As I arrived on the Fort Valley State University campus for homecoming, I felt a sense of inevitability in the festive atmosphere and the smell of grills firing up. Something felt off. Sure, the Wildcats were coming off an impressive 22-9 homecoming win over Savannah State, but it still felt more like an outlier than a pattern. I tried to quell my apprehensions about the game's outcome, but I reminded myself of Lane College's situation.

Heading into today's homecoming matchup, the Dragons hadn't won a game, sitting at 0-8, and were recently beaten by Kentucky State University, 55-22. That led to the departure of Lane College football coach Stanley Connor, and athletic director Jeremy C. Patton stepped up to lead the Program for the rest of the season. Surely Fort Valley wouldn't lose to a team currently in transition, right?

Right?

That inevitable feeling became reality as Lane College won a 16-6 contest where they looked like the better team. They moved the ball freely downfield, whether the quarterback made plays with his legs or threw passes the secondary couldn't contain. Fort Valley's offense, led by the electric dual-threat quarterback Don Hudson, seemed to sputter out of control, predictably slipping into moments when Hudson ran for his life in a collapsing pocket as he tried to make something out of what ostensibly was nothing.

Even with a packed homecoming crowd, the anger at this afternoon's defeat was palpable. Several alumni tried to diagnose the team's direction in year two under Marlon Watson. Some pointed to a lack of talent as keeping the Wildcats from competing with the conference's best. They argued that you need money and talent to win. But to me, the argument that the players aren't good enough runs hollow.

Fort Valley State's players in the Watson era were good enough to stand toe-to-toe with talented teams such as West Alabama, Delta State, Clark Atlanta, and Benedict College last year. This year, the team held a 23-7 lead over a scrappy Tuskegee University team and came close to a miraculous comeback against a then-ranked Benedict College program. If the team was bad, these games would have ended in losses, but instead, they showed flashes of what this Fort Valley State team can be with the players we have. The real problem seems to be coaching and play calling.

And that's the worst part of where we are. This team is good enough to be an SIAC contender. This team does have enough talent to sustain leads and control the game, but where's the disconnect? What do we do to bring back the winning tradition that produced players like Tyrone Poole, Rayfield Wright, Ricardo Lockette, Marquette King, current Seattle Seahawks running back Emmanuel Wilson and other Wildcat greats?

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Fort Valley State doesn't even have to look back that far to see a culture of winning. Former Wildcat head coach Shawn Gibbs, now leading North Carolina A&T, brought sustained winning to the team in his three seasons. This fan base expects to win. This fan base expects greatness. This fan base is used to playing for championships. What do we do to get back to our glory?

Right now, I don't know the answer, as I'm trying to navigate the musings of a disappointed alumnus with the tact of a journalist and HBCU advocate. But what I do know is change needs to happen. Over two seasons, we see this isn't working, and we need serious conversations. It can't happen after another loss in the Fountain City Classic. Has to happen now. Where is this program going, and how did this happen today?

At this point, this isn't the musing of crazed alumni that don't know sports and fly off the handle at every incomplete pass and turnover on downs. This is a fan base that is used to being competitive. Questions must be answered.