The latest games on the HBCU football slate were fun, seeing some exciting results that will have a significant impact going forward.
A team put the HBCU landscape on notice in its conference opener while their rival returned to the football field off a bye week in spectacular fashion.
Meanwhile, a significant domino has fallen in the CIAA Northern division race following a massive upset in a cross-divisional matchup.
Hampton makes a statement in the conference opener
The Hampton Pirates opened up CAA conference play in style, going on the road to defeat the Richmond Spiders 31-14.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak against the CAA and a four-game losing streak against Richmond.
Hampton’s run game was once again the show’s star, tallying 241 rushing yards. The Pirates have rushed for over 200 yards in each of their first four games the longest such streak they’ve had in the past 10 years.
Not only does Hampton look like a team that could challenge in the CAA, but they look good enough to be a fringe FCS playoff team.
Florida A&M is less than spectacular in win
The cliché every team says when the final score goes in their favor is “a win is a win.” However, in the aftermath of Florida A&M’s 31-7 win over Mississippi Valley State, that is proving not to be the case.
The Rattlers have been criticized for getting out to a slow start, only managing a 10-7 halftime lead over the Valley Vipers.
So much so that head coach Willie Simmons took to social media to defend his quarterback Jeremy Moussa from fans who complained about his level of play.
Florida A&M has set the standard that they are the class of the SWAC this season and that this is the time for them to claim that elusive conference championship.
Performances like this past Saturday will not do much to breed confidence in the still first-place Rattlers to get the job done down the line.
Howard returns with a vengeance
Coming off a bye week, the Howard Bison returned to the field dynamically, securing a 35-10 win over Robert Morris.
The last time the Bison took the field, they surrendered a 17-point lead against their fierce rival Hampton Pirates, losing 35-34.
Howard refused to let history repeat itself, fueled by a second-quarter run in which they outscored Robert Morris 21-7.
They kept their foot on the gas, showing themselves as the team that gave FBS opponent Eastern Michigan a tough outing in their season opener.
Livingstone shocks Bowie State
In arguably the most shocking result of the weekend, the Livingstone Blue Bears got themselves in the win column with a 31-18 upset win over the Bowie State Bulldogs.
While Bowie State looked unfocused and worried about its arguably more critical homecoming matchup against Virginia State, Livingstone was locked in on the task at hand.
They outplayed Bowie in all phases, playing their first clean game and not committing a single turnover while forcing five on the other end.
This is a game that could give the Blue Bears confidence as head into their division opener against Winston-Salem State next week.
Meanwhile, Bowie State will fight to keep its CIAA championship hopes alive against a Virginia State team that looks as dominant as ever.
Fort Valley State ends Allen’s run
The magical run of the Allen Yellow Jackets came to an end on Saturday as Fort Valley State knocked off the SIAC’s Cinderella team in a 49-21 win.
From start to finish, the Wildcats showed the Yellow Jackets still had a ways to go before they could become contenders in the SIAC.
Once FVSU jumped out to a 21-0 lead, there was nothing Allen could do to stop the onslaught, as four interceptions proved too much for them to overcome.
It only gets tougher from here for the Yellow Jackets as three of their remaining five games will see them face Albany State, Miles, and Benedict.
However, this will be a great learning experience for a team that could eventually become a contender.
