The Labor Day Classic is one of the most underrated rivalries in the state of Texas. While the rivalry between Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern dates to 1947, the Labor Day Classic did not begin until 1985. 

The two hated rivals play for the Durley-Nicks Trophy which is named for Alexander Durley and Billy Nicks. Durley is the winningest coach in TSU history while Nicks led PVAMU to five black national championships.

This rivalry has been full of streaks for both teams. PVAMU won 14 of the first 23 meetings between the programs with the 1958 contest ending in a 6-6 tie. Texas Southern won 33 of the next 36 meetings between 1967 and 2003. 

PVAMU has controlled the most recent action between the two schools as the Panthers defeated the Tigers 44-23 last Saturday night to secure their 13th win in the last 16 meetings between the rivals and earn the Small College Team of the Week honors.

The Panthers rolled to a 60-14 win over TSU to end the 2018 season, but the Tigers saw plenty of changes during the offseason.

Clarence McKinney was named the head coach of the Tigers and turned the program’s focus to Houston. McKinney was a member of Kevin Sumlin’s coaching staff at Houston and Texas A&M and was responsible for recruiting the Houston area.

The changes in their opponent made for an interesting challenge heading into the 2019 Labor Day Classic for the Panthers. PVAMU was facing a first-time head coach with a revamped roster.

Texas Southern jumped out to an early 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter before PVAMU got their offense rolling in the second quarter.

PVAMU head coach Eric Dooley gave their rival credit but was proud of how his team fought in his postgame comments to pvpanthers.com.

"I want to take my hat off to Texas Southern as they did some things that stopped us for a couple of series,” said Dooley. “But, you know, my hat's off to my team as well. They fought back because we understand that we have to fight for 60 minutes."

The Panthers offensive explosion was sparked by senior running back Dawonya Tucker, who finished with 188 yards rushing and three touchdowns on only 11 carries. Tucker tied the game with a 17-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and gave the Panthers the lead with a 66-yard run with 3:19 remaining in the first half.

Dooley likes to see the big plays from the offense last Saturday as he wants his team to always be on the attack.

"We're an attacking football team. We're not going to lay back and wait, because time waits on no one,” said Dooley. “We just wanted to go out and attack, and do what we do best, which is executing in all three phases. Offensively, we wanted to have the mindset to try and control the clock as well as the scoreboard."

The Panthers face a daunting five-game stretch beginning on Saturday with a trip to face FBS Houston at 7 p.m. Dooley is looking for his team to improve from each game as they move forward.

"Let me make it perfectly clear: we strive for perfection. “That's what we want to do. We know that's not the case, but that's what we've got to strive for,” said Dooley. “We're going to clean it up, and there's some things we need to look at. I'm still going to take my time and look at the film to see what things we need to correct to get better, because week two is going to be a big week for us."