HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The countdown to kickoff for the Magic City Classic is officially on, as we’re just a few days away from the 82nd annual rivalry meeting between Alabama A&M and Alabama State.

Fans of the two schools like to call this matchup the biggest game of the year because of the bragging rights involved, but for Bulldogs’ head coach Connell Maynor and his team, this is the biggest game of the year simply because it’s the next game on their schedule.

Last season’s meeting came down to the wire, and Coach Maynor expects this year’s edition of the rivalry to be just as good. He knows his team will bring their best come Saturday afternoon.

“Neither team wants to lose, both teams want to win so bad that they leave it all out on the field and we kind of expect the same thing this year,” Maynor said. “We’ve got two good football teams. Both of them are hungry and it’s a shame that somebody has to lose but that’s the way it is. Winning this game is huge for us because it’s the next game, it’s a conference game, it’s the Classic and it keeps our hope alive; we’ve got everything to play for this week and every reason to play as hard as we can.”

The Hornets are 3-3 entering this year’s meeting; the Bulldogs sit at 4-3 with a 2-2 SWAC record. The Classic kicks off at 2:30 on Saturday, October 28 at Legion Field.