Football | 11/26/2021 9:35:00 PM

 
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Mississippi Valley State University football program will look to spoil the party for the seniors on Prairie View A&M as it concludes its regular season at the home of the SWAC West champions.

What You Need to Know 
 

• Time and Date: Saturday, November 27 (2 p.m.)

 

• Video: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/5a0743cb-3a31-495a-a1b5-66f95862c257

 

• Audio: http://www.gwoodlive.com/ (Lee Hall & Joshua Davis)

 

• Live Stats: http://prairieviewstats.com/

 

• Records: Mississippi Valley State (3-7, 2-5 SWAC) | 7-3 (6-1 SWAC)

 

• Location: Prairie View, Texas – Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field

 

• Series History: Mississippi Valley State Leads 28-24

 

• Last Meeting: September 24, 2016 | Prairie View A&M 56, Mississippi Valley State 21 | Itta Bena, Mississippi (Rice-Totten Stadium)

 

• Winning Streak: Prairie View A&M (W4) | Mississippi Valley State's Last Win: November 10, 2012 (22-20)

 
Mississippi Valley State Overview
 
Offense
 

• The Devils have been efficient when reaching the red zone, slotting 40th in the FCS for efficiency inside the 20s, converting on 83.3% of its trips.

 

• The Green and White runs its offense through Conerly Trophy Award finalist Caleb Johnson. The sophomore running back from Memphis averages 80 yards per game (800 rushing yards) and 4.06 yards per carry plus six touchdowns on the ground.

 

• Jacory Rankin has been the top target on the outside for signal-caller Jalani Eason, racking up 603 yards and three scores including a 93-yard connection on Senior Day which accounted for MVSU's longest play from scrimmage in over a decade.

Defense
 

• Affectionately called D-Line University, the quartet of Jalen Bell, Ronnie Thomas, Jeremiah Caine, and Jerry Garner have been immovable objects up front with the latter two being on NFL Draft radars.
  • Ronnie Thomas fronts the Delta Devils with six sacks and is second in tackles for loss (7.5) while Caine and Garner have 12 prospect showcase invites on their offseason agendas.

 

• Keonte' Daniels and William Morgan have been Defensive Coordinator Derek Welch's version of a "No Fly Zone", breaking up 15 passes and snagging three interceptions between the two along with 8.5 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and a sack on the stat line as well.

 

• The linebacker corps is anchored by seniors Volme Swanier and Markell Gladney, piling up 99 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, four interceptions, 3.5 sacks and a defensive touchdown courtesy of Gladney.

 
Special Teams
 

• The special teams have primarily come from one man, Orlando Fernandez. The placekicker/punter/kickoff specialist ranks 14th in yards per punt (43.6), 39th in field goals per game (1.00) and has rocketed 11 touchbacks on 33 kickoffs (33%) this season.
  • The jack-of-all-trades from Mexico is 10-of-12 (83%) on field goal attempts that were not blocked, has had 20 punts downed inside the opponents' red zone and has boomed 11 punts 50-plus yards.

Scouting The Opponent: Prairie View A&M Panthers
 
Despite falling 52-3 to Texas A&M last weekend, the Panthers claimed the fall 2021 SWAC West Championship, its first title since 2009, on account of Alcorn's loss at Jackson State.
 
PVAMU's lone loss in conference play came against the Braves with its other two losses coming to the Aggies and Incarnate Word with six straight wins sandwiched between losses. All of this despite relatively low expectations coming into the campaign as PV was picked to finish fourth in the West in the preseason poll.
 
The Purple and Gold are stout in the trenches with Preseason HBCU All-American Danny Garza on the offensive side and All-SWAC Second-Teamer Jason Dumas on the defensive side of the ball.
 
Prairie View has ridden its defense and discipline to a division title, ranking top-20 nationally with less than five penalties per game while slotting in a similar range for yards allowed per game (296.8) featuring an impressive secondary (175 passing yards allowed per a contest).
 
The offense lives and dies with the appropriately named quarterback Juwan Pass who has gone for 2,365 yards and 16 touchdowns, spreading the ball around at will with seven different receivers scoring. Pass can also run as well, racking up 230 yards and an additional four scores on the ground.
 
Follow the Delta Devils and Delta Devilettes on Facebook (Mississippi Valley State Athletics), Twitter (@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (@MVSUDevilSports).