Week three of the HBCU football season saw all of the games played on Saturday; A day of many blowouts. Lincoln of PA. was trounced by Anderson Broaddus 48-10, Delaware State fell to West Virginia 59-16, Cheyney was routed by Indiana of PA. 65 to 16, Hampton had their way with Livingstone 59-0, Rutgers routed Morgan State 65-0, Norfolk State was blitzed by James Madison 75-14 and the Bison of Howard ranked 8th on the Urban Media Today Football Poll were no match for Richmond as the Spiders prevailed 68-21.
Speaking of teams ranked on the UMT Top Ten Poll, top-ranked Grambling State picked up its second win of the season, beating Jackson State 36-21. Devante Kincade led the way passing for 255 yards and a touchdown, while on the defensive side of the ball the Southwestern Athletic Conference defensive player of the week De’ Arius Christmas made his presence felt with 5 solo tackles and also returned a fumble for a touchdown.
In other top ten actions North Carolina A&T, Tennessee State and Bowie State all improved to 3-0. The Aggies of A&T beat UNC-Charlotte 35-31 as QB Lamar Raynard threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns, despite being sacked twice. The Tigers of Tennessee State beat Florida A&M 24-13 to win the Tampa Classic. QB Treon Harris led a Tigers offense that tallied 514 yards of total offense while the defense held the Rattlers to only 262 yards. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs of Bowie State mauled St. Augustine’s 66-20. Bowie States’ offense fell one yard short of a school record 732 yards in total offense. Bowie State Star QB Amir “Showtime” Hall accounted for 496 yards as he passed for 6 touchdowns and ran for 2 more.
Saturday’s action did not stop there, In the SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) the Golden Rams of Albany State suffered their first loss of the season falling to North Greenville 35-27. The Golden Tigers of Tuskegee handed Clark-Atlanta their first loss 30-16, Morehouse beat Central State 35-33, Kentucky State ran past Kentucky Wesleyan 30-23, Benedict took a bite out of Lane 30-21 and Miles College shut down Fort Valley State 29-10.
In the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) teams finished up their out of conference schedule. Bethune Cookman was no match for FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) opponent Florida Atlantic falling to the Owls 45-0. Coach Terry Sims Wildcats were outrushed 439 yards to 61 and the Bethune offense finished with only 117 yards of total offense. The Bulldog defense of South Carolina State held the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith scoreless 41-0 and the Tigers of Savannah State could only muster 3 points while the Grizzlies of Montana ran off 56 points.
In the SWAC ( Southwestern Athletic Conference) Coach Brian Jenkins and his Alabama State Hornets gave Kennesaw State a tough way to go before the Hornets wings were clipped 20-14. The Jaguars of Southern who are still without star quarterback Austin Howard suffered their second loss of the season 51-17 against the University of Texas-San Antonio. Howard is out nursing an injury he suffered in the season opener. Alabama A&M also had a tough game falling to South Alabama 45-0, Prairie View A&M suffered a similar fate at the hands of Nichols State 44-13, Arkansas Pine-Bluff was no match for Arkansas State 48-3 and Alcorn State fell to McNeese State 34-27.
Meanwhile, in the CIAA ( Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) Chowan ran into a tough opponent in West Florida suffering a 51-23 smackdown, while Elizabeth City State edged Fayetteville State in the 20th Annual Down East Viking Classic 45-42.The Bears of Shaw picked up a big win 34 -27 over Malone and Winston Salem State edged Virginia Union 21-20.
And finally in HBCU independent action, Lincoln of Missouri came up 4 points short in their battle against Quincy as the Blue Tigers fell by a score of 7-3. Speaking of Tigers, Edward Waters lost to Cumberland 38-16 and Virginia University of Lynchburg felt the bite of the Wolves of Newberry 55-7. The Steer of Texas College remain winless this season falling to SAGU 52-7 and West Virginia State came up short to Notre Dame of Ohio 47-35.
UMT Black College Football Poll 09/18/17 (Week 3):
1 Grambling State Tigers. 2-1 (Beat Jackson St & Northwestern St / Lost to Tulane)
2 North Carolina Cent. Eagles. 1-1 (Beat Shaw. / Lost to Duke)
3 North Carolina A&T Aggies 3-0 (Beat Gardner Webb /Mars Hill/ UNCC)
4 Tennessee State Tigers 3-0 (Beat Georgia St/ Jackson St/FAMU)
5 Bowie State Bulldogs 3-0 (Beat Setin Hill/ Winston Salem St/ St Aug)
6 Albany State Golden Rams 2-1 (Beat Valdosta State & Tuskegee/ Lost to N. Greenville)
7 Virginia State Trojans 2-0 (Beat Norfolk State & J.C. Smith )
8 Howard Bison 1-2 (Beat UNLV/ Lost to Kent State &Richmond)
9 Bethune Cookman Wildcats. 1-2 (Beat SouthEastern LA./ Lost to Miami & FAU)
10 Southern Jaguars 1-2 (Beat S.C. State / Lost to S. Miss.& UTSA)
Honorable Mention :
Alcorn State Braves 1-2 (Beat Miles College/ Lost to FIU & McNeese St)
Clark-Atlanta Panthers 2-1 (Beat Edward Wates & Central State/ Lost to Tuskegee)
Hampton Pirates 2-1 (Beat Delaware St & Livingstone/ Lost to Ohio)
Langston Lions 2-0 (Beat Lincoln (Mo) & Lyon College)
Winston-Salem St Rams 2-1 (Beat UNC-Pembroke & VA Union/ Lost to Bowie State)
Make sure to check back for this weekends preview and the UMT player watch list.
Trevin A Jones
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