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| Maurice Lewis and WSSU ran for 293 yards against Johnson C. Smith last week. (Garrett Garms/WSSU photos) |
Winston-Salem State at St. Augustine’s
These two teams were predicted to finish one and two in the CIAA’s Southern Division. So far, both teams have lived up to those expectations, with a few bumps in the road. Winston-Salem State dropped its opener against UNC-Pembroke, but has won five straight since then, with no team finishing within three touchdowns during that stretch.
St. Aug looked like a serious contender in its opening loss to Division I NC Central, but enters Saturday’s game just 3-3 overall, 2-1 in the CIAA.
WSSU fans wanting to go to St. Aug’s game at Sanderson High School. Better read about the rules…. http://t.co/mWBgszsGcc
– John Dell (@johndellWSJ) October 16, 2013
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Top Defenses
Both offenses will be challenged on Saturday as Winston-Salem State (16.5) and St. Aug (16.8) are the top two scoring defenses in the league. WSSU allows an NCAA-low 215 yards per game, while St. Aug excells at getting to the quarterback, recording averaging nearly four sacks per game.
Prediction
While both teams posses stiffling defenses, it’s clear that WSSU possess the superior offense between the two teams. St. Aug quarterback AJ Gilford has been inconsistent in his first year as a starter, throwing more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (8) through six games. This game will come down to whether or not St. Aug can force Rudy Johnson and WSSU’s offense into making mistakes. So far, Johnson has only been picked off once. That will need to change if St. Aug is to hand WSSU its first CIAA loss since October of 2011.