Monday, August 31, 2015

Miles football preview: Golden Bears trying to keep pace with Tuskegee in SIAC West race

FAIRFIELD, Alabama -- Miles College has posted four consecutive winning seasons, but the Golden Bears from Fairfield have some catching up to do not only in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but in their own state.

Downstate rival Tuskegee has won the SIAC championship in two of the last three years, and is the overwhelming preseason favorite to do so again in 2015. Miles — which last won the SIAC in 2011 — was picked second by league coaches in the West Division, behind the Golden Tigers.



Miles has finished 6-4 in back-to-back seasons, missing out on a second straight berth in the SIAC championship game when it lost 48-33 to Tuskegee in the regular-season finale. Reginald Ruffin's Golden Bears are 27-16 the last four seasons, but have not reached the NCAA Division II playoffs since 2012.

The Golden Bears won't do so in 2015 either, whether they win the SIAC or not. Miles has chosen to play this year in the annual Turkey Day Classic Nov. 21 against Alabama State in Montgomery, a move that disqualifies the Golden Bears from the playoffs (but not the SIAC championship game).

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