The Grambling State Tigers fell to the Prairie View A&M Panthers 21-14 in their Southwestern Athletic Conference opener Saturday in the annual State Fair Classic at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas.
GSU dropped to 2-2 overall. Defending SWAC champion Prairie View A&M improved to 2-3 and 2-0.
The Tigers struggled on offense and trailed 21-7 late in the fourth quarter. GSU cut the deficit to seven on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Jacobe Robinson to Tyson George with 3:10 left in the game.
But the Panthers picked up three first downs and ran out the clock.
The game was tied at 7 at the half.
The Tigers scored first on a 50-yard pass from Ashton Frye to Nae’Saan Dickerson with 7:56 left in the second quarter. That capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive.
Prairie View A&M tied it on a 37-yard pass from Tevin Carter to Travon Jones with 5:40 left in the half.
The Panthers took the lead on a 17-yard run by Janbari Kuykendall with 5:40 left in the third quarter. They extended the lead to 21-7 on a 2-yard pass from Carter to Kheagian Heckaman with 9:13 left in the game,
Prairie View A&M’s second-half scoring drives covered 83 and 77 yards.
Grambling State starting quarterback Reginald Johnson sat out the game because of an illness, according to the Ruston Daily Leader.
Jacobe Robinson got the bulk of the snaps in his place, completing 9-of-18 passes for 131 yards. The Tigers’ two touchdown passes accounted for 97 of the team’s 197 yards passing.
GSU rushed for just 72 yards.
The Tigers defense limited the Panthers to 317 total yards with more than half coming on the two second-half TD drives. Carter was efficient, completing 18-of-22 passes for 160 yards.
Neither team had a turnover.
Grambling State hosts Alcorn Stste next Saturday at 7. The Braves (3-2, 2-0) defeated Texas Southern 43-40 in overtime Saturday.