FOOTBALL RANKINGS
Central State's theme
: Play it again, Billy Joe
Evidently, Central State loves living
the life at the top of the gridiron heap.
The Marauders have been voted as
Black College Sports Review's No. 1
team for the '88 season. This is the sec
ond consecutive year that coach Billy s
Joe's Marauders have finished as el
numero uno. ^
The Marauders compiled an 11-1
mark, and were the last black college team
to exit from the national post-season play
off picture. CSU made it to the NAIA semi
finals before bowing out to Carson-New
man, 13-0. Coach Joe's squa<5 opened the
playoffs with a 24-10 victory over Catawba
College and they defeated Hillsdale College
(Mich.) 14-7 to bcome one of the NAIA's
hinal Four in football.
As they did last season, Central State
proved that they could more than hold
their own against opponents in Division
I-AA and Division II. They dusted off
Division II foes Virginia State (who
played Winston-Salem State close before
losing the CIAA football championship);
Johnson C. Smith; Kentucky State; and
Ft Valley State.
However, the clincher for the
Marauders, in terms of the mythical black
college national title, came when they
downed a solid Florida A & M team on
the Rattlers home turf in Tallahassee, Fla.
CSU fell behind early in the first half
(17-0), then came on waning during the
moments of the second quarter and con
tinued their blitz for the remainder of that
game. They rode that momentum to give
FAMU some of their own venom, and
walked away with a 27-23 triumph. At
7 that point in the season, the Rattlers had
been ranked among the Top 20 teams in
the national Division I-AA polls.
As usual, there are cries from people
in the SWAC who believe that Jackson
State should be rated ahead of the
Marauders. But since the two teams didn't
meet face to face, we'll never know what
may have transpired in '88. However,
there is one measuring stick that BCSR
used to determine that Central State
should be awarded the top spot - com
mon opponents.
The Marauders and Jackson State's
only common opponent was Florida A &
M. When the Tigers and Rattlers tangled
on neutral territory in the Circle City
Classic in Indianapolis, the game ended
in a 10-10 tie. ...
Th6 key point here is not the score,
but how the game ended in a stalemate.
Late in the game, with FAMU leading 10
7, an official ruled that the Rattlers fum
bled and gave possession to Jackson State
when it appeared that the ball had rolled
out of bounds. The Tigers converted the
miscue, with Nigerian placekicker Osa
Ohonba kicking a 36-yard field goal to
salvage a tie for JSU.
. One can debate about that rationale
on several counts both pro and con. Still,
BCSR's final jfoll (whether you're in
agreement or not) makes for some inter
esting conversation as to how one goes
about determining a national black col
lege football champion. The folks who
put on the Circle City Classic are work
ing on a post-season bowl game that will
crown a national champ. If that becomes
NOTES ... QUOTES ... AND
TALES OF WOE
ROSCOE NANCE
Football coaches hav^been coming and going at a dizzying pace at predominantly
black schools since the season ended.
Here's the body count
? Joe Gilliam Sr. has replaced Bill Thomas at TENNESSEE STATE. Thomas was
34-13-2 in five seasons.
The Tigers were 3-7-1 for the second consecutive season in '88. Thomas will
remain as athletic director. Gilliam, a long-time assistant to the late TSU coach "Big
John" Merritt, was passed over for the job when Thomas was hired. He has been teach
ing physical education classes the last Ave years.
? Marino H. Casern has resigned as football coach at SOUTHERN UNIVERSI
TY, but will remain as athletic director. Casern was 13-9 in two seasons at Southern
and beat Grambling State twice in the Bayou Classic. However, supporters viewed him
" Staff Photo
Coach Billy Joe and his Central State team bask In the limelight once
more as the nation 's No. 1 team In black college football.
reality, perhaps they will come up with interested parties.
something suitable that will satisfy most -StOVO Zimmerman
as an outsider and grew restless when he replaced stfme popular long-time coaches.
? Lionel Taylor resigned under pressure at TEXAS SOUTHERN, where the
Tigers never had a winning season during his five year tenure. The Tigers were 0-11 in
'88. ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF coach Archie Cooley, a candidate for the job when
Taylor was hired, and former Houston Oilers wide receiver Ken Borroughs, are said to
be in the running to replace Taylor. Burroughs is a Texas Southern graduate.
? HOWARD UNIVERSITY coach Willie Jeffries is a finalist for jobs at SOUTH
CAROLINA STATE and Temple University. Dennis Thomas resigned at South Car- ,
olina State and Temple fired Bruce Arians. Thomas was 15-18 in three seasons.
Jeffries has said that he's happy at Howard, and interviewing at South Carolina
State, where he attended school and was head coach, is a matter of professional cour
tesy. He didn't say the same thing about Temple. ^ I
Other finalists are assistant coach Richard Wilson of the Citadel, Virginia coach
Joe Taylor and South Carolina State assistant Larry Thompson
You can call ALABAMA STATE'S basketball team the gang that couldn't shoot
straight - at least from the three-point distance. The Hornets put up an NCAA record
42 three-pointers in a loss to North Carolina A & T, making just 12 of those shots.
"I want to set records, but not that kind," said coach James V. Oliver.
r"
NORTH CAROLINA A & T's 38-game hofne winning streak, the longest in the
nation, was stopped when the Aggies lost their home opener to NORTH CAROLINA
CENTRAL, 66-54