Week Three of the HBCU football season was marked more for the games that weren’t played than the ones that were. Hurricane Florence effectively shut down HBCU football action from South Carolina to Maryland as the storm pounded the East coast that many HBCU’s call home.
For the most part, everything is back to normal in Week Four as conference play begins at both the DII and FCS levels. Fayetteville State’s home game with Elizabeth City State was cancelled, however, as both schools were directly impacted by Florence.
The marquee MEAC matchup of the week will take place in Indianapolis as Howard squares up with Bethune-Cookman in the 35th Circle City Classic.
Its a big game for the city and the classic itself as it attempts to re-assert itself as a destination for bigger name HBCUs after having Kentucky State and Central State as a recurring matchup the past four seasons.
Both HU and BCU are considered contenders for the MEAC crown, so the winner will have a leg up in what could be a tight race to unseat North Carolina A&T for a spot in the Celebration Bowl. A&T, meanwhile, will play host to its first conference opponent in Morgan State on Saturday. The game will not count in the MEAC standings, however, as it was added to replace the loss of Hampton from the conference schedule.
HBCU Gameday “No Huddle” 9/17/18
We look at the impact of Hurricane Florence on week three of HBCU Football, a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback in Atlanta and some decisions that were real head-scratchers.
Two-time defending SWAC Champion Grambling will open its conference slate at home against Alabama State. New look GSU will look to get it going as it has opened up the season with back-to-back losses, the first time the program has lost consecutive games since the end of the 2014 season.
ASU struggled to beat Tuskegee and got handled by Auburn and Kennessaw State, which doesnt exactly inspire confidence as it heads to the Hole. Louisiana and Alabama collide in Mobile, AL as well as Southern takes on Alabama A&M in the Gulf Coast Classic. Both teams will be looking for their first Division I win of the season. Meanwhile in Texas, Prairie View finally gets to show out in front of the home fans as it takes on UAPB.
Indianapolis isnt the only Midwest city to get a classic this weekend. Miles and Morehouse will square off in an all-SIAC Chicago Classic. Morehouse comes into the game a perfect 3-0 record and an offense that is sizzling with quarterback Michael Sims completing 60 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Miles, meanwhile, is now 0-3 and despartely in need of a win as it doesnt want to get too far behind Tuskegee.
The Amir Hall Show heads down to Raleigh as Bowie State opens up CIAA play against a St. Aug team hungry to improve on last seasons promise. Hall has started the season on fire, coming up with better than 400 yards of total offense in each of his first three games. Down I-40, Winston-Salem State and Virginia Union will square off in one of the CIAAs best remaining historic rivalries. The two teams have split the last two games, including a fierce contest last year that was hostile from the kickoff all the way through the handshake line.
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