Celebration Bowl Matchups Within: Alcorn’s O vs A&T's D
Now coming into this Celebration Bowl matchup between two of the finest programs in Black College Football and the entire FCS, one would think that these two teams are closely related. The fact is that they are familiar with each other playing in this same game last season, but this may be where the similarities stop.
The Alcorn Offense, led by Quarterback Felix Harper, has an absolutely dynamic passing attack. The offense runs out of a spread system, typically in an Offset-I. When they do run the ball, it is out of the zone read attack, giving Harper the option of keeping the ball, and throughout the season he has proven he will scramble, but prefers not to.
Multiple backs have played this season for the Braves, led by Niko Duffey, but others will come in at any time of the game to spell this freshman with little to no drop off. The Wide Receiving Corp has proven to give Harper exactly what he needs, especially on the outside, but the best part about them on film is their unselfishness while blocking for others. The only negatives about this offense is that they will abandon the run during inopportune times and Harper will throw the ball up for grabs in crucial situations.
In contrast, the North Carolina A&T Defense is a very stout unit that concentrates on stopping the run 1st. Its base defense can get to the quarterback with just the front four and has very little need to blitz although it is more that capable. Defensive End Devin Harrell leads the team in sacks with seven but many more have them throughout the defense. Linebacker Kyin Howard leads the team in tackles, but the entire set of backers can run and hit. They are however susceptible to the quarterback run because they are a fast flow defense.
In the secondary you have All-American Cornerback Mac McCain, who has lower interception numbers from last season, primarily because teams stay away from him. Opposite of McCain is Chris Moseley who has been the benefactor with three interceptions on the year. They have faced some formidable passing squads this year and they have played well, but this will be a great challenge going up against this Alcorn passing attack. Check out the Alcorn D versus the A&T O next time.
