Every offseason reshapes college football, but in Division II HBCU circles, 2026 feels less like a reset and more like a quiet standoff.
The hierarchy hasn’t exactly crumbled. The usual contenders still hover near the top. But beneath that surface stability sits a more interesting question—who actually has something to prove?
If there is one team HBCU Sports reporter Jarrett Hoffman says carries the heaviest burden, it’s Kentucky State.
“I think that if I was to pinpoint a team that has the most to prove, it’s probably Kentucky State,” he said plainly. That view is rooted in how far the Thorobreds have come under Felton Huggins. Hoffman pointed out the program’s climb from “three wins in his first season to five wins and last year they had nine wins,” calling it “their best season in nearly a century since 1935.”
That kind of rise changes the standard. Kentucky State did not just improve. They became relevant. They earned “the Division 2 playoffs for the first time in school history.” But with that success comes scrutiny, and Hoffman noted that “a lot of people believe that they were gifted a Division 2 playoff berth.”
He said he doesn’t personally agree with that view, but he understands why it hangs over them. “Now you have to show that it was no fluke,” Hoffman said. “Everybody has you pinpointed on their schedule. Everybody has you as a team to beat.” That is the heart of their 2026 challenge: not just winning again, but proving last year’s surge was earned and sustainable.
Watch Jarrett’s full take on The Better Than Less Than podcast.
