Weeks Winding Down In HBCU

Crunch time for many teams as stretch run begins

Oct. 25, 2007

By Eric N. Moore

Special to CSTV.com

	Eric Moore Eric contributes a twice-weekly HBCU column for CSTV.com. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- HBCU FOOTBALL 12/15: Oliver The Catalyst 12/13: Old Rivals Meet Again 12/3: Tuskegee Completes Perfect Season 11/29: Pioneer Powers 11/21: Final Weekend Of HBCU Features Classics 11/19: The Last Hurrah 11/15: Last Division Standing 11/12: CIAA, MEAC Crown Champs 11/8: Title Time In CIAA And MEAC 11/5: East Meets West As CIAA Title Game Set 11/1: Judgment Day In HBCU 10/29: Homecoming Hurts 10/25: Weeks Winding Down 10/22: Two Tigers Teams Take Steps Toward Titles 10/18: SWAC Division Leaders Set For Showdown 10/15: Hampton's Pirates Walk The Plank 10/11: Queen Isn't Only Title At Homecoming 10/8: Southern Goes South 10/4: Classic Games Take Center Stage 10/1: Hello To October 9/27: Battle Of Unbeatens In Atlanta 9/24: The Pursuit Of Perfection 9/20: SIAC Leaders Showdown In Tuskegee 9/17: Stars Falling In Alabama 9/13: Rematch of '06 CIAA Title Game Set For Big Time 9/10: Pirates, Bulldogs and WWHornets Strike Early 9/6: Who's HU In HBCU 9/3: Southern Breaks The MEAC Streak 8/30: Calling Their Bluff 8/27: HBCU Opening Week Recap 8/23: Beginning With A Rematch 4/12: A Great American Is Laid To Rest 4/4: A Coaching Legend Has Passed Away 12/18: Alabama A&M Finally Wins A SWAC Title 12/4: Winding Down 11/23: Playoffs, Bayou Classic, Dominate HBCU Weekend 11/20: Two HBCUs Fall in Playoffs 11/16: Six HBCU Schools Heading to Postseason 11/13: Three Down, One To Go 11/6: It's Title Time 11/6: Rams Are First...Who's Next? 11/2: CIAA Championship Game Berth On The Line 10/30: Surprise Results Revise SIAC Title Race 10/26: MEAC Logjam Could Be Broken On Saturday 10/23: Pirates Walk The Plank 10/19: Showdown Saturday in HBCU Football 10/16: Jackson State No Longer SWAC Pushover 10/12: Homecomings Abound In HBCU Football 10/9: Albany State Takes SIAC Lead 10/5: SIAC Leaders Face Off in Albany, GA 10/1: Pirates Keep Win Streak Alive 9/28: Hampton Tries to Extend MEAC Winning Streak 9/25: NCC Wins Game, Loses Belongings 9/21: Eagles, Jaguars Meet for First Time 9/18: Panthers Get Over the Hump 9/11: Traditional Powerhouses Hit Bumps 9/7: Conference Play Begins in Earnest 9/5: Grand Stages Open Season 8/28: All Sorts of Change In 2006 HBCU BASKETBALL 2/23: North Carolina Central Earns First National Ranking 2/23: Virginia Union Returns To Top Of CIAA Tournament 2/15: North Carolina Central Is So Hot Right Now 2/15: Returning Courtside 2/9: Delaware State, Mississippi Valley Among HBCU Standouts 2/9: HBCU Notebook: It's Title Time

        ---   HBCU Links   --- MEAC Standings MEAC Scoreboard SWAC Standings SWAC Scoreboard CIAA Standings CIAA Scoreboard SIAC Standings SIAC Scoreboard

The final weekend in October presents several important matchups on the HBCU football scene including "statement games" in the MEAC and SIAC.

Game of the Week is in Orangeburg

South Carolina State (4-3, 3-1 MEAC) will host Delaware State (6-1, 5-0) in our designated HBCU football Game of the Week.

