THE GAME
Savannah State and Clark Atlanta will meet for the 49th time. This cat fight has the Tigers leading the series 28-19-1 and winners of four of the last five meetings. This CAU team is unbeaten and much improved than in recent years. The last time these two teams met at Panther Stadium, CAU escaped with a 21-12 Homecoming win over Savannah State in 2022.
 
LAST YEAR
With Clark Atlanta clinging to a 21-20 lead and 9:04 left in the third quarter, running back Joseph Hampton scooted 28 yards for a touchdown with his first rushing carry of the game, providing the winning margin in a 28-21 victory over the Panthers in the SSU home opener at Theodore A. Wright Stadium on September 16, 2023. The Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter but CAU rallied to take a 21-20 edge into the locker room at the  half. Savannah State's defense pitched a shut-out in the second half to preserve the victory.

KELTON'S QUOTE
"We are trying to regroup and focus on the game of football this week. We need to put distractions behind us. We need to play better all around this week against Clark Atlanta."

LAST WEEK
The Tigers suffered a 30-0 loss at Fort Valley State. The game was originally scheduled to be played at SSU but effects from Hurricane Helene forced officials to have the game relocated to Fort Valley State. It was SSU's first time being shut out since a 30-0 loss to Albany State in 2021. The Wildcats led 3-0 at intermission but their offense woke up in the second half and scored 27 unanswered points.
 
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
Christian Burks has thrown for 266 yards while Jhaydon Sullivan has thrown for 178 yards and two scores. Jadon Adams has added 88 passing yards and a team-leading 126 yards on the ground. Da'Shun Mitchell has caught 12 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns while Brent Carr has eight receptions for 102 yards.
 
TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
Linebackers Darrian Bell (29), Uchenna Nwoha (22) and Gary Bell, Jr. (20) lead the defensive unit in tackles while defensive back Ahlik Booker has been in on 17 stops. William Jones is the top defender from the defensive line with 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
Lexington Matthews is one of the top punters in the league with six of his punts being over 50 yards and five pinning opponents inside their own 20 yard line. Jimmy Mal has made 2 of 4 field goal attempts which includes one from 41 yards.
 
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
The Panthers are averaging 35 points and 394.8 yards per game. Leading the offense is quarterback David Wright who has thrown for a league-leading 1,579 yards and 16 touchdowns. Wright has many targets to pick from but Armone Harris (31 catches for 481 yards and 10 touchdowns) and Jamal Jones (36 catches for 469 yards and one touchdown) are their top receiving threats. Trayvon Pinder is their leading rusher with 194 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Solomon Mosley is the Panthers leading tackler with 33 stops while defensive backs James Summersett (32) and Artellious Edmond (23) are closely behind. Leonardo Cabrera is the punter and kicker. He has made 8 of 9 field goal attempts including a game-winning 55 yard kick that beat Bethune-Cookman at the buzzer.

SAVANNAH STATE/CLARK ATLANTA PRESIDENTIAL CONNECTIONS
Three of Savannah State's former presidents have a connection with Clark Atlanta: Major Richard R. Wright, Savannah State's first president is a graduate of Clark Atlanta; Dr. Carlton Brown was president of SSU (1997-2006) and CAU (2008-15); and Dr. Cheryl Dozier, who was Savannah State's 13th president (2011-19) earned her Master of Social Work degree from Clark Atlanta.

THE SKINNY
A week after facing Fort Valley State's high powered offense, SSU will face another high-scoring team in Clark Atlanta. The Tigers defense stifled Fort Valley State's offense for more than two quarters before getting worn down. CAU surrenders over 31 points a game so their defense is vulnerable and should help the Tigers offense, who has been playing musical chairs at the quarterback position the past few weeks. Savannah State could leave Atlanta with a win if the offense able to move the ball downfield, score points and control the clock and the defense puts pressure on the Panthers quarterback to slow him down.
 
COMMON OPPONENTS
Savannah State and Clark Atlanta have four common opponents: Fort Valley State, Tuskegee, Central State and Lane
 
HOMECOMING
Savannah State has five players on the roster from Atlanta and 18 more from the metro area which includes Marietta, Fayetteville, Decatur, McDonough, Jonesboro, Alpharetta, Smyrna, Suwanee, Lithonia, Hampton, Stone Mountain and Covington.
 
