Coach Kenny Phillips of Fayetteville State, who has three CIAA titles on his résumé, gave high praise to Winston-Salem State after his team's 56-20 loss last Saturday.
"Talent-wise, they are stacked," Phillips said of the 4-0 Rams. "They didn't have to throw the football because we did such a poor job with their running game. That quarterback (Kameron Smith), we got him bottled up, and he got out there and went 60 (yards for a touchdown). He's got some weapons."
Smith had six touchdown passes in a 55-24 thumping of Chowan on Sept. 17, and WSSU had six rushing touchdowns against Fayetteville State.
The Rams have been balanced, with totals of 968 yards rushing and 1,102 passing.
Is a letdown possible?
Coach Connell Maynor was quick to answer when asked about the possibility of a letdown this week against Johnson C. Smith.
The Golden Bulls (2-2, 1-0 CIAA) are better than in years past. They are coming off a 35-7 loss to Davidson, but they defeated Virginia State 14-7 the week before and are averaging 30 points. Virginia State was the CIAA's Northern Division champ last season and played in the CIAA championship game.
"We have to prepare to win, and we respect all and fear none," Maynor said. "We have to expect to be in a dogfight for four quarters, so we have to be ready to play."
Kickoff for Saturday's homecoming game at Bowman Gray Stadium is set for 1:30.
Cooper hopes Rams stay grounded
Nic Cooper, who rushed for a career-high 257 yards and scored four touchdowns Saturday, hopes the Rams stay focused despite their big margins of victory.
"The only thing I'm nervous about is people getting the big head," said Cooper, who is averaging 9.4 yards a carry and leads the CIAA with 605 total yards. "Whenever you get wins like this, you don't want to start smelling yourself. So we just have to come out and play hard like we have been doing."
The Rams have outscored opponents 200-77 and are winning by an average of 30.75 points.
John Dell
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