Albany State's playoff focus to have homecoming test

<p>This week is all about excitement for the fans of the Albany State University football team. That's right. It's homecoming week for the Rams and their fans. And that means plenty of activities leading up to the game, including the annual parade Saturday morning.</p><p>But if the Rams want to continue the fun that has been their season so far, they better go to work as usual as they prepare for Clark Atlanta. Clark Atlanta? Are you kidding?</p><p>Not really. Sure the Panthers are bad, sitting at 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. But that's exactly what makes them dangerous for the Rams. Albany State can't afford to overlook the Panthers. There is simply too much at stake.</p><p>The Rams improved to 6-0 with their win over Savannah State last Saturday, and they are now ranked seventh nationally in Division II and first in the Southeast Region. They need to protect that top region ranking, and the only way to do that is to keep winning games _ Albany State knows enough about that, by the way, as it is tied with Grand Valley State for the nation's longest winning streak at 14 games.</p><p>Mike White's team has done too much in its first six games to give it away this week or the next couple of weeks, for that matter.</p><p>Albany State beat Valdosta State for the first time ever earlier this season, and the Rams also beat Kentucky State, which along with Valdosta State beat the Rams last season. Albany State then had the kind of win that usually proves to be a precursor of something special with a last-second win at Tuskegee.</p><p>It would be a shame for that to go down the drain for the Rams, who have a path ahead of them that could lead to a great season. After Saturday's homecoming game, the Rams' final home contest of the season, Albany State travels to Benedict and Morehouse before heading up to Columbus for the annual showdown with Fort Valley State.</p><p>Benedict and Morehouse, both 2-4, aren't much better than the Panthers. That means the Rams if they can keep their focus should be 9-0 entering the contest with Fort Valley State. And that game doesn't look like the showdown it did a couple of weeks ago as the Wildcats have lost their past two games.</p><p>So is an undefeated regular season a given? No. But it is a real possibility, and if the Rams keep winning, they have a real shot at being the Southeast Region's No. 1 seed in the Division II playoffs. That would mean a bye in the first round, along with at least one home game for the Rams.</p><p>That would be the perfect way to cap the team's first season at Albany Municipal Coliseum: large crowds watching Albany State, which has one playoff win in its history, protect its home turf during the postseason.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2865840)</p>