Arkansas-Pine Bluff faces potent Saluki run attack

The University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff head coach said his team would have to get back to Football 101 for its game Saturday against SIU.

Maurice Forte said he believed his Golden Lions could knock off the Salukis if they could get back to the basics. A good start for Forte would be stopping the run.

The Golden Lion defense can stop the rushing attack one game but fail miserably another game, like its 31-13 loss to a winless Alabama State team. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-2) allowed 282 yards to the Hornets.

If the Golden Lions could not stop Alabama State, they might struggle a bit with the Salukis.

There is nothing mysterious about the Salukis' offensive tendencies. SIU rushes more than 40 times a game and holds a 300.5 yards per game average, the top mark in Division I-AA.

"We have to go back to football 101," Forte said in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's teleconference. "That means blocking and tackling and all of those things much better than we've been doing."

The Salukis repeatedly punched Indiana in the gut with 50 carries and 244 yards on the ground in their 35-28 win Sept. 16.

A quick look at the stat sheet shows a UAPB team that should put one out for a run stopper.

The Golden Lions allow 158.7 rushing yards per game and give up five yards a carry. The Salukis average 6.6 yards an attempt so far this season.

Then there is the 282-yard performance out of Alabama State, the 45th-ranked rushing offense in I-AA.

Senior All-American running back Arkee Whitlock said he doesn't expect those numbers to hold true for every game.

"As a running back, of course you may grin or smile like, 'Man, that's a lot of yards,' but it ain't the same," Whitlock said. "They may not play the same as they did the week they gave up those yards."

Whitlock, a Payton Award nominee, leads the Salukis' in rushing yards and carries. He is tied with quarterback Nick Hill for the team lead in touchdowns. Whitlock slices through defenses for 118 yards and a touchdown per game. His 104 rushing yards against Indiana marked the 12th time Whitlock topped the century mark as a Saluki.

If that isn't bad enough for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, junior John Randle can step in and pick up yards, as well. Randle averages a little more than six yards a carry and brings a pedigree of success in the Big 12. Randle led the Jayhawks in rushing in 2004 before transferring to SIU this season.

A lethal running game doesn't seem to worry Forte.

"We feel we can beat these guys," Forte said. "But we feel we have to do the basics in football."

Forte is right. His team will have to get back to basics if it wants to compete for the national championship he lists as his primary goal.

The first step toward that trophy starts with the Saturday's game against the Salukis.

"I think it's going to be a great challenge against an outstanding team," Forte told the Pine Bluff Commercial newspaper. "If we ever want a championship at the I-AA level then we need to beat teams like Southern Illinois."

To do so, Arkansas-Pine Bluff will have to get back to Football 101.