Well, HBCU Nation, we made it. A long summer of debate, discussion, and downright smack talk has led us to Labor Day Weekend and Week 1 of the Black College Football season. HBCU Sports will have you covered game day and weekly with coverage near and far, and that includes predictions from a contributing writer – me, of course.
Oh yes, we haven’t been formally introduced. Hello, I’m Chris Stevens, a sportswriter who began his career covering Delaware State athletics as a student reporter during Dubya’s first term. I joined the HBCU Sports team back in early March, and you can check out my work here in the “About the Author” section at the end of this piece. Very happy to be here and covering a subject near and dear to my heart, and that’s Black College sports.
But enough about me, let’s talk about these games! Plenty of exciting and intriguing matchups across the board in Week 1, from Labor Day Classics to Carolina confrontations and much more. I’ll give you four to five featured predictions, along with score predictions from the rest of the weekly slate. Each week I’ll come back to report my record from the previous week and predict the coming weekend’s games. So let’s have fun – remember, it’s all good fun.
Bowie State (6-4, 5-3 CIAA in 2022) at Delaware State (5-6, 2-3 MEAC in 2022), Saturday September 2, 1 p.m.
Two years ago, this game was a tale of two halves. Delaware State played like a Division I team in opening a four-score lead, but the Bulldogs turned the tide late, making the game much closer than it had any right to be before the Hornets held on 32-24.
The Bulldogs are now led by Kyle Jackson, and he returns a ton of talent to a team that’s expected to be back in the CIAA title chase this season. The Hornets replaced program legend Rod Milstead with MEAC veteran Lee Hull (Morgan State, Howard), and he looks to get DelState to their first winning season since 2012. The Hornets will return a substantial number of players on both sides of the ball as well, so on paper, it looks like an even match-up.
If Bowie can avoid a slow start, a slight upset is possible. But as a D-I school, the Hornets should be able to pull this one out…maybe.
Prediction: Delaware State 24, Bowie State 21
Florida Memorial (3-7, 0-5 TSC in 2022) at Edward Waters (5-6, 4-4 SIAC in 2022) in the Big Cat Classic, Saturday, September 2, 6 p.m.
Last year’s Big Cat Classic (a 39-34 win for FMU) was defense optional, and after Florida Memorial fell just short to Bluefield University 50-47 in their season opener last week, it appears more of the same will apply to this year’s contest.
The Lions rushed for 379 yards last week, something else EWU’s defense has to account for after giving up 382 yards in the air to FMU last year.
Conversely, the Tigers ranked in the top half of the SIAC in yards per game a season ago (351.4), so another track meet appears to be on the horizon.
We also send our well wishes to Edward Waters and the Jacksonville community. Hate has no place in our society. Hopefully, this game can serve as an act of love and perseverance for Duval.
Prediction: Edward Waters 37, FMU 35
Morehouse (1-9, 1-7 SIAC in 2022) vs. Virginia Union (9-2, 4-1 CIAA North in 2022) at HBCU Hall of Fame Classic, Canton, Ohio, Sunday, September 3, 4 p.m.
Virginia Union, fresh off a Division II playoff appearance, returns all-world running back Jada Byers and plenty of others in a game that will be televised on the NFL Network, providing ample exposure for the Panthers and the Maroon Tigers.
Morehouse’s new coach is a familiar face within the program as Gerard Wilcher was a member of the last MC team to win the SIAC 32 years ago. While Rome or the House wasn’t built in a day, a good start against a quality Division II program could help boost the Maroon Tigers’ morale.
Union has the advantage on paper, but looking too far ahead has cost many a team in sports in the history of the world. The Panthers would be wise to get a jump on Morehouse early to establish an advantage.
Prediction: Virginia Union 27, Morehouse 13
Game Of The Week
Jackson State (1-0 in 2023) vs. Florida A&M (9-2, 7-1 SWAC in 2022) at the Orange Blossom Classic, Miami Gardens, Florida, Sunday, September 3, 3 p.m. (on ESPN)
Provided Idalia doesn’t wash Florida away, the early game of the year candidate will likely decide the SWAC East winner for the third straight year.
Florida A&M comes into this game with a chip on their collective shoulders after alternating between heartbreak (7-6 in 2021) and heart rip-out (59-3 last year) at the hands of Jackson State.
The Tigers had their way with South Carolina State in last week’s MEAC/SWAC challenge, proving that the rumors of their demise are greatly exaggerated. The Tiger offense is led by Jason Brown at quarterback and Irv Mulligan at running back, while a wealth of pass catchers (D.J. Stevens, Jency Riley Jr., Rico Powers) can take the top off of a defense quickly.
The Rattlers will counter with SWAC preseason offensive player of the year Jeremy Moussa at QB and Jah’Marae Sheard at wide receiver. Linebacker Isaiah Major and DBs Javon Morgan and Kendall Bohler will lead a Rattler defense charged with keeping JSU’s explosive offense under wraps.
This game, should it go on as scheduled, will be the one to watch this weekend. It’s on ESPN on a Sunday afternoon. Two great football teams with long football histories will do battle to see who will be one-up on the rest of one of the most competitive divisions in FCS football.
There can only be one winner. One has to think the third time is the charm for the Rattlers, but if JSU shows up like they did last week, we may be penciling in another SWAC East crown for the Tigers.
Prediction: Florida A&M 31, Jackson State 27
Week 1
FCS/Division 1
Notre Dame 34, Tennessee State 14
Eastern Michigan 28, Howard 13
Virginia State 30, Norfolk State 20
South Carolina State 17, Charlotte 13
Richmond 38, Morgan State 24
North Carolina Central 37, Winston-Salem State 16
UAB 23, North Carolina A&T 7
Grambling 24, Hampton 14
Mississippi Valley State 21, Central State 10
Tulsa 33, Arkansas Pine-Bluff 14
Alabama State 28, Southern 21
Vanderbilt 27, Alabama A&M 17
Memphis 35, Bethune-Cookman 13
Southern Miss 26, Alcorn State 23
Texas Southern 40, Prairie View A&M 34
Division II/NAIA
Lincoln 25 (Pa.), Clarion 19
Fayetteville State 31, UNC-Pembroke 28
Johnson C. Smith 20, Virginia Wesleyan 9
Catawba 24, Elizabeth City State 20
Lenoir-Rhyne 33, St. Augustine’s 18
Bluefield State 19, Livingstone 14
Albany State 32, Wingate 31
Kentucky State 27, Clark Atlanta 23
Benedict 23, Shaw 20
Savannah State 21, Southeastern 14
Lane 38, Miles 34
Erskine 28, Allen 24
Tuskegee 39, Fort Valley State 38
Emporia State 26, Lincoln (Mo.) 17
Langston 20, Louisiana Christian 7
Carson-Newman 35, Virginia University-Lynchburg 17
