FORT VALLEY, Ga. – The Benedict College Tigers, the two-time defending SIAC champions, now find themselves in the position of needing to win their final two games in order to avoid a losing season. The Tigers have a tough task in front of them on Saturday, when they travel to take on the Fort Valley State Wildcats, who are in a late-season battle to earn a spot in the SIAC championship game.
 
Kickoff on Saturday is 1 p.m. The game will be televised on HBCU Go / The Grio. No live stats will be available. Tickets are available here.
 
"Our objective is to get better every day, and that's what we're doing," Dickerson said. "We've had a lot of energy at practice. I'm real excited about it."
 
Benedict is 3-5 overall and 3-3 in the SIAC in coach Ron Dickerson Jr.'s first season, and coming off a 26-14 Homecoming loss to SIAC leader Miles last week. Fort Valley State is 5-3 overall and in a three-way tie (with Tuskegee and Albany State) for second place in the SIAC with a 5-1 conference record.
 
Dickerson said the focus this week has been to cut down on the mistakes that plagued the team in the loss to Miles, especially working to get the defense to stop the opposing team on third down. Miles converted eight of 12 (66.7 percent) of their third downs, including several third and long situations.
 
The Wildcats enter the game as one of the top offensive teams in the SIAC. They are second in scoring, averaging 35.8 points per game, while averaging 330 yards of total offense and 145 yards rushing per game. Brandon Marshall is the SIAC's leading rusher, averaging nearly 100 yards per game.
 
"Not taking anything away from Fort Valley, but we've got to do Benedict," Dickerson said. "And if we don't do Benedict, it puts you in a different situation. Fort Valley is a very, very good team. They run the ball, they're going to run the ball, they're going to try and instill their will on you. One thing we do is we play the run well. Again, we just can't give up the big plays on third down. Defensively, they're very talented. They're going to mix up stuff and try to confuse the quarterback. It goes back to how we perform this week at practice, and I think it's been a great week."
 
The Tigers rank high in several categories as well. Benedict ranks 13^th in NCAA Division II in team sacks and team tackles for loss. Jaxon Williams ranks first in the nation in kickoff returns, averaging more than 40 yards per return, thanks in part to last week's opening game 96-yard touchdown return. Israel Nwokocha ranks first in the SIAC and third in the nation in sacks (1.06 per game). He also ranks first in the SIAC and 14^th in the nation in tackles for loss per game (1.7).
 
Against Miles, the Tigers inserted Komari Frye for starting quarterback Charles "Tre" Simmons in the second half, completing five of his seven pass attempts. Dickerson said both quarterbacks have been getting plenty of practice this week, and the starter will be a game-time decision.
 
"Everybody's been practicing and playing well," Dickerson said. "Sometimes you've got to shake things up to get the results you want. It happened, and we're going to continue to have competition."