Week five of the HBCU ( Historically Black Colleges and Universities)  football season kicks off Thursday night with the Eagles of North Carolina Central paying the Rattlers of Florida A&M a visit in Tallahassee. The Eagles are ranked number two on the Urban Media today HBCU Poll and have two wins against one loss, FAMU who currently is not ranked has two wins against two losses. NCCU has three quarterbacks, yes I said three (Micah Zanders, Chauncey Caldwell, and Naiil Ramadan) all who could be under center at any time and cause the coach Al Woods’ Rattlers problems. Look for FAMU Redshirt-Quarterback Ryan Stanley to put the Eagles secondary to work.
Friday night will feature ninth-ranked Alcorn State placing their 2-2 record on the line against the Tigers of Texas Southern. Coach Fred McNair and his Braves are fresh off a 17 point win over Southern and will look for leading ground gainer De’Lance Turner who rushed for 276 yards in the win, to continue gobbling up yards against the Tigers. TSU has yet to win a game in three outings this season and has been outscored  83-37. Head coach Mike Haywood will definitely look to his offense to do better than their 12 points per game average in order to be successful against Alcorn State.
Saturday the number one team in the land Grambling State will be featured in the windy city against the Panthers of Clark Atlanta in the Chicago Classic. This battle of Tiger-Cats is also a battle of two Urban Media Today’s top ten teams who have each only lost one game in four contests this season. GSU features the number two scoring offense and number one scoring defense in the SWAC ( South Western Athletic Conference) and Clark Atlanta features the top scoring offense and defense in the SIAC (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). Look for Grambling defensive back De’Aumante Johnson to be the “Eye of the Tiger”, he is coming off a three-interception performance. The Tigers may need to go without stars, QB Devante Kincade and running back Martez Carter. Both may be sidelined with injuries. Meanwhile, the Panthers have an outstanding tight end in Rodney Morris who is fresh off a two TD performance and over 100 yards receiving.
Saturday will also feature third-ranked North Carolina A&T battling the South Carolina State Bulldogs. SCSU is coming off a tough loss to North Carolina Central and things will not get any easier against the undefeated  Aggies.The  Fourth-ranked Bulldogs of Bowie State put their unblemished record on the line against Fayetteville State in North Carolina.Fifth-ranked Virginia State will also play in the Tar Heel state as the 3-0 Trojans will pay the winless Blue Bears of Livingstone a visit in Salisbury. Meanwhile, the 3-1 Tigers of Tennessee State will take on Ohio Valley Conference Foe Eastern Illinois and 10th ranked Albany State looks to put an end to a two-game losing streak taking on Miles college in Alabama.
Saturdays Games:Â (Schools not listed are not in action this week)
HBCU Independents:
Univ. of God’s Chosen at  Virginia University-Lynchburg
Edward Waters       at  Ave Maria
East Stroudsburg     at  Cheyney
Glennville State       at  West Virginia State
Texas College        at  Bacone
CIAA (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association)
Chowan             at  Johnson C. Smith
Virginia Union        at  St Augustine’s
Elizabeth City State    at  Shaw
Lincoln (PA)          at  Winston Salem State
SWAC (Southern  Western  Athletic Conference):
Arkansas Pine-Bluff    at  Alabama A&M
Jackson State        at  Prairie View A&M
Fort Valley State      at  Southern
SIAC (Southern  Intercollegiate Athletic Conference):
Tuskegee            at  Lane
Texas Wesleyan       at  Langston
Kentucky State        at  Morehouse
Central State         at  Benedict
MEAC (Mid-Eastern  Athletic Conference):
Savannah State       at   Bethune Cookman
Make sure to check back for this weekends Results and the Urban Media Today HBCU Football Poll.
Trevin A Â Jones
Follow me on Twitter: @UMTSportsreport
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