Bad starts for many; No. 1 Hampton opens
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
It's barely two weeks into the football season and contenders are already separating themselves from pretenders.
Last weekend's results saw CIAA East Division champ Elizabeth City State get walloped by Catawba 34-7. A week after knocking off two-time CIAA champ North Carolina Central to open the season, four-time SIAC champ Albany State was crushed by Valdosta State 41-3.
Additionally, defending SWAC West Division champ Arkansas-Pine Bluff laid an egg in its opener vs. Mississippi Valley State losing 16-9. Jackson State, expected to be a contender in the SWAC, was defeated by Div. II Delta State 27-15. Southern got the SWAC's first win in the SWAC/MEAC challenge by knocking off seeming MEAC pretender Florida A&M, 33-27.
Each of the aforementioned losers were in the BCSP Top Ten last week, with the emphasis on 'were.' They've been replaced by teams that started their season off on the right foot, with wins _ Southern, Tuskegee, Mississippi Valley State and Grambling State.
This week, two of those winners, Southern and Mississippi Valley State, face off in
Chicago (4 p.m.) in a key early season SWAC match-up. Alcorn State and Arkansas-Pine
Bluff, both losers last week, tangle in Alcorn
State, Ms. Thursday on ESPNU (6:30 p.m.).
Grambling State and new coach Rod Broadway have a tough task as they travel to Div. IA Pittsburgh. Defending SWAC champ Alabama A&M, who opened with an impressive 49-23 win over Tennessee State, hosts Clark Atlanta (6 p.m.). In the MEAC, three-time defending league champ and preseason BCSP No. 1 Hampton travels to Howard in the opener for both teams in Washington, D.C. The game will be the debut for new Howard head coach Carey Bailey and the debut of a number of new starters for Hampton. Howard has lost ten straight to the Pirates.
In other key games in the MEAC, Bethune-Cookman (1-0, 0-0 MEAC), fresh off its season opening win over Jacksonville, hosts league-favorite South Carolina State in Daytona Beach, Fl. (4 p.m.) and Florida A&M hosts Delaware State in Tallahassee (6 p.m.).
In the SIAC, Lane (1-0, 0-0 SIAC) hosts Morehouse (1-1, 1-1 SIAC), playing its third straight conference game. Fort Valley State (2-0, 2-0 SIAC, who has won two straight conference games to start the season, tries its hand hosting powerful Valdosta State (5 p.m.).
Jackson State and Tennessee State will each look for its first win when they meet Saturday in Memphis at the Southern Heritage Classic on Fox Sports South.
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