The Bulldogs were preseason picks to take the MEAC title and now sit just one game behind the first place Hornets.  SCSU's only conference loss was a double-overtime defeat at the hands of Norfolk State, the MEAC's other first-place team.  With just three games remaining on the schedule, the Bulldogs hope to boost their title hopes before a Homecoming crowd to stay on pace with the conference leaders.

Delaware State can't afford to stumble in these final weeks of the season.  The Hornets' destiny is in their own hands.  They enter this week's faceoff riding a four game winning streak.

Ranked No. 15 nationally, DSU is enjoying its best season in the MEAC since 1989, however the Hornets have not won in Orangeburg since 1995 when they knocked off the Bulldogs, 20-7.

This could be an elimination game for S.C. State since no team has ever won the MEAC championship with two conference losses.

Big Rivalry in Birmingham

When Alabama State (4-3, 3-3 SWAC) and Alabama A&M (6-1, 4-1) have their annual meeting in Birmingham, record books go out the window.  Alabama's two largest HBCUs have been playing each other since 1924 and they've spent the past 65 years meeting at venerable Legion Field for the Magic City Classic.

Although ASU leads the overall series, A&M holds a slim 32-30-3 advantage in the classic games.

Bama State can't afford another conference loss. 

A&M needs a win to keep pace with Jackson State in the SWAC East division title race.

Both head coaches have Super Bowl rings; A&M's Anthony Jones as a Washington Redskin in 1987 and ASU's Reggie Barlow as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer in 2002, so each has had success on a big stage.  They will need their players to perform at Super Bowl level to claim statewide bragging rights for the next year.

Statement games in the MEAC, SIAC
Although ineligible for the conference title, Winston-Salem State (4-3) has been making noise in its first year playing a full MEAC schedule.  The Rams have held their own and have the third best overall record among conference teams.

This weekend the Rams host defending champion Hampton (4-3) with an opportunity to make a statement about their ability to compete in the MEAC.

A Ram victory would serve notice that WSSU is ready to compete for the championship early in its conference tenure.

SIAC defending champion Albany State (6-2, 4-1 SIAC) may have missed its opportunity to repeat with a loss to Tuskegee last week, but the Golden Rams can't rest with upstart Morehouse (6-2, 3-2) coming to town.

New head coach Rich Freeman has the Maroon Tigers playing its best football since Anthony Jones left to take over at Alabama A&M five years ago.  Both ASU and Morehouse are regionally ranked and the men from Atlanta are looking to make a statement against the SIAC's four-time defending champ.

Another SIAC statement game takes place in Fort Valley, Ga. with Fort Valley State (7-2, 4-1 SIAC) hosting Lane College (6-1, 3-1).

Last year, Lane had a dramatic worst-to-almost-first turnaround that had them in the conference title chase late in the season.  The Dragons are just a half game out of second place this year with the opportunity to avenge one of their worst defeats last season.

FVSU looks to return to the SIAC's elite as one of only three teams to claim a conference championship in the past 15 years.  The Wildcats are riding a four game winning streak and sitting in second place in the standings.

Critical CIAA matchups

The stretch run to the CIAA championship continues with key divisional matchups from Bowie, Md. to Charlotte, N.C.

Bowie State (3-5, 3-2 CIAA) hosts Shaw (5-3, 4-1) for homecoming with the opportunity to spoil the Bears hopes to make history.  Shaw is trying to become the first conference team to win football titles in both the East and West divisions.  The Bears were denied last week in Fayetteville and need a win to keep their title hopes alive.

BSU would like nothing better than to play spoiler and rebound from its disappointing loss to Virginia Union (7-1, 4-1) last week.

Fayetteville State (3-5, 3-2) looks to continue its improbable run to the division title when the Broncos visit Johnson C. Smith (2-6, 1-4) for homecoming in Charlotte.  The win over Shaw has put FSU just one game behind the Bears with two games to play.  If Shaw stumbles and FSU wins out, the Broncos can claim the division title and a trip to the conference championship game Nov. 10.