‘A thorn in our side:’ Howard has the Real HU battle against Howard circled

Defending MEAC champion Howard was able to expand their roster depth by virtue of a 35-21 win over Morehouse in the HBCU NYC Classic last weekend.

But Larry Scott has now turned his focus to the Bison’s upcoming classic against former MEAC rival Hampton.

“Whenever you play these types of football games, pride is a factor,” Scott said. “There’s a big rivalry there that’s good for the fans, the D.C. area, people that graduated from Hampton Institute in the area, so there’s a friendly battle going on. So this is for the pride of the game, the pride of the program, and pride in being a Howard Bison.”

Hampton, coming off of a dominant 37-7 win over Norfolk State in the Battle of the Bay, has won the last seven Battle of the “Real HU” games, also known as the Truth and Service Classic. The game will be played at Audi Field at 4 p.m.

The Bison will be looking for their first win against the Pirates in Scott’s tenure, and though the last two games have been heartbreakers for Howard, the head coach has his team focused on Saturday and nothing else.

“We haven’t been vocal about the past; we’ve just been vocal about this being a very important football game in 2024,” Scott said. “(The) 2023 (game), it was what it was. We felt like we had that game won, we let off the gas and didn’t finish. We’re all aware we’ve come up short the last few times we’ve played them. The guys that have been here understand that.”

With that awareness in mind, Scott acknowledged the importance of the game and is preparing his team to win on Saturday.

“That game has been a thorn in our side and has been one that’s been circled on our schedule for us,” he said. “We understand this year has to be different. We want to put ourselves in the best position possible to win this game.