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COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers take on the Stillman College Tigers on Saturday, still searching for their first win of the season.

Benedict is 0-5, (0-2 SIAC) after a 50-7 thumping by Miles College last week. Stillman comes into the contest with a 3-2, (2-0 SIAC) record and riding a two-game winning streak.

Facing another of the SIAC's elite teams poses a daunting challenge for the Benedict Tigers, but head coach James Woody said the Benedict Tigers are working hard for that first win.

“Any team we play in this conference is pretty good. There's a lot of parity in this conference,” Woody said. “Our main goal is we want to stop the run and want to stop the pass because they're a very, very talented football team in some areas. That's the key, we've got to stop the run, stop the pass and make them do some things they don't like doing. We're looking forward to it.”

The offensive numbers between Benedict and Stillman are similar. Stillman averages 224 yards of offense per game, while Benedict tops that, averaging 232 yards per game. Benedict averages 58.8 yards per game on the ground, but Stillman is even lower, rushing for a paltry 41.2 yards per game. Stillman's passing yardage average of 188.6 is slightly better than Benedict's 173.2.

And the Benedict offense will have to move the ball against what Woody calls an attacking Stillman defense.

“They like to put pressure on you and play a lot of man coverage. So we've got to be ready for the blitz package,” Woody said. “They're going to come after us. We want to try and control that early and make them become a base defense and hopefully we can move the football around on them. But they're a very pressure-type defense. They're well coached.”

But the biggest difference between these two teams is that Stillman ranks second in the SIAC and 20^th nationally in turnover margin. Defensive back Carlos Wilson has four interceptions, including two last week. As a team, Stillman has eight interceptions and eight fumble recoveries. Benedict, on the other hand, has a negative turnover margin with nine fumbles and four interceptions, while gaining 10 opponent turnovers.

Woody said the Benedict Tigers cannot beat themselves with turnovers and mistakes.

“That's the biggest thing we've got to do is make sure we control the football and protect the football,” Woody said. “Turnovers have been killing us, but we're getting better and better each game. I can see improvement in that area as far as the turnovers, but we want to get better.”

The already young Benedict football squad has had to shuffle its lineup the last couple of weeks with injuries and other personnel losses. But Woody is not using the injuries as an excuse. He was proud of the effort the team displayed against a bigger, stronger Miles team last week for the first three quarters before getting worn down at the end.

“We're a banged-up football team. That's no excuse, though. The next guy in the lineup has got to play,” Woody said. “We're playing with a lot of freshmen in the lineup and they've got to step up this week and be ready to play some ball. We can't worry about the nicks and the bruises. We're down injury-wise, but we're still looking forward to try and win this football game.”

Woody also hopes returning home to play in front of the Benedict fans will also give the team a boost.

“We want the fans to come out and support these kids. Even though we're 0-5, the spirit is there. The effort is there. Nobody's given up on the season. They all want to win. They know we're a young football team and getting better and better each day. I'm expecting the crowd to come out and really cheer these kids on to victory.”