Football To Host Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday Afternoon At PNC Stadium

Football 10/29/2021 4:28:00 PM TSU Sports Information

• Texas Southern closes out its two-game homestand with a match-up against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday afternoon inside PNC Stadium.

• TSU dropped its second straight contest last weekend against Alcorn State as TSU fell behind early and couldn’t capitalize on big plays in a 44-27 loss.

• TSU will face UAPB for the first time since 2019 as last spring’s contest was canceled due to weather and COVID-19 protocol. This marks UAPB’s first trip to Houston since 2018. UAPB is one of three teams in the SWAC that TSU has a winning record against all-time (Mississippi Valley State/Prairie View A&M).

• Saturday’s contest will feature live audio on KTSU 90.9 FM and broadcast on AT&T Sports Southwest/ESPN+.

• TSU will have two of its final four games at home inside PNC Stadium.

• The SWAC opted for a spring schedule due to uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 last fall. TSU could only get two games in due to COVID-19 protocols surrounding the opposing team or at TSU. The contest against Baylor marked the first time TSU played back-to-back weekends since the final two weekends of November 2019. 

• UAPB has had a reversal of fortunes as they represented the SWAC West in last spring’s SWAC Championship. The Golden Lions have dropped six straight since winning their season opener.

• UAPB’s preseason All-SWAC quarterback Skyler Perry ranks eighth in the SWAC with 133.4 yards passing and has only thrown two touchdowns. Josh Wilkes is the leading wideout with 20 receptions for 312 yards and two touchdowns while Kier Crossley leads the team with 39.8 rushing yards. Defensive back 

Jalon Thigpen leads UAPB with 45 tackles and is third in the SWAC. 

•  UAPB head coach Doc Gamble was the offensive coordinator for UAPB the last time both teams met in 2019.

• TSU’s roster is a full of youth in key areas as 58 players are either true or redshirt freshmen.

• The Tigers feature a third-year head coach in Clarence McKinney. A Houston native, McKinney attended high school across the street at Jack Yates High School and played collegiately at Montana State and the University of Mary. He also served as head coach at Yates before joining the staffs at Houston, Texas A&M and Arizona.

• Clarence McKinney is the 17th head coach in the history of Texas Southern Football. McKinney has a task ahead as the program has only had 28 winning seasons in 75 years of existence and hasn’t recorded a winning season since 2000. 

• McKinney won as a student at Yates High School and helped the University of Mary post three winning seasons as a student-athlete in college which made school history. As head coach at Yates, McKinney posted a mark of 30-8 over three years before moving on to the collegiate ranks as an assistant. As an assistant at Houston, Texas A&M and Arizona, McKinney has only experienced three losing seasons in his 11 years of collegiate coaching.