry, while John Robinson added eight tackles, with three solo stops

BRAVES AT A GLANCE

• Alcorn State fell behind by double digits early last week and could not recover as Northwestern State snapped a 20-game losing streak with a 20-10 win over the Braves.
• The Braves have now dropped their last two games, dating back to the end of the 2024 season
• Alcorn State quarterback Jaylon Tolbert registered 182 yards, going 19-of-44 passing, along with a pair of interceptions
• The Braves had 260 total yards, with 78 coming on the ground
• Defensively, T.J. Jasper psted a game-high 11 tackles, while Stemarion Edwards added 10 stops

SERIES HISTORY 

• Alabama A&M and Alcorn State will be meeting for the 25^th time
• This will be the first on-field meeting in the series since 2019
• The two programs were set to play in the spring of 2021, but Alcorn State elected to forfeit the season
• The Bulldogs are 4-6 in the last 10 meetings against the Braves
• AAMU is 8-4 in games decided by seven points or less

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

• Alabama A&M needs to protect the line of scrimmage
• AAMU needs to win the turnover battle
• The Bulldogs must avoid committing a ton of penalties

LOOKING AHEAD 

• It’s back to the road next Saturday for Alabama A&M with a short trip to Nashville to play in the inaugural Legacy Series game against Tennessee State
• The last time AAMU and TSU met was during the 2010 season, where the Tigers picked up a 27-14 victory
• This will be the 24^th meeting between the two programs, which are separated by just over 120 miles
• Tennessee State holds the 15-8 lead in the all-time series, which dates by to the 1973 season
• Alabama A&M is 6-4 over the last 10 games against TSU and is 4-0 in games decided by seven points or less

PURCHASE TICKETS

• Season tickets and single-game tickets are on sale. To purchase tickets, visit aamusports.com or call the ticket office at 256-372-7255 or 256-372-7254.