PDF Game Notes
FLORENCE, Ala. -- Coming off a season-opening road win more than 1,700 miles from home, the University will renew an old rivalry with the Alabama A&M Bulldogs this Saturday at Louis Crews Stadium at 6 p.m.
It will be the first meeting between the Lions and Bulldogs on the football field since 1997.
"It's great to have Alabama A&M back on the schedule," said UNA Head Coach
Chris Willis. "We're only 80 miles apart so we should be playing every year. There is always a great atmosphere and a lot of excitement around the game, and with both teams coming off big wins last weekend, both sides have a lot to be excited about going into this one."
North Alabama's debut as a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program was a huge success as the Lions went on the road and defeated defending Big Sky Conference Champions Southern Utah 34-30 in Cedar City, Utah. UNA scored first and then there were six lead changes before the Lions scored the winning touchdown with 12 seconds left on a one-yard pass from
Christian Lopez to
Dexter Boykin. Lopez, in his first game at UNA, threw for 350 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 105 yards and one TD. Lopez led the Lions on fourth quarter TD drives of 97 and 75 yards, overcoming deficits both times.
North Alabama rolled up 554 total yards in the win, which was also the successful debut of UNA's 27-year-old offensive coordinator
Ryan Aplin. Aplin played and coached under both Guz Malzahn and Hugh Freeze and called a game that saw UNA score 34 points, pass for 350 yards and rush for 204.
"Going into the season, on paper, Southern Utah looked like it would be the second toughest team on our schedule," Willis said. "They won nine games last year, made the playoffs and had a large number of starters back. They were a very good football team and for us to go on the road in a game like that and find a way to win to start the year off, that gets things going in a good direction."
Wilis said the Lions need to work to clean-up mistakes from the first game and to stay healthy and stay consistent.
Alabama A&M, meanwhile, was defeating Miles College 37-0 in Coach Connell Maynor's debut with the Bulldogs. It was the program's first shutout in six years. The Bulldogs held Miles to just 115 total yards, with 80 on the ground, while A&M rushed for 197 and passed for 22 for 419 total yards. Alabama A&M led 24-0 at the half and cruised to the 37-point victory.
The Lions hold a decisive 18-3-1 advantage in the 22 previous all-time meetings with Alabama A&M and have won the last eight meetings between the two schools.
A&M's last win in the series dates back to a 17-16 victory on a field goal on the last play of the game in 1988 in Bobby Wallace's first game as head coach at UNA. The Lions are 8-1-1 against the Bulldogs in Huntsville and haven't lost to A&M in Huntsville since 1979 (6-3). There was also a neutral site meeting at Birmingham's Legion Field in 1989 that UNA won 19-7.
Following the trip to Huntsville, North Alabama will stay on the road for a third consecutive week when the Lions go to Fargo, N.D., to take on No. 1 ranked North Dakota State.
Lions celebrated their season-opening win 1,700 miles from home in Cedar City, Utah.
