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The undisputed leader in HBCU Sports and Culture.
It's 25 to 16. Alabama A&M hangs 61 on Grambling. And Benedict puts 45 on Ever Borders. So, who's really playing the best football in the HBCU country right now? This is the Road Warriors. And guess what? This happened.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. You know what, Tay? You really should have brought up [snorts] that dude painting them lines. That's what you should have pulled up. last That was last week. Relax. Anyway, look, man. We're going to get right into it, Josh. Give me your top three. Number three, two, and one.
Uh at my at my three spot, I'mma go South Carolina State. I'mma put South Carolina State at my three. At my two spot, I'mma go Morgan State. I still feel like Morgan State is one of the best teams. They had a little hiccup game, you know. And at my one, I'mma put Alabama A&M. I said it last week. I feel like they were very good team. I feel like they're one I feel like they're 57 minutes away from being beating Jackson State. And a lot of people giving them respect. And I'mma give them the respect today. So, I'mma put Alabama A&M at one. I'mma put Morgan State at two. And South Carolina State at three. Okay. Okay. See, what you got? Uh all right. Number three, I'm kind of at a tie between Morgan and and and South Carolina State. I either of those, you could I could go either way with those. Number two, I'm going I am I'm officially on the Alabama A&M train. I'm there and then number one, you know, Jackson State, they they had a tussle with FAMU, but they they took care of business, so can't can't count them out as number one. So, yeah, I got I got three and four, whoever you figure is the best of the MEAC. I've got Alabama A&M and then I have got Jackson State. Yeah, I I kind of I'm like Steve, but I pick Morgan State at three. I'mma stand on that. I'mma definitely stand on Morgan State at three. I got Alabama Alabama A&M at two. And you know, I talked a lot of junk last week, but to beat the man, you got to beat the man. I pick Jackson State at number one. So, so Josh, I I I you pick Morgan State. Make your case. Like make your case for Bears being in that position.
Um, I put Morgan State there just because I know what I'm going to get out of them cuz and then the main reason why I don't have Jackson State in my top three cuz I don't know what we're going to get out of the quarterback position with Jair not being in the lineup for uh who who who knows how long that injury is going to continue to prolong him. And you know, FAMU is you know, with all due respect, they're not, you know, a good football team at this current moment without their quarterback. I mean, yeah, they got a good win over Alabama State, but Alabama State is without their quarterback as well. So, I would put Jackson at that number at that top three top five spot, but I just don't know if I can trust the quarterback position from them right now compared to the other three teams that I put in front of them, so that's why I have it that way. Okay. And Steve, Alabama Alabama A&M put 61 up on Grambling.
Do you think they have a Do you think they have an argument for who's number one? Uh no, they don't. I mean, if they would have beaten Jackson State, then clearly they'd be number one. But they lost that game, and you know, that is one of their two losses along with that one win Howard team. They're the one win that Howard has right now. Well, you know, they beat Morehouse, too. But you know, that Morehouse that uh that win over Howard, you know, that lost them Howard, you know, if they're if they flipped that into a win, then you know, maybe then they have a case, but no, I think right now they're solid they're they're they're solidly at number two. But the bad thing is being at number two where they are could mean that, you know, you're not You might be the second best team in the SWAC, and you're not going to be uh able to get into the Celebration Bowl or get to the SWAC championship game. So, now I mean, they have to wait for Jackson State to fall again. All right, so let me um So, I want I have a question. Are we ranking the best teams or we or or are some of you rewarding who had um who won the most recently? Um me personally, I feel like I'm ranking the best teams because I mean, who's putting out the best football. And I know Steve said that, you know, Alabama A&M would be number one if they beat Jackson State, but again, they played 57 minutes of football. I get it, it's 60 minutes, but if they don't have inexcusable self-inflicted turnovers at the end of that game that lets Jackson State go down there and win that game, which again, Jackson State has to go down there and win the game, which they did. You know, we're talking about Alabama A&M in a whole different light, you know? Literally, if if Alabama A&M beats Jackson State, we're not even having this this about who's the best team in the country, who's the best HBCU team in the country? We're not having a conversation about it at all. It's undoubtedly Alabama State. And then Steve also said they gave Howard their one win. We could say the same thing with Texas Southern and North Carolina Central. Two completely different teams that I We Yes, week one is now officially a long time ago. This is a way different Alabama A&M team than we've seen from week one. And I just feel like again, I can trust the quarterbacks for all the teams that I had named in my top three compared to Jackson State to where I don't know what I'm going to truly get within the backup until Jerry comes back. Okay. I I get that. So, I'm going to I'm going to say this then. If we close our eyes, throw all the records away, what team has the least amount of weaknesses?
