Lut Williams BCSP Editor
Mid-October is the heart of homecoming season in black college football and there are 12 of the tradition-laden games on the schedule this week.
While the off-field attention will be on the various activities that accompany homecomings, on-field attention will be focused on the various conference races that are at critical junctures.
SWAC play begins in earnest this week with only three non-conference games between now and the Nov. 30 end of the regular season.
SIAC and CIAA races begin a four-week closeout to the regular season this week.
This is the last week of non-conference games before the MEAC plunges full bore into league play until the Nov. 23 end of the regular season schedule.
SWAC
On Saturday, East Division leaders Jackson State (4-2, 2-0 E) and Florida A&M (3-2, 1-0 E) meet in Jackson, Ms. (2:30 p.m. ESPNU).
West leaders Alcorn State (4-3, 3-0 W) and Southern (3-3, 2-0) do battle Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN+) at the Jaguars’ homecoming in Baton Rouge, La.
Second-year JSU head coach T. C. Taylor and first-year FAMU head man James Colzie II are the new guys at the helms of their respective programs. Taylor has the top scoring offense in the SWAC at 35.5 points per game spurred by the insertion of junior Syracuse transfer QB Jacobian Morgan into the starting line-up two games ago. The Tigers have averaged 45.5 points en route to winning those two games while Morgan has produced over 500 yards of total offense and 7 TDs.
Transfer QB Daniel Richardson (1,183 passing yards, 9 TDs) and WR Jamari Gassett (31 rec., 344 yds., 2 TDs) have been the offensive catalysts for the Rattlers who have only lost to two FBS opponents.
Alcorn State and Southern’s coaches are just as new as those at JSU and FAMU. Both Alcorn’s Cedric Thomas and Southern’s Terrence Graves are in their first year.
Both of Southern’s SWAC wins have been in overtime – 31-24 over defending division champ Prairie View A&M and a comeback 22-19 win over Texas Southern last week. Two of Alcorn’s league wins have been nearly as close – a last- seconds 17-15 win over Grambling State last week and a second-half rally that propelled the Braves over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 38-28.
Six-six grad transfer QB (from Lincoln Mo.) Xzavier Vaughn has been the revelation for Alcorn. He currently leads the SWAC with 641 rushing yards (80.1 ypg.) and 10 TDs. Redshirt sophomore Jacorian Sewell is just behind Vaughn in rushing stats with 435 yards (72.9 ypg.) and four scores. On the strength of those two, Alcorn rushes for a league-best 202.4 ypg.
Southern will counter with the second-best overall defense (279.8 ypg.) and third-best scoring defense (26.3 ppg.).
SIAC
The top match up in the SIAC has new conference leader Miles (4-2, 4-0 SIAC), No. 3 in the BCSP D2 Top Five, coming off a big win over Albany State, playing for homecoming (1 p.m., ESPN+) at No. 4 Clark Atlanta (4-1-1, 4-1).
Miles knocked off conference favorite Albany State 32-21 behind the play of redshirt freshman QB Khalil Anglin (20-30-0, 225 yds., 1 TD) and freshman RB Roderick Thomas (12 carries, 105 yds., 1 TD) and a defense that garnered six sacks and a pick six.
CAU, with new head coach Teddy Keaton and prolific QB David Wright III, had been the surprise leader in the league before it was felled by Savannah State two weeks ago. The Panthers pulled out a 25-20 win last week at Central State’s homecoming.
In other games, Tuskegee (3-3, 3-1) is hosting (1 p.m.) Kentucky State, Morehouse (1-5, 1-3) is at homecoming (2 p.m.) at Albany State (3-3, 3-1), Savannah State (3-3, 2-2) is at (6 p.m.) Edward Waters (1-5, 1-3) and Benedict (2-4, 2-2) is at (7 p.m.) Allen (1-5, 0-4).
CIAA
After a week off, CIAA leader Johnson C. Smith (6-0, 3-0 CIAA), the only undefeated team in black college football, returns to action at its homecoming Saturday (1 p.m., CIAA Sports Network) against Shaw (4-3, 2-2).
The two teams behind JCSU in the standings,Winston-Salem State and Livingstone, both 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the CIAA, meet at Livingstone in Salisbury, N.C. at 4 p.m. Two of JCSU’s victims, Virginia State (3-3, 2-1) and Virginia Union (4- 2, 2-0) play at Elizabeth City State (2-4, 0-2) and Lincoln Pa. (1-5, 1-2) respectively at 1 p.m. MEAC
In non-conference action on ESPN+, South Carolina State (3-2) is entertaining (2 p.m.) Fort Valley State (4-2) and Howard (3-3) has Tennessee State (5-2) in for homecoming (3:30 p.m.).
Elsewhere, the two black colleges in the Coastal Athletic Association, Hampton (3-3, 0-2) and North Carolina A&T (1-5, 0-2), meet at the Aggies’ Greatest Homecoming on Earth (GHOE) Saturday (1 p.m., FloFootball).
