Dr. Kenyatta Cavil contributed to this report
Week 13 of Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sports Lab poll rankings saw no movement for six teams, while a familiar name re-enters the polls.
7. Alabama State (6-5, 5-3)
The Hornets remain in 7th spot in this week’s rankings. In their most recent outing, Alabama State was able to grind out a 9-6 victory over Prairie View. All of Alabama State’s offense came off the foot of kicker Brandon Gillams, who booted field goals of 42, 29, and 30 yards. The Hornets’ defense was stout, holding Prairie View to under 200 yards of total offense on the afternoon. Up next for the Hornets is a meeting with Tuskegee in the 100th iteration of the Turkey Day Classic. Alabama State has won the last 4 matchups in the series, including a 43-9 hammering in last year’s contest.
6. Florida A&M (6-5,4-3)
After being unranked in the previous week, Florida A&M reenters the poll at no.6 . In their most recent outing, the Rattlers were able to defeat Bethune-Cookman in a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair that was the Florida Classic. FAMU ran for a season-high 305 yards, including a game-high and season-best effort, 195 yards and 3 touchdowns on 26 carries. Up next for the Rattlers is the meeting with Alabama A&M that was initially scheduled for September 28 but was postponed due to the, at the time, impending landfall of Hurricane Irene. In their meeting last season, FAMU defeated their fellow agricultural institution 42-28.
5. Southern University (7-4,6-1)
Although Southern did not take gridiron this week, the Jaguars hang on to the fifth spot from last week’s poll. Southern was able to lock up the SWAC’s Western Division, and set up a meeting with Eastern Division champ Jackson State, after their 31-9 spanking of UAPB. Before they meet with J-State, Southern, winners of 3 straight and 4 of their last 5, will take on Grambling in the crown jewel amongst HBCU games, the Bayou Classic. Southern has won the last two matchups, including a 27-22 thriller last year. A Jaguar win would give each of the combatants 33 wins in the series.
4. Tennessee State (9-3, 6-2)
Eddie George’s Tennessee State Tigers remains at no.4. In their most recent outing, the Tigers got the biggest win of the Eddie George era, defeating Southeast Missouri 28-21 to earn TSU a share of the Big South-OVC crown, a feat not achieved by the program since L.C. Cole led the Tigers to the conference title in 1999. The team got more good news the next day when they were revealed as an FCS Playoff team. Tennessee State will take on 14-seed Montana State.
3. North Carolina Central ( 8-3, 4-1)
The Eagles are 3rd in the rankings, holding on to their spot from the previous week. North Carolina Central blasted Delaware State 52-10 in their season finale lifting them to 8-3 on the season. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the 6-touchdown beating of the Hornets was not enough to draw the eyes of the playoff committee, as they were left out of the playoff field. Nonetheless, N.C. Central completed a solid season, finishing second to South Carolina State and the season extended a run for the Eagles of three seasons of at least 8 wins.
2. South Carolina State (9-2, 5-0)
The Bulldogs were one of the six teams in this week’s polls whose position remained unchanged from the previous week. South Carolina State convincingly took care of Norfolk State 53-21 in the season finale to complete an undefeated run through the MEAC, securing the 19th MEAC championship in the storied program’s history. On December 7Coach Chennis Berry will look to follow in the footsteps of his legendary predecessor, Buddy Pough by winning the Celebration Bowl.
1.Jackson State ( 10-2, 8-0)
Jackson State remains at the zenith of the rankings. In the Tigers’ most recent outing, they handily cleaned up Alcorn State in the Soul Bowl, 48-10. Running back Irv Milligan ran for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half. The performance pushed the Wofford transfer over the 1,000 barrier, as on the season, Mulligan has run for 1,058 yards, and 10 touchdowns on 158 attempts. Up next is a rematch of the BoomBox Classic with Southern in the SWAC Championship game on December 7.
Dropped Out: Alcorn State Braves-(6-6, 5-3)
Receiving Votes: Alabama A&M Bulldogs-(6-5, 3-4)-143, Morgan State Bears-(6-6, 3-2)-128, Alcorn State Braves-(6-6, 5-3)-126
