Sunday, October 10, 2010

Week 6: Pretenders vs. Contenders

Bethune Cookman is for real! Hampton is better that most anticipated and South Carolina State is on another collision course for a three-peat of the MEAC championship.

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is now a three-headed race with the other Florida school becoming a legitimate contender for this week. The following week is another story as the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats must travel to Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg to face the powerful S.C. State Bulldogs in a MEAC showdown for conference supremacy.

The B-CU offense will be a real test for the Bulldogs--for a quarter or two, but don't expect the Wildcats to match their FCS leading numbers in total offense. The Bulldogs defense recently held FAMU and Norfolk State under six first downs and under 106 yards of total offense for the entire game.

Expect more of the same for Bethune-Cookman, as they get slammed back to reality by Coach Buddy Pough Bulldogs.

Forget the ranking that has the Bulldogs at #9 in the FCS polls. South Carolina State is a legitimate Top 5 program and can beat any of the teams ranked above it.

The Bulldogs will win the conference outright the following week, as the Hampton Pirates take their turn facing the Bulldogs in Dawson Stadium. Thereafter, the Bulldogs will have a diet of light scrimmages and tuneups with Delaware State (0-5), Howard (1-4), Morgan State (2-3) and North Carolina A&T (0-6), who have a combined record of 3-18.

The Bulldogs should be well rested by the time the playoffs start. Now, the rest of the story...

Surprises of the Week: Winston Salem State self-destruct with six turnovers (5 interceptions) and Saint Augustine's Falcons accepts the gifts for a 40-35 road win over the Rams. Texas Southern defense won the battle of turnovers and upset Alcorn State 30-20 on the road to improve to 3-1 in the SWAC race.

Morehouse forgot to bring its high scoring offense and dropped its first game of the season, 31-15 to Tuskegee in the 75th Annual Tuskegee-Morehouse Football Classic. The #16 ranked Maroon Tigers were averaging 40 points per game before running into the Golden Tigers buzz saw defense.

Best Dance Routine of Week: You gotta give it to Lincoln University (Pa.) Marching Band for last week's performance at Howard University. The "Orange Crush dancers" are high energy and the band had a good sound for its size...well I will leave the rest to your own imaginations...see them in the video below.

-beepbeep

SWAC
Texas Southern 30, Alcorn State 20
Jackson State 30, Alabama A&M 14
Grambling State 22, Alabama State 7
Southern 38, Mississippi Valley State 20
Prairie View 21, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 6 (Thursday)

MEAC
South Carolina State 34, Norfolk State 13
Hampton 27, North Carolina Central 13
Bethune Cookman 47, Delaware State 24
Morgan State 27, North Carolina A&T 14
Furman 56, Howard 14
Georgia State 55, Savannah State 21

CIAA
Bowie State 16 (O.T.), Saint Paul's 10
Elizabeth City State 17, Virginia Union 14
West Virginia Wesleyan 58, Livingstone 3
Shaw 45, Johnson C. Smith 13
Fayetteville State 21, Virginia State 14
Saint Augustine's 40, Winston Salem State 35
Chowan 30, Lincoln (Pa.) 27

SIAC
Tuskegee 31, Morehouse 15
Albany State 34, Miles 7
Kentucky State 41, Central State (Oh.) 24
Benedict 30 (O.T.), Lane 23
Concordia (Al.) 18, Stillman 17
Fort Valley State 40, Clark Atlanta 16

OVC
S.E. Missouri State 19 , Tennessee State 17

OTHERS
Bloomsburg 52, Cheyney (Pa.) 14
Seton Hill 48, West Virginia State 20
Southwest Baptist 62, Lincoln (Mo.) 38

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