WSSU Rams Will Open 2002 Football Season With Carson-Newman and Pioneer Bowl Champion Tuskegee
January 31, 2002Winston-Salem, NC - For the second consecutive year, the Winston-Salem State University Rams will open their football season with Carson-Newman College and Tuskegee University before beginning conference play at Bowie State on September 14.
Winston-Salem State, which fell to Virginia Union in the CIAA Championship Game to end the 2001 campaign 8-3, will travel to Jefferson City, Tennessee to take on the Eagles of Carson-Newman in the season opener on Thursday, August 29. Last season the Rams were able to upset the then No. 5 ranked Eagles 27-16 in Winston-Salem by forcing seven turnovers as Winston-Salem State won the first ever meeting between the two schools.
"Carson-Newman is one of the best football teams in Division II and that season opener down there will be a good measuring stick for us to see where we're at," said WSSU head coach Kermit Blount.
The other non-conference opponent for the Rams will be the Pioneer Bowl Champion Tigers of Tuskegee University, who finished the 2001 season ranked ninth in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Poll and will come to Bowman Gray Stadium on September 7.
"The games against Tuskegee are always great competition games due to the football history of both schools," Blount added. "The past several years the games have been close and I'm sure they'll come into Bowman Gray Stadium and put up a big challenge."
This will be the fourth meeting in the series with Tuskegee owning a two-game winning streak over the Rams after handing Winston-Salem State a 30-23 defeat last season. The other two meetings were at the Pioneer Bowl with the Rams winning in 1999 and the Tigers in 2000. The September 7 contest will also serve as the Hall of Fame Game and Winston-Salem State University will recognize those newly inducted into the university's Hall of Fame.
Once again the Rams will travel to Bowie State for their CIAA opener before hosting three consecutive conference games versus Virginia Union (Sept. 28), Fayetteville State - Homecoming (Oct. 5) and Livingstone College (Oct. 12). Winston-Salem State will then hit the road against North Carolina Central (Oct. 19), Virginia State (Oct. 26) and Johnson C. Smith (Nov. 2) before returning home for the season finale against the Vikings of Elizabeth City State on November 9.
Winston-Salem State University along with the City of Winston-Salem will again be the host of the 2002 CIAA Football Championship on November 16.
2002 Winston-Salem State University Football Schedule
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | GAME TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 29 | at Carson-Newman College | Jefferson City, TN |
7:00 p.m.
|
| September 7 | TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY | Winston-Salem, NC |
6:00 p.m.
|
| (Hall Of Fame Game) | |||
| September 14 | at Bowie State University | Bowie, MD |
1:00 p.m.
|
| September 21 | OPEN | ||
| September 28 | VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY | Winston-Salem, NC |
6:00 p.m.
|
| October 5 | FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY | Winston-Salem, NC |
6:00 p.m.
|
| (HOMECOMING) | |||
| October 12 | LIVINGSTONE COLLEGE | Winston-Salem, NC |
6:00 p.m.
|
| October 19 | at North Carolina Central University | Durham, NC |
4:00 p.m.
|
| October 26 | at Virginia State University | Petersburg, VA |
1:30 p.m.
|
| November 2 | at Johnson C. Smith University | Charlotte, NC |
1:30 p.m.
|
| November 9 | ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY | Winston-Salem, NC |
1:00 p.m.
|
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