Fort Valley State looking for program-changing win against Albany State

Two years ago, the Fort Valley State football program suffered through budget cuts. As a result, the team now has only three full-time coaches.

But with a win Saturday over Albany State, the Wildcats would earn more than just the opportunity of playing in the SIAC championship game. A win could be program-changing, according to head coach Donald Pittman.

He said, "There's no doubt" -- four times in a row -- that a victory Saturday would change the outlook for a program that last reached the conference championship game in 2012.

"It don't get much bigger than this game," Pittman said. "It's been a long time since we have been able to win the Eastern Division."

Both teams enter the game at 5-3 overall and 3-0 in SIAC play with an opportunity to play the winner of the Tuskegee-Miles game Nov. 14 in Montgomery, Alabama, in the SIAC championship game. The Wildcats fell 32-21 to the Rams in the final game of last year as Albany State won the Eastern Division for the fifth time in six years.

Pittman said he "feels grateful for the opportunity to compete for a conference championship."

"Couldn't be any better scenario than what it is now," Pittman said. "We can take care of our own business, and we don't need to depend on anyone else to win a conference championship."

Pittman said he has not yet decided on a starting quarterback for the game with both Malcolm Eady and Otis Brown now healthy after each dealt with injuries throughout the year. But it might not matter who starts. Last week, Pittman started Eady but mixed Brown into the lineup starting in the second quarter.

Eady finished the game 8-for-15 for 168 yards and two touchdowns, while Brown completed 9-of-11 passes for 73 yards and one touchdown, and he also added 23 yards and one touchdown on the ground.

Both quarterbacks have played a part in FVSU's second-rated scoring offense in the conference at 27.8 points per game, but they will be facing an Albany State defense that ranks second in the SIAC in scoring defense, allowing 16.6 points per game.

"The defense is the strength of their team," Pittman said. "They want to bring pressure; we're going to have to be able to defend that pressure and make plays."

From a defensive standpoint, the Wildcats' rushing defense will need to be stout, according to Pittman. The team has allowed 147.4 yards per game on the ground, which ranks seventh in the SIAC, and Pittman said his team will need to force Albany State's quarterback, Caleb Edmonds, to win the game for the Rams.

"They have a big powerful line and like to run the ball," he said. "And especially depending on their tailback, we'll have to shut down their run game."

If the Wildcats can execute their defensive game plan, they could win a game Pittman said he believes will come down to whoever makes fewer mistakes. And that victory would do more than just propel FVSU into its conference championship; it could spark a renewed interest from fans.

"It's been proven over the years that when you win, everybody wants to be involved with a winning program," Pittman said. "We can get ... fan support, alumni support and everybody else behind the football program. There's nothing like a winning program."

Pittman said he expects the game to show the program's future prospects.

"The future is bright for Fort Valley State football," he said. "This game will be an indicator of it."

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Fort Valley State looking for program-changing win against Albany State ."