After a fairly uneventful Week One, HBCU football heated up in a major way on Saturday. "Cut The Check" Weekend didn't provide any FCS/FBS upsets, but a couple of the games were surprisingly close or competitive, and there were a few HBCU upsets as well.
As is the norm, there were big blowouts during "Cut The Check" Weekend. The biggest loss belonged to, surprise, Savannah State, who lost 83-9 to Georgia Southern. South Carolina State didn't do much better as it bowed 73-7 to #21 Clemson. Over in the SWAC, Houston got its money's worth with a 47-0 win over Grambling State while Mississippi Valley took a 62-0 loss to Illinois State.
However, despite those ugly scores, there were some competitive games in the FCS/FBS schedule. Alcorn State played Southern Miss tight all game, eventually falling short in a 26-20 loss. After an ugly opening-week loss against Akron, Howard tightened things up and came strong in their game against Rutgers, giving the Scarlet Knights all they could handle in a 38-25 loss. (Well, besides this fake punt).
The best matchups came within the FCS ranks as Alabama State upset Tennessee State 27-21 in its home opener. North Carolina A&T almost pulled off the days biggest upset as it was a mised PAT away from going into overtime from national FCS power Coastal Carolina.
Division II teams got also got into the act this week, with the CIAA and SIAC starting their seasons. Nationally ranked Winston-Salem State opened up the season with a 38-7 win over UNC-Pembroke, the only team to beat it in the regular season since 2010. Tuskegee, the other nationally ranked HBCU in the Division II ranks, lost to rival Alabama A&M.
The success of HBCU football continued at the pro level this past weekend as well, with Alabama State alum Isaiah Crowell scoring two touchdowns for the Browns against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
The proud HBCU Football tradition in the NFL continues on.
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