West Alabama fell 11 spots to No. 24 in this week’s American Football Coaches Association Division II poll following its first loss of the season, 34-6, at FCS member Samford last week.

Head coach Will Hall said he wouldn’t have been surprised had the Tigers fallen completely out of the rankings. Following a two-hour practice Monday evening at Tiger Stadium, the second-year head coach vowed to “right the ship.”

“Right now we are a very average football team,’ Hall said. “I’m disappointed in how we played Saturday and disappointed in where we are as a program right now.

“We have a lot of talent, but we are not a good team right now,” Hall said. “It’s my job to get it fixed. I believe we took a giant step in that direction tonight.”

The Tigers worked extensively on special teams and introduced the game plan for this week’s home opener against Mississippi College (1-1). The Tigers came out the loss at Samford injury free with the exception of normal game night bumps and bruises.

“We have become a soft football team and that hasn’t been our trademark here,” Hall said. “We were a hard-core, ‘soldered-and-blowed’ football team last year.

“That’s what we want to personify as a program,” he said. “For whatever reason, we didn’t play that way last Saturday, but I can assure you we will be that way from here on out.”

Kick off is set for 6 p.m. Saturday at Tiger Stadium.