Terrance’s Take: Prairie View makes bold statement in dominant Labor Day Classic win

PRAIRIE VIEW — On the surface, it seems like Prairie View’s dominant 52-14 win over Texas Southern in the 41st Labor Day Classic was a bold statement about what’s to come.

But in Prairie View coach Tremaine Jackson’s mind, the resounding early-season showing against a rival, SWAC opponent, and West division foe was more of a testament to what it took for the Panthers to rise to the occasion like they did Sunday morning on an ESPN national platform.

“That they will punch you in your face,” Jackson said when I asked what he learned about his team. “I’m not trying to sound any kind of way by saying that. You don’t get to see the behind the scenes with this squad. You didn’t get to see fall camp; you didn’t get to see summer training.

“So a lot of what I saw today is what we built in the summer and the spring when we go through D.O.G. training. We made them tap out. It ain’t no secret about that.”

The Panthers, the defending SWAC Champions, showed why they are the favorites to repeat as conference champs again and to represent the SWAC in the Black College Football national championship. They stole the drama out of this storied rivalry from the outset – literally – when Jahbari Kuykendall took the opening kickoff 90 yards for the touchdown.

It never felt like this one was going to be close from there. These are two good West Division teams that could finish one-two again.

Prairie View is just that much better in Year Two of Tremaine Jackson.

“We dominated. Our preparation. We prepare like nobody else,” said Prairie View running back Chase Bingmon, who rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. “The way we are built up, the way we are coached up; we’re prepared. We dominated.”

What was telling about Sunday’s performance was that Prairie View just kind of did what it wanted to do when it wanted to do it. Texas Southern, behind the ground attack of running back Athean Renfro and quarterback Cam’Ron McCoy, won the rushing battle 216 yards to 160 and dominated the time of possession 40:22 to 17:35.

Yet it wasn’t even close.

Quarterback Tevin Carter, in his first season as the solidified starter, was the pure definition of a dual threat as he picked up key yards on the ground, which included a 24-yard touchdown, while he showed us what he can do with his arm and decision-making by completing 16 of 22 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns.

The Panthers defense, which has shown some susceptibility to the rush over the past two weeks, displayed the ability to pull it together and make plays when necessary. The unit kept McCoy mostly in check, with Malachi Williams and J.J. Jean-Louis combining for four of the six sacks on him.

“We forcefully dominated. We took their will,” said Jackson, whose team improved to 1-1 overall after losing its season-opening game at Tarleton State last week. “And we still didn’t play in the manner that we wanted to play. So I’m excited about where we still can go because we have a long way to go still.”

Things toughen up for the Panthers considerably next week when they head to Waco to take on the Baylor Bears of the Big 12. These are commonly known as money games, where FCS schools line up for a beatdown and a nice payday for their trouble.

But Jackson has a message for the Bears, if they think it’s going to be that easy.

“I tell you what, we are not going to Baylor to pick up no checks. So don’t write that story,” Jackson said. “Don’t write no story about we’re just going to have a good showing. We are going to Baylor to get a win. That’s how we do things. That’s how these guys prepare.”

In the meantime, TSU and head coach Cris Dishman are having to figure out some things after coming into the SWAC opener feeling pretty good after a 42-30 season-opening win over North Carolina Central. The Tigers will play two of their next three games out of conference, beginning with a trip to El Paso next week to take on UTEP.

As bad a loss as Sunday was, Dishman said the best thing his players can do is put it behind them.

“The message was, we’ve got a game next week because one loss can turn into two losses,” Dishman said. “I don’t play Prairie View again until next year.

“I know on Twitter and social media, they play each other all of the time, but I don’t. I don’t have to worry about Prairie View, and I wish them the best of luck. But I do hope they slip up so that we can slip in.”

Jackson is sitting comfortably at the top of the West and does not currently need any help to get to where he wants to be.

“We get to sit it out and watch others fight it out for a little bit because we go non-conference for the next two weeks,” he said. “This is what we wanted to do. The winner of this game was going to put themselves in the driver’s seat in the West and control their own destiny and not need any help. That’s what we wanted to do. We don’t ever want any help from anybody else.

“We can’t rely on other people. We can only rely on what we do within our program.”