Week Four of college football is in the books and it’s time for our latest updates to the HBCU Gameday poll.
Early season games in HBCU football are usually full of variety when it comes to scheduling structure, so it’s often hard to judge beyond knee-jerk reactions. But we’ve finally gotten into conference play for three of the four HBCU football conferences as the CIAA and SIAC are in full swing and the SWAC games now count as well.
Without further ado, HBCU Gameday staff polls heading into Week Five are here:
HBCU Gameday FCS Poll
1) NCCU – 58 (four first place) 3-1 overall
NCCU claims the top spot after pounding Mississippi Valley in the Circle City Classic.
2) FAMU – 56 (two first place) 3-1 overall, 2-0 SWAC
FAMU took care of Alabama State at home with a win that was solid if not space-creating.
3) Jackson State – 45 (3-2 overall, 1-1 SWAC)
JSU got back to business by taking care of Bethune-Cookman at home on Saturday.
4) Tennessee State – 31 (2-1, 1-0 OVC/Big South)
Tennessee State was idle last week.
T5) Norfolk State – 30 (2-2 overall)
NSU took care of Towson last week and will look to do the same against former MEAC foe North Carolina A&T.
T5) Hampton – 30 (2-1)
Hampton was idle last week.
T5) Prairie View A&M – 30 (2-2, 2-0)
Prairie View went on the road last week and took care of business, knocking off Alcorn State.
8) Morgan State – 25 (1-3)
Morgan State suffered another heart-breaker on Saturday, this time against CAA opponent Albany.
9) Grambling State – 10 (2-2, 1-0)
Grambling State held off Texas Southern for its first SWAC win of the year.
10) Alcorn State – 5 (1-3, 0-1)
Alcorn State slides in despite the loss to Prairie View.
Division II
Benedict – 60 (4-0, 2-0) Six First Place Votes
The defending SIAC champions continue to dominate the competition.
2) Virginia State – 53 (4-0, 2-0)
VSU took care of business against Livingstone College, pitching a shutout.
3) Tuskegee – 47 (4-0, 3-0)
It went down to the wire, but Tuskegee remains perfect after a tough bout with Lane College.
4) Bowie State – 36 (3-1, 2-0)
Bowie State struggled to score against St. Aug, but remained perfect thanks to a devastatingly good defense.
5) Miles – 30 (3-1, 2-0)
Miles punished Clark Atlanta as it returned to SIAC play after playing back-to-back SWAC opponents.
6) Virginia Union – 29 (3-1, 1-1)
Remember when VUU was no. 1 overall? A loss to Fayetteville State has brought it down to the bottom half of the poll.
7) Fayetteville State – 18 (2-2, 2-0)
The defending CIAA champions made a statement with a win in the pouring rain on Saturday.
8) Fort Valley State – 17 (3-1, 3-0)
The 31 points FVSU put up against Kentucky State was tied for its lowest point output of the season. FVSU can SCORE!
9) Allen – 16 (3-0, 2-0)
The darlings of the D2 season so far, Allen will look to keep pace with a fast and furious offense against Fort Valley State.
10) Johnson C. Smith – 8 (3-1, 2-0)
JCSU will be looking to keep pace with Fayetteville State and Winston-Salem State in the CIAA South.