It’s usually business as usual for Eddie Robinson Jr. and his Alabama State football team. The coaching clichés of focusing on the game at hand, or taking one week at a time, is usually what’s said at weekly Wednesday press conferences.

But, on Wednesday, Oct. 8, it was a little different from the Alabama State football coach.

“We understand it’s a big week. Now we’re going to go play a team and we’re the homecoming opponent, but the biggest deal on this is just a SWAC East opponent, and I think coach (T.C.) Taylor said it right that whoever wins this game is going to have a great pass to win the East, so we all understand the importance of this game,” Alabama State coach Eddie Robinson Jr. said at his weekly press conference.

Alabama State and Jackson State both share the same record of 4-1, with both team’s losses coming at the hands of FBS opponents. Both are also the only teams remaining in the East division of the SWAC that are unbeaten in conference play.

After the Saturday, Oct. 11, matchup at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Alabama State has six remaining opponents on its schedule with a combined record of 12-19 — only one of those teams has a winning record. Jackson State will have five remaining games against opponents who have a combined record of 6-18. And like the Hornets, only one of those opponents has a winning record.

So it’s not wrong to assume that the winner between Alabama State and Jackson State will control the East and have every right to be considered a favorite to host the conference championship on Dec. 6.

ESPNU will televise the clash between Hornets and Tigers. And for good reason, the two teams have almost identical offenses. Both prioritize the run game, field the best quarterbacks in the conference and have defenses that play with a lot of confidence. Alabama State currently has the No. 1 scoring offense in the SWAC, but right behind is Jackson State at No. 2.

In the NCAA’s HBCU Power Rankings, Jackson State holds the No. 1 spot with Alabama State trailing at No. 2. The script couldn’t have been laid out any better in Week 7. When Robinson isn’t pulling the usual clichés, that says all one needs to know about the energy around this Hornet team that is used to playing tough teams on the road this season.

“I think everybody is looking forward to this Jackson State game, you couldn’t really talk about it because you wanted to focus on FAMU and take it one game at a time, but now that it’s here, you enjoy the moment,” Robinson said. “I think the biggest thing for us is to enjoy the week of preparation, don’t just be excited about playing on Saturday, be excited about watching film on Tuesday and Wednesday.”