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LU should end its Division I skidhttp://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellit ... th=!sports
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 23, 2006
Liberty hasn't won a football game against a Division I opponent since beating Elon in November of 2004.
All indications are that streak will end at 11 games tonight at Savannah State.
As bad as Liberty was last season in losing all 10 of its games against DI foes, it doesn't come close to the level of the Tigers' mediocrity since moving to I-AA in 2002.
Savannah State has won just three games in the last four-plus seasons. The school has been placed on NCAA probation twice in the last decade, first in 1998, when it was in Division II, for lack of institutional control.
In May, the NCAA brought the hammer down again, placing SSU on three more years of probation after discovering that a former assistant football coach provided free lodging and meals for eight prospective football players, encouraged team members to purchase anabolic steroids, and lied to NCAA investigators.
Former coach Richard Basil knew what was coming. He resigned in March and the school later canceled spring football practice.
So that's the train wreck Theo Lemon inherited when he took over the program in April.
Lemon coached at Division II Central State (Ohio), a non-scholarship program that handed Savannah State a 28-27 homecoming loss last season.
Immediately upon his hire at SSU, he made an effort to change the culture of the football program. Grossly underfunded compared to other Division I-AA schools, SSU has been a laughingstock not seen since the 1990s when Prairie View A&M lost 80 consecutive games.
"I don't like to dwell on the past and what happened," Lemon told the Associated Press in August.
According to a story in the Savannah Morning News, Lemon created a Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at SSU. He placed a greater emphasis on academics and community involvement.
"We're going to demand that they sit up front in the classroom," Lemon told the SMN. "We're going to demand that they take off their hats. We're going to demand that they pull up their pants. We're going to demand that they talk to females in the right way. Those are things that, if you buy into them, they are going to buy into you."
The on-field results haven't changed much. The Tigers (0-2) opened the season with a loss to Division II Benedict and got run off the field by MEAC member Bethune-Cookman 55-6 before taking last week off.
Top running back Quinton Beasley is averaging 28 yards per game. Quarterback Garrett Williams has thrown for two touchdowns and three interceptions. The Tigers have been outscored 55-0 in the first half.
"Obviously, it's a team that hasn't had a lot of recent success," Liberty coach Danny Rocco said. "But they're coming off an open date and they're probably saying, 'well, if there's a team we can beat on our schedule, it might be this one that we're playing this week, one that hasn't won a (Division I) game in 11 tries.'
"We'll get their best effort, I don't think there's any doubt about that."
Liberty's offense expects to have some success tonight, and the Flames need a jolt of confidence heading into next week's game at Wake Forest. Towson held Liberty (2-1) to three points.
Neither quarterback Brock Smith nor running back Rashad Jennings had productive nights in Maryland, something both want to rectify against a porous SSU defense. Bethune-Cookman only gained 314 yards against SSU, but the Wildcats returned a fumble and an interception for a touchdown to give BCC an early 21-0 lead.
"They're a fast team and a quick team," Smith said. "But we've watched film, and they're not really disciplined in their coverages. They leave areas open, so we're going to try to utilize that. They have big guys up front that just plug up holes, so we've definitely got to take advantage of that."
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