COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers travel to Albany, Ga., on Saturday with an opportunity to stay in the hunt for the SIAC East Division title.

Kickoff from the Albany State Coliseum is 2 p.m. The game will air on the Aspire television network (In Columbia, channel 185 Spectrum, channel 158 AT&T U-Verse, channel 381 DirecTV). Benedict will broadcast the game on WLXC Kiss 103.1 FM, with an audio stream available.

Benedict enters the game at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the SIAC. Albany State is 5-3 overall and tied with Benedict for second place in the SIAC East at 3-1.

"They're always a good team on the East. They're a team we haven't played very well against the last couple of years. They've got a good rushing defense, good rushing offense, and a good team overall. We're going to have to be on the top of our game and we really need this game," said Benedict head coach Mike White.

White helped build a powerhouse program at Albany State, winning six SIAC championships and advancing to the NCAA playoffs seven times in 15 years as head coach there. Now in his third year as head coach at Benedict, he's built the Tigers into a conference challenger, but Albany State continues to be a roadblock. Last year, the ASU Golden Rams beat Benedict 34-7 in Augusta, Ga., and Albany State holds a 14-1 lead in the all-time series. Benedict's only win over the Golden Rams came in 2008, and Albany State has won the last eight meetings.

"We haven't played well against them. They're always a good football team. For us to stay in the conference race, we need to play well," White said. "The game is just a big game. This is why you work so hard all offseason and during the season to get to this point. To win the East, you've got to go through Albany State. They definitely gave us a whipping last year. I think we thought we were a little further along until we played them. It's going to be a tough challenge. They're a physical ball club. We're trying to become that kind of group where we're very physical and tough-minded. That's what it's going to take Saturday."

Albany State is the top-scoring offense in the SIAC, averaging 28.2 points per game. The Golden Rams rank second in the league in total offense, averaging 352.8 yards per game. Benedict, with five wins already in a nine-game season, has already clinched its first winning season since going 8-3 in 2009. Both of the Tigers' losses have been in overtime. The Tigers have established one of the league's top defenses, allowing a conference-best 18.1 points per game and are second in total defense, allowing 277.4 yards per game.

The Tiger defense will be facing a new challenge this week, as Albany State runs an option offense. Running back McKinley Habersham is second in the conference averaging 100.5 yards per game.  Quarterback Chancellor Johnson has thrown for 1,171 yards and rushed for another 237 yards.

"They are the one team that brings a different style of offense. This is the first time we've seen it," White said. "With option football, you've just got to stay sharp and make sure you're taking care of your responsibilities. We've got to be able to slow that running game down. More importantly, we have to keep them from making that big pass play or big running play. For us to win Saturday, our defense has to play extremely well."

The Tigers enter Saturday's game banged up. The most important injuries have been at quarterback. Dominique Harris went down with a season-ending knee injury on Sept. 30 against Central State. Christian Lisby played well in the next two games before suffering a concussion last week against Morehouse. Phillip Brown entered the game and helped the Tigers win at Morehouse in overtime, and will get the starting nod against the Golden Rams.

"We've been hit pretty good with quite a few injuries," White said. "We've got to tighten up and put the other guys in and the other guys have to step up and play well. It's going to take a heck of an effort for us to pull this one off, but I think we're up to the challenge. Phillip did a good job of coming in and kind of settling us, and was able to keep the offense moving. The offense is in his hands this week and he's going to have to do a good job of controlling the offense and just keep the sticks moving, and when we have those scoring opportunities, we have to take advantage of them. We need to try to get something going and get him going and just try to ride that wave with him, whether that's running or passing."