Week 8 of the HBCU football season brought out a ton of excitement, with teams preparing for the impending playoff push.
While the MEAC began conference play and Florida A&M took one step closer to clinching its first SWAC East title, the star of the show this weekend came from the lower divisions of HBCU football.
One of the two remaining unbeaten teams suffered its first loss, while the other won emphatically. Also, an unlikely team played a homecoming spoiler against a SIAC opponent.
Here are the five observations from Week 8 of the HBCU football season.
1. Benedict stands alone
The Benedict Tigers came out of week eight unscathed, maintaining their unbeaten record following a 63-14 win over the Kentucky State Thorobreds.
Not only is Benedict the leader in a wild SIAC conference championship race, but they are also the last remaining undefeated team in HBCU football.
This comes from the Virginia State Trojans suffering their first loss of the season against Elizabeth City State.
With all the chaos in the SIAC, Benedict has consistently continued mowing its way through the conference in its quest for a second straight conference title.
What makes the Tigers’ run even more impressive is that despite their game against Miles, they have faced little to no adversity all season.
In their last two games, where each opponent scored first, Benedict won by a combined score of 111-20.
This team is on one of the most dominant runs seen in recent HBCU football history, which is scary as they may not have even peaked yet.
2. Virginia State is no longer undefeated
The Virginia State Trojans tasted defeat for the first time in the 2023 season, falling 17-16 to the Elizabeth City State Vikings.
Since entering conference play, the Trojans looked virtually unbeatable, winning each of their first five conference contest by an average margin of 27.8 points.
So much went wrong for Virginia State, who had its worst output in the run game all season (season-low 46 rushing yards), surrendered a season-high four sacks, and gave up a defensive touchdown for the first time this season.
Despite the loss, the consequences are not as severe for Virginia State as they remain at the top of the CIAA North, albeit tied with the Virginia Union Panthers.
Whether both teams win or lose, they will clash in the season’s final week for a chance to play for a CIAA title.
However, history will reflect that Virginia State’s bid for an undefeated season was ended by a team they hadn’t lost to in over 10 years.
3. Fayetteville State eliminates Johnson C. Smith from CIAA race
The Fayetteville State Broncos took a huge step toward clinching its sixth straight CIAA South division title, knocking off the Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls 14-7.
The win improved the Broncos’ conference record to a perfect 6-0 and mathematically eliminated Johnson C. Smith from division title contention.
Although Fayetteville State has gotten off to a slow start in its last couple of games, it did not have that problem this time.
The Broncos got a 14-0 lead in the first half and coasted to victory the rest of the way, getting timely stops as they have all season.
A win in next week’s game against Shaw will send Fayetteville State to Salem for its second straight CIAA championship.
However, a loss and a win by Winston-Salem State against Johnson C. Smith next weekend would create a win-or-go-home scenario between the two teams in the final game of the season.
4. Edward Waters comes up clutch…again
A week after winning on a last-second Hail Mary against Tuskegee, the Edward Waters Tigers again ended with a dramatic win, defeating the Albany State Golden Rams 31-27.
Trailing by as many as 17 points in the game, Edward Waters began battling back, outscoring Albany State 24-3 the rest of the way.
On the final score of the game, quarterback Jyron Russell came up clutch, connecting with Deven Thompson on a touchdown pass with eight seconds remaining to secure the win.
The Tigers have now guaranteed they will finish the year with at least a .500 record, something they have not done since 2012.
Edward Waters is a team on the rise who has the potential to be a dark horse contender in the SIAC next season.
5. Virginia University-Lynchburg is no longer a pushover
Something that has not been said in quite a long time in HBCU football is Virginia University-Lynchburg won its second straight game following a 45-40 win over Lane.
We truly serve an awesome God God is so good pic.twitter.com/JNUXv1SeAj
— VUL Football (@FootballVul) October 22, 2023
This might be the most impressive in VUL’s football program’s history, overcoming a 40-21 deficit to spoil Lane’s homecoming.
When it comes to Virginia University-Lynchburg, is the epitome of having a heart in HBCU football. Every year, they go into hostile territory and constantly get blown out.
Rather than just quit and accept defeat, they continue to compete, and that spirit paid off in this contest.
