No. 1 Tennessee State bounces back, Bethune-Cookman moves up to No. 2

As teams rise and fall in the weekly top ten countdowns, the Tennessee State Tigers continue to dominate the competition by remaining on top. The Tigers have defeated the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the poll, Bethune-Cookman Wildcats and the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions, respectively.

By Dr. J. Kenyatta Cavil and guest Jasmine Oliver
CSN Inside the HBCU Huddle Columnist
College Sporting News

The Tennessee State Tigers bounced back to win in dramatic fashion this weekend. The No. 1 ranked Tigers (8-1) defeated the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 22-21, behind a late touchdown with no time remaining on the clock. Next up for the Tigers is a road trip to face the Murray State Racers. In the No. 2 position is the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, (6-2), who defeated the former No. 2 and now No. 7 ranked North Carolina Central Eagles (5-3), 42-17.

The Wildcats will travel to Baltimore to play against the Morgan State Bears on Saturday. The Bears dropped out of the poll rankings this week after losing a Thursday night ESPNU broadcast game to the No. 6 Delaware State Hornets, (5-3), 28-23. This creates a top 10 matchup, featuring the No. 7 North Carolina Central Eagles welcoming the No. 6 Delaware State Hornets this weekend for sole position of second place in the MEAC.

The Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (6-2) move up to No. 3 after defeating the Mississippi Valley State Devils in a defensive affair, 10-0. The Golden Lions will travel to Houston to face the Texas Southern Tigers this weekend as their homecoming opponent. The Tigers are coming off a win this past weekend against Grambling State, their second win of the season. The No. 4 Alabama State Hornets, (5-3) came out on top of their in-state rivalry game against the No. 5 Alabama A&M Bulldogs (6-2), 31-13.

The Hornets will travel to Texas this weekend to see if they can shut down a Prairie View A&M offense that has scored at least 30 points in five of their six SWAC contests, including an average of 50.5 in their last two games with sophomore De’Auntre Smiley at quarterback. The Alabama A&M Bulldogs will welcome the Southern Jaguars in competition this weekend in Huntsville, Ala. The reeling Jaguars have given up50 and 49 points in their last two contests.

The eighth position goes to the Bison of Howard University. The No. 8 Bison (5-3) lost to the South Carolina State Bulldogs, 41-23. Next on the schedule for the Bison is the Hampton Pirates. The Jackson State Tigers (4-4) are in the No. 9 position after an open date on the schedule as the Tigers will travel to Louisiana to face the Grambling State Tigers, (1-7), who’re winless in the SWAC (0-6). Rounding out the countdown at the No. 10 position is the North Carolina A&T Aggies (4-4). The Aggies crushed the Norfolk State Spartans, 30-9. The Aggies will host the Florida A&M Rattlers this weekend.



This week on Dr. Cavil’s “HBCU Sports Top 10 Countdown” show on KCOH 1430AM radio (www.kcohradio.com) announced the Week 9 Poll Rankings.

The 10th Anniversary (2002-2012) of Dr. Cavil's HBCU Major Division Football Top 10 Poll Rankings
(Presented by Bert Simmons - State Farm Agent, 281.485.5572; powered by THG Agency, LLC - (The Heritage Group, www.thg-agency.com) & TSPNSports.com)

Name-Record1PV-Points-PWRLast Game-Next Game-(October 25-27)
1. Tennessee State Tigers(8-1)-(9)1051-(Beat Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles,(22-21), at-Murray State Racers)
2. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats-(6-2)-(3)98-3-(Beat N. C. Central Eagles,(42-17), at-Morgan State Bears)
3. Arkansas at P. B. Golden Lions-(6-2)-93-5-(Beat Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils,(10-0), at-Texas Southern Tigers)
4. #-Alabama State Hornets--(5-3)-87-8-(Beat Alabama A&M Bulldogs,(31-13), at-Prairie View A&M Panthers)
5. Alabama A & M Bulldogs(6-2)-63-4-(Lost to Alabama State ,(31-13), vs-Southern Jaguars)
6. Delaware State Hornets(5-3)-59-7-(Beat Morgan State Bears,(28-23), at-N. C. Central Eagles)
7. N. C. Central Eagles--(5-3)-58-2-(Lost to Bethune-Cookman,(42-17), vs-Delaware State Hornets)
8. Howard Bison-(5-3)-34-6-(Lost to S. C. State Bulldogs,(41-23), vs-Hampton Pirates)
9. Jackson State Tigers--(4-4)-15-9-(Did Not Play, at-Grambling State Tigers)
10. N. C. A&T State Aggies(4-4)-12-NR(Beat Norfolk State Spartans,(30-9), vs-Florida A&M Rattlers)

Dropped Out: Morgan State Bears-(3-5)
Receiving Votes: S. C. State Bulldogs-(4-5)-6, Prairie View A&M Panthers-(3-5)-5, Florida A&M Rattlers-(3-5)-1

PWR = Previous Week Ranking, 1PV = 1st Place Votes, LG = Last Game
# = 2011 Dr. Cavil’s HBCU Mid-Major Division Football Champion

Listen to Dr. Cavil’s “HBCU Sports Top 10 Countdown” show on KCOH 1430AM radio (www.kcohradio.com) announcing Dr. Cavil’s Top 10 Major Division weekly poll rankings at 6:00 p.m. and Dr. Cavil’s “Inside the HBCU Sports Lab” with Ryan McGinty and Mike Washington from 9-10:00 p.m. every Sunday also on KCOH.