HSRN HBCU Football Poll – 11/12/2012

Hartly, DE – Bethune-Cookman and Winston-Salem State on top of the Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN) regular season football polls. Over the weekend, Bethune-Cookman claimed the MEAC football championship and Winston-Salem State won their second CIAA football championship.

In the Division I-FCS poll, the top four spots remained the same with Bethune-Cookman (8-2), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8-2), Tennessee State (8-2) and Alabama State (7-3) holding their respective positions. Bethune-Cookman (8-2) claimed the MEAC football crown, and the Automatic FCS play-off bid, with a 49-7 win over Savannah State. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8-2) snared their SWAC Western Division crown and a spot in the SWAC Championship Game (12/08/12), with a 24-17 win at Grambling State. Tennessee State (8-2) was idle and Alabama State(7-3) took a 31-30 win at Southern.

Delaware State (6-4) and North Carolina A&T (6-4) tied for fifth place with wins over Hampton (35-27) and South Carolina State (17-7) respectively. Alabama A&M (7-3) slipped to seventh, from fifth after losing 35-21 to Jackson State (6-4) in battle for a SWAC East championship bid.  JSU moved to the ninth spot from “not ranked” the week before. North Carolina Central (6-4) dropped to eighth, from sixth, with their 22-21 loss at Florida A&M. Howard (6-4) rounds out the top ten after their 69-26 spanking at Georgia Southern.

In Division II, three of the top four teams have been selected to compete in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Winston-Salem State (11-0) claimed their second consecutive CIAA Championship with their 34-19 win over Elizabeth City State (7-4) and received the top seed in the NCAA Division II Super Regional I. The undefeated Rams will have a bye thru the Nov. 17 first round and will play the winner of the game between 4th-seed Shippensburg (10-1) and 5th-seed Bloomsburg (10-1) on Nov. 24 in Winston-Salem.

Tuskegee (9-1) claimed the SIAC Football Championship with their 55-24 win over Ft. Valley State (7-4). Tuskegee, however, will not compete in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. #3 ranked Miles (8-2) did receive an NCAA Play-off bid and will play at West Alabama (8-3)on Saturday (11/17). #4 ranked Ft. Valley State (8-3), the SIAC runner-up,  will travel to play at Lenoir-Ryne (8-2).

HSRN rankings for spots five through ten remained the same showing Elizabeth City State (7-4), Chowan (6-4), St. Augustine’s (6-4), Albany State (6-4), Johnson C. Smith (6-4) and Langston (6-4).

The Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN) will broadcast the Florida Classic between Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M on Saturday, November 17^th at 2:00 pm ET. The HSRN pregame begins at 1:00 pm. HSRN’s broadcast can be heard by tuning to SiriusXM satellite radio (Sirius- 128, XM-205) or on the internet at HSRN.COM or use your mobile app – Tunein.com.

The final HSRN-HBCU football polls will be published after the week of December 17^th following the NCAA Playoffs (FCS and Division II), the Thanksgiving Day Classics (Turkey Day Classic/ Bayou Classic) and the SWAC Championship game.

HSRN HBCU Football Poll – 11/12/12

Division I FCS

Division II