COLUMBIA, S.C. – One year removed from a disastrous 1-9 season, the Benedict College Tigers are looking to complete an incredible worst-to-first turnaround. The Tigers travel to face Albany State Golden Rams on Saturday in what could be the biggest game of the season.

A Benedict win against the Golden Rams would put the Tigers one step closer for a bid to the SIAC Championship game on Nov. 16 in Atlanta. The Tigers would also need some help, including an Albany State win over Fort Valley State next week in the annual Fountain City Classic. Benedict is 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the SIAC East. Albany State is 3-4 overall and 2-0 in the SIAC East.

The game will be broadcast on WXLC Kiss 103.1 and will be streamed on www.kiss-103.1.com. Kickoff is 2 p.m.

"The good thing about it, we're in the hunt for the East Division right now," Benedict head coach James Woody said. "We've just got to take care of our responsibilities and win these last two games. It's great to be in that situation, but we're going to need a little help. We'll see how this thing pans out. I'm happy where we are, but there still is a lot of work to be done these next two weeks."

After losing four of their first five games, the Golden Rams have turned things around late in the season with back-to-back wins. The Golden Rams have traditionally been one of the most dominate teams in the SIAC, earning 13 trips to the NCAA Division II playoffs since 1993, including eight straight trips from 2004 through 2011. Benedict has beaten the Golden Rams just once in their past 11 meetings.

"They're a great football team," Woody said. "They're big, they're strong, they can run the football, they've got three great backs, they've got a great quarterback and they've got the receivers, and defensively, they're tough. We've got our hands cut out for us, but we're up for the challenge."

The Rams are led by junior quarterback Frank Rivers, a transfer from Grambling who had narrowed his choice between Albany State and Benedict. He has thrown for 1,447 yards and 13 touchdowns. Albany State also leads the SIAC in rushing defense, although Benedict remains the top team in the league in overall defense.

Benedict has won two games in a row, beating SIAC East opponents Clark Atlanta and Morehouse. That win streak also coincides with a change at quarterback, swapping out Marcus Graham in favor of sophomore Brandon Thompson. Against Clark Atlanta, Thompson rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing for 103. Last week against Morehouse, the Maroon Tigers focused their defense on stopping Thompson from running, holding him to -42 yards on the ground. But Thompson burned them through the air for 282 yards and two touchdowns.

It is that dual-threat ability that helped convince the Benedict coaching staff to move Thompson from wide receiver, where he was playing. Marcus Graham, who played the first six games at quarterback, is now working out at wide receiver and caught a touchdown pass from Thompson last week against Morehouse.

"Brandon's done a very good job for us, but he's still learning," Woody said. "The good thing about him, he's a hard-working guy. He's always watching film and you have to kick him out of the office. He wants to be great, and that's the thing I'm most happy with. He's a big part of our offense and he has to play well for us to have a chance."

Woody said Thompson has put in a lot of personal workout time with assistant coach and offensive coordinator Sean Anderson.

"Brandon brings a lot of excitement and athleticism to our team," Anderson said. "He makes great reads as a quarterback. He's very smart in what he does. He's very efficient, and he can make plays with his legs.

"We saw him play wide receiver, and we knew he could move. And we already knew he was a quarterback, so we kind of put two and two together and got smart and just put him out there throwing the ball. Obviously he was a quarterback coming in and just wanted to give him a chance."

Thompson played at Northeast High School in Oakland Park, Fla., where he helped lead a talented Hurricanes team to the state semifinals. He had three Division I receivers as his teammates, including Stacy Coley, who was regarded as one of the nation's top high school wide receivers and now plays for the seventh-ranked Hurricanes. Thompson was named to The Miami Herald's All-Broward third team.

Thompson went to West Virginia Wesleyan, a Division II school in Buckhannon, West Virginia. But Thompson felt he didn't get a fair shake at West Virginia Wesleyan, and requested a release to come to Benedict, where one of his high school coaches - Norm Richards – is now on staff.

"I knew the athleticism he had. The knowledge of the offense is pretty similar to what we ran when we were in high school. He was very comfortable and he picked it up very fast," Richards said.

"He's still got a lot to learn in regards to the offense we run here. But he's comfortable and he feels very confident with the group of kids that he's with and he's enjoying himself and having a good time."

That is one of the biggest differences with Thompson under center. He gave the Tigers a shot in the arm with his enthusiasm and confidence.

"It feels great to take over the team and just keep them together," Thompson said. "That's my whole objective, we'll win games if we stay together. It's just a good environment. Nobody's putting the other one down. We're all here for one reason, one cause. I love my team."