COACHING REUNION
Savannah State offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Nick Trist spent three seasons (2018-20) in the same role at Allen University while Teddy Kelton was the Yellow Jackets head coach.

CATCHING ON
Wide receiver Da'Shun Mitchell has caught a pass in 24 consecutive games.

HALL OF FAME
Congratulations for former SSU quarterback Kerry Wiggins who was inducted into the Seminole High School Athletic Hall of Fame on September 18, 2024. Wiggins led the Tigers in passing during the 1993 season by throwing for 1,099 yards and eight touchdowns  to help SSU to a 5-3-2 record.
 
POLL WATCHING
Savannah State received one vote in the latest BOXTOROW HBCU Division II Coaches Poll

GETTING A LEG UP
Lexington Matthews is ranked fourth in punting in the SIAC and No. 20 in Division II. Six of his 18 punts have went more than 50 yards and two have been for 60 yards.

WHATS IN A NAME
There are 20 players on the team that share the same last name. Three have the last name of Brown, Johnson, Jones or Williams while two have the sir name of Anderson, Davis, Leonard or White.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION-The SSU roster is made up of players from eleven states (Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, New York, Texas, California, Alabama, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Maryland) as well as the District of Columbia
WELCOME TO THE MARSH
Savannah native Harold Nelson and former North Carolina wide receiver Steven Jerry has joined the Tiger coaching staff this year. Nelson will be the tight ends and assistant offensive line coach while Jerry will be overseeing the wide receivers. Nelson has coached on the high school level in Savannah (Windsor Forest, Calvary Day and Islands) and in Florida and is owner of his own training company, Energy Sports Academy. Jerry's collegiate coaching resume list Central Florida, William & Mary, East Tennessee State, Virginia State, Florida A&M, Benedict and New Mexico Highlands, before coming to SSU

REFURBISHED TURF
SSU is among four HBCUs in Georgia and Alabama who will debut a refurbished football field this fall thanks to grants totaling more than $6.5 million from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The work at T.A. Wright Stadium included the installation of a new turf and upgrades to the drainage system to improve field quality, safety and accessibility to community groups.

TRANSFER U
SSU has 28 players on the roster that have transferred from other schools. The programs, which range from FBS to junior college, include Albany State, Morgan State, St. Augustine, Bluefield State, Livingstone, Grambling State, South Carolina State, Mercer, Georgia Military, Pitt, Butler Community College, New Haven, Louisville, McPhearson, Louisburg, St. Thomas, Dean, Los Angeles Valley CC, Oklahoma Panhandle State, Notre Dame College, Lake Erie, UNC Pembroke, Georgia Southern and Florida.

HOME GROWN- SSU has ten players in its roster from eight different of the local high schools (Islands, Beach, Savannah High, Bethesda, Johnson, Windsor Forest, St. Andrews and Jenkins.

THE SIZE OF IT- Punter Lexington Matthews the tallest player on the team at 6-foot-5 but Offensive lineman Arnez Jones is the biggest at 360-pounds. Running back AJ Brown is the shortest player on the roster at 5-foot-7 while wide receiver Jalen Leonard is the lightest at 150 pounds.

PRESEASON HONORS
Eight Tigers were selected to the preseason All-SIAC team. Deandre Creary was named to the First Team Defense while Ahlik Booker and Nathaniel Chisholm were named to the Second Team Defense. Jadon Adams, Da'Shun Mitchell and Shamarcus Poole were named to the Second Team Offense while AJ Brown and Joseph Hampton were named as Second Team Return Specialists.

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE
SSU appeared on the HBCU Go platform on September 7 with their game with Southern. Savannah State will also appear on ESPN+ three times during the 2024 season. The Tigers will play Central State on September 14 at Theodore A. Wright Stadium at 6 p.m. and will host Fort Valley State on Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. The 2024 SSU Homecoming match-up with Lane on October 26 will also appear on ESPN+ with a 3 p.m. kickoff.

NIL PARTNERSHIP
The Savannah State University Department of Athletics and Influxer have formed a partnership which will help SSU student-athletes with Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) merchandising opportunities. Influxer, an approved licensed NIL vendor, will house a complete NIL merchandise store for all Tiger student-athletes who choose to participate, featuring officially licensed apparel with their names and jersey numbers.