Week one of HBCU football is in the books and we got a little bit of everything. There were blowouts, near-misses, close games and a finish for the ages.
Despite all that, Week One still played out pretty predictably. Three of the five teams in our HBCU Power Rankings came up with blowout wins and another took down an FBS opponent for the second straight season.
BCU went down to Miami and came out with another win over Florida International, defeating their FBS inter-state rival for the second year in a row. FIU had a chance to tie the game, but failed as its two-point conversion attempt fell short, giving the defending MEAC Champs a 14-12 win.
The other two HBCUs to make the FCS playoffs last season both pounded inferior opponents as Tennessee State buried NAIA member Edward Waters 58-6 while South Carolina State scored 49 second half points to come up with a 63-0 win over D2 Benedict.
Perhaps the most impressive win of the weekend came from North Carolina A&T, who literally ran away from Alabama State with a 47-13 win in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. Running back Tarik Cohen and quarterback Kwashaun Quick ran for a pair of touchdowns each and combined for 250 yards on the ground.
The most exciting game of the week easily goes to Jackson State – Florida A&M. Florida A&M quarterback Damien Fleming lead FAMU on what appeard to be a game-winning eight play, a 3:22 yard drive to give FAMU a 17-16 lead with 42 seconds remaining.
JSU, however, had other plans. The Tigers made their way into Rattler territory with just under two seconds remaining before taking a delay of game penalty to back up to the FAMU 49. Quarterback Lamontez Ivy took the snap, avoided a relatively strong FAMU pass rush and delivered a bullet towards the end zone. The ball was tipped, staying in the air for what probably felt like an eternity before falling into the hands of JSU's Deshawn McKenzie. The play stunned FAMU fans while sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
Next week should only get better as the Division II teams start their schedules as well.
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