THE GAME
Savannah State will travel to Fairfield, Alabama for their first and longest road game of the season against Miles. Both teams are still trying to find their footing and a win would be welcomed by either ball club. SSU is averaging 13.5 points a game while Miles is putting up just 8.67 points on the scoreboard per outing. It will be the first meeting between the programs since 2006 when the Golden Bears defeated SSU 24-12 at TA Wright Stadium. The series between the schools began in 1973 and the Tigers lead the overall series 13-4.

GAME INFORMATION
Savannah State (1-1, 0-1 SIAC) at Miles (0-3, 0-1 SIAC)
Date: Saturday, September 20th
Location: Fairfield, Alabama | Albert J. Sloan Alumni Stadium
Time: 4:00pm EST/3:00pm CST

COACHES
Savannah State:  Aaron Kelton, 4th Season (Record At SSU: 13-19)
Miles: Chris Goode, 1st Season (Record At Miles: 0-3)

WEATHER REPORT
It is expected to be a rather warm and afternoon in the Birmingham area, under partly cloudy skies with a high of 94° and a low of 69°. There is a 16% chance of rain in the forecast with winds blowing East Northeast at 5 mph.

BROADCAST INFORMATION: 
Channel: ESPN+
Broadcasters: Todd Corder/J. J. Jurjevic
Broadcast Link: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=319ac8a3-f57c-4f7c-ae42-0234e5669889
Live Stats Link: https://milesgoldenbears.com/sidearmstats/football/summary

KELTON'S QUOTE
"Coming off of a bye week, we were able to fix several areas of concern and get a bit more healthy. We need to keep building on our Shorter performance against a young but talented Miles team. They are the defending champions and play with a lot of pride. The game will be a dogfight for sure but we are ready for the challenge."

GAME CAPTAINS
Game captains for this week's game are  running back David Gardner, Jr., defensive back Christopher Murray and tight end Jordan Springs

LAST WEEK
Savannah State has a open week but on the prior week, the Tigers won their first game of the season with a 13-0 victory over Shorter. The SSU offense gained 323 yards while the defense held the Hawks to just one rushing yard. Quarterback Christian Burks passed for a career-high 188 yards and a touchdown, running back David Gardner, Jr. ran for 72 yards, Cinsere Clark caught seven passes for 84 yards and a touchdown and Tony Rountree, Jr. had six tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Jimmy Tran added field goals of 23 and 32 yards.

SAVANNAH STATE/MILES CONNECTION
Before Miles running back Lavarion Logan joined the Golden Bears program, he attended Savannah State. He also attended Illinois State and Tyler Junior College.

COMMON OPPONENTS
Savannah State and Miles have three common opponents: Edward Waters, Kentucky State and Fort Valley State

SWEET HOME ALABAMA
Savannah State has five players on their roster from Alabama. Wide receiver Carlos Moore is from Birmingham which is just over seven miles from Fairfield. Other SSU players from Alabama include defensive linemen Jaylin Fields (Dothan) and Akeem White (Auburn) and offensive linemen Arnez Jones (Foley) and Julius Gomes (Mobile).

POLL WATCHING
Savannah State is ranked #10 in the latest HBCU Division II Coaches Poll  is administered by BOXTOROW. The poll is voted on by the HBCU NCAA Division II coaches.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
According to the NCAA website, John "Wesley" Bentley is ranked #1 in Division II in fumble recoveries (2), Joseph Hampton is ranked 9th in combined kick returns (230 yards), 10th in all purpose yards (178.50) and 18th in kick returns (28.8 yards). Christopher Murray is 11th in passes defended per game (2) and Darrian Bell is 20th in tackles for loss per game (1.75). As a team, SSU is 3rd in rush defense (49 yards), 8th in total defense (227.5 yards), 11th in fumble recoveries (4) and 18th in kickoff returns (29.33) and time of possession (33:49).

TIGER LEADERS
Linebackers Darrian Bell and Tavare Brewton anchor the SSU defense. Bell has 15 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack while Brewton is on his heels with 11 tackles. Quarterback Christian Burks has thrown for 320 yards and a touchdown. Burks' top targets are wide receiver Cinsere Clark (106 yards and a touchdown), tight end Arik Gilbert (72 yards) and wide receiver Jadon Adams (71 yards). Joseph Hampton is team's leading rusher with 113 yards and a touchdown and David Gardner, Jr. has 94 yards with one touchdown. Lucas Edenfield averages just over 38 yards per punt and three have landed inside the 20 yard line.

SCOUTING MILES
Chris Goode is in his first season as the head coach at Miles. The Golden Bears, who are the defending SIAC champions, entered the season ranked 24th in Division II in the 2025 American Football Coaches Association Division II poll. Miles is still looking for their first win of the season after falling to Virginia Union, Edward Waters and Alabama State. Running back Javonta Leatherwood and linebacker Carson Pritchett were both named to the preseason All-SIAC team. The Golden Bears are going through a youth movement with many freshmen in the starting lineup. Roderick Thomas has ran for 88 yards and a touchdown while James Gatewood (87 yards) and Tifton Dobbs (86 yards) lead the team in receiving. Kamren Ivory has passed for 260 yards and a touchdown while Brinley Vandiver has thrown for 227 yards. Linebacker Robert Williams is the defensive leader with 18 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack.

Stay Connected
For complete coverage of Savannah State University Athletics, follow the Tigers on social media @SavStateTigers on Facebook, Instagram, and X (Formerly Known As Twitter), or visit the official online home of SSU Athletics at http://ssuathletics.com.