MEAC Preview: FAMU, Howard Face Uphill Battles Against TSU, A&T

FAMU will be Tennessee State’s 2014 homecoming opponent. (Tallahasee.com photo)

FAMU at Tennessee State 

FAMU and TSU have a long history against each other dating back to the middle of the 20th century when both Jake Gaither’s Rattlers and John Merritt’s Tigers were perennial powers in the heyday of HBCU football. The rivalry continued to remain fierce through the decades before it became one-sided in TSU’s favor in recent years.

However, this game has been the point of much discussion for a while now after Tennessee State refused to pay FAMU to bring its famed Marching 100 with it. Honestly, FAMU is going to need all the help it can get with TSU.

Prediction: TSU over FAMU

NC A&T at Howard 

After two road games and two classics, Howard will host its first true home game of the season as it takes on a surging North Carolina A&T squad.* A&T is coming off a 59-0 beatdown of D2 Chowan, and will be looking to continue its strong play against HU. Howard will be looking to recover from a heartbreaking 37-34 loss to rival Morgan State in New York last week at the Urban League Football Classic.

A&T will head up to the DMV tops in the conference in scoring offense (38 ppg) and defense (14 ppg) and withe the conference’s top offensive player, running back Tarik Cohen (563 yards and 7 touchdowns in four games). Howard comes into the game ranked fifth against the run in the MEAC, but they’ll need to do better if they want to stop A&T.

Follow HBCU Gameday on Twitter for updates from this game.

Prediction: Howard over A&T 

Other Games:

South Carolina State over Hampton
Bethune-Cookman over Florida Tech
Morgan State over Norfolk State
Delaware State over Savannah State