Saturday challenged a lot of what we thought we knew about HBCU football this season. Teams that were supposed to win either struggled or failed against supposedly inferrior opponents. Check out some of the highlights.
Southern 20, Alabama A&M 17
Alabama A&M was supposed to be an easy opponent for Southern coming off a bye week. Apparently, neither team got the memo. Southern jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a Dray Joseph touchdown pass to Willie Quinn and a fumble recovery by Justin Bethancourt.
The fourth quarter was one for the books.First, lightening delayed the game with 3:27 remaining. When play resumed, Alabama A&M came up with a short touchdown pass to give A&M a 17-14 lead.
Southern responded with a Greg Pittman field goal as time expired to take the game in to overtime. Pittman would later hit the game-winning field goal in overtime to help the Jaguars escape with the win.
Alabama State 48, Prairie View 42
On Friday, we predicted a shootout, and Alabama State and Prairie View delivered. The running game was big for Alabama State, as expected, but it was Malcolm Cyrus who ran all over Prairie View on Saturday. Cyrus rushed for a career-high 241 yards while replacing starter Isaiah Crowell, who got injured in the first half.
Winston-Salem State 44, Johnson C. Smith 17
Hampton 28, NC A&T 26
A little over a week ago, NC A&T looked like a legitimate contender for the MEAC championship. Two losses later, those hopes are diminishing fast. Hampton entered the game winless, but thanks to a big surge in the second quarter, HU took a 28-12 halftime lead.
A&T attempted a rally in the second half, but ultimately fell short, handing Hampton its first win of the season to the delight of its homecoming crowd.