Um I'm going to be honest. The team that has the least amount of weaknesses
I'm I'm going to personally say Morgan State, honestly. I'm going to say Morgan State. I mean They can They They have a good They They have a I feel like they have a good defense, but then coach Do Wilson, the one weakness that they've always had is the offense. I feel like they don't have none. And then like I told to you guys for the past two three weeks, I've seen weaknesses within South Carolina State within their run defense and their defense in general within the past couple of weeks within it being Bethune, uh Citadel, and then Charleston Southern. I feel like they Not that they exposed them, but they showed slight weakness within them and their inability to run the ball whenever other teams are able to stack the box. So, I feel like that's the case as well. And then with Jackson State, their weakness is injuries. You know, availability is the best ability. So, without, you know, having a quarterback, I don't really know too much about Jackson State. So, yeah. I hear that, Steve. Uh I mean, I think all of these teams are flawed to an extent. So, I don't know. I mean, it it it it's from week to week. I mean, you know, the passing game over at Morgan State wasn't exactly, you know, it wasn't exactly the run and shoot Houston Oilers or the Falcons. You know, they I mean they they did okay, but you know, they they kind of came back down to earth. I mean, you know, they lost to a Tennessee State team that Alabama A&M beat pretty handily. You know, that could have taken down Jackson State. So, I think there is and and you know, I mean, as good as some of those wins against those other teams felt, let's be honest and I voted them in the top 25. I'm an FCS voter. As good as some of those wins felt, they weren't exactly the best team. So, it's not like they're like this high. They've just they've come up a little bit, but they still got some things to go as we are getting ready for a MEAC weekend this weekend. So, you know, the first Yeah. and we're going to touch on that. Um, I would say they Morgan State starts very slow and that's what we get caught in every game that they're in. They get behind and now they got to play catch up. I don't think we've seen a game where they played a from the front all year. So, you know, that's one thing I'm always if a team hops out on them, they might have some problems trying to catch up even though they do have an explosive offense.
So, Yeah. we made our rankings. Now, let's get into what we actually saw. It's time for the road report. And it's a Ram shame, but it's about Ram time. Steve, talk to me right now. What did you see on Saturday? Hey, listen, man. Look, it was it was a long Ram week over here. Well, it was a long week for everybody that wears the red, white, and black. Again, like I said, you know, as soon as the video started going viral on Monday night, everybody who is associated with Winston-Salem State University was getting all kind of tags, all kind of texts. I was in my therapy session and I was like, well, damn, do I need to book another session just to talk about the Rams? And so, you know, it I mean, we had Snoop Dogg tweeting about us, dog. Snoop Diggity Dogg. Snoop Doggie Dogg. Well, y'all needed something, brother. Snoop like I'm But what I'm saying is it it was like it was everywhere. And you're like, okay, well something's going to come up and then they'll stop talking about it. No, this just went on for days and days. On top of the tough season that we'd already had anyway. So, you know, we knew that we had Bluefield State coming in and if you couldn't win this game, I don't know what to tell you. So, you know, this was two winless teams, you know, I described it on the the CIAA on CIAA versus everybody as, you know, the toilet bowl. You know, this was two teams that were at the bottom. But hey, So, what was different about Saturday? They get their first win, what was really different? I mean, Bluefield State they I don't know if they could They didn't play like they could beat a 3-8 2-8 team, to be honest with you. They just I mean, it just This was a This was a heavily penalized game. So, there were 30 penalties in the 31 penalties in this game. 19 of them were on Bluefield State. And I mean, a lot of them were coaching, right? A lot of them were zone coach violations. I mean, it was not It was a game that you would expect from two teams that had not won all year. Coming into this game, WSSU had the worst offense in Division II football. They were averaging 178 yards total per game. Uh and they doubled that on the run this week. Uh they had one player that got, you know, 181 yards rushing. So, obviously had 182. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Danzy, uh who last year he was at the school, but he wasn't on the team. So, he literally is a walk-on who was a regular student and you know, he's been he's been you know, one of the few bright spots for the team offensively this year. So, he had a really good game and you know, it was just it was two teams trying to find themselves and right now Bluefield State is is as far as the Rams have felt from that, the Bluefield State is even farther from that as a program. So, you know, hey, I'm they double the a question for you. How can you really What can you realistically take away from this game? If I'm Tory Woolberry, what realistically can I take away from this game? You're going to take away from this that your next couple of games are winnable. Um they probably are going to be a step up from Bluefield State, but again, if ever there was a time that you needed a confidence builder, this was that. I mean, they scored 43 points and they got it just about every kind of way. They only had 38 points coming into this game for the entire season. So, you know, you have a young team and and they're getting beat up on every week, you know, and getting all the jokes and all of that good stuff and you know, you can't protect them from it. They can all they can do is see it. Then, you know, confidence is an issue. So, I'm sure you know, they're going to have a lot more confidence this week as they head up to Lincoln to you know, play Lincoln for their homecoming and so, you know, there's another chance for them to get a winnable game, you know, what it's kind of like when you see the ball go through the net when you're playing basketball. So, Yeah, I mean, I'm just trying to figure it out. Like, what does that really mean for Tory Woolberry? Cuz like Biggy was saying, there was about to be a lot of slow singing and flower bringing if he lost this game. I mean, they found a way to win, right? I mean, even earlier in this game, you know, they were it was a 9-6 I think in the second quarter. They scored 27 unanswered and again, when you have only scored 38 points throughout your first six games, 27 unanswered in a in in in a in a short amount of time, you know, that that that that at least you know, again, you your guys now have a concept of what it feels like to win because 50 guys on this team did not know what it felt like to win a college football game last week. They do now and they have another team that, you know, they can see that, hey, we imposed our will on Bluefield State. You know, there's a chance for us. Why can't we do it again against Lincoln? And then we got Elizabeth City after that and then you finish up with Fayetteville State. So, you know, hopefully for them they will they'll turn the corner and you know, kind of take from this. They still had a lot of penalties themselves. I mean, they had a lot to clean up still. I mean, they had 12 penalties on their own. They were I think only one of eight on third down. So, a long way to go, but they just found a team that they could they finally found a team that they could punch in the mouth after getting punched in the mouth for a lot of the game. So, there's that. Yeah, I mean, this season right now was mostly down. It's going up kind of like those lines that y'all had drawn last week. But we're going to move on for that because we are it's definitely about ram time that y'all won a football game and we're going to keep it moving. You know what I mean? But it was another BTA this weekend. Edward Waters was flying high. Wasn't Edward Waters that had the 60-piece platter that they put up on Kentucky State? That offense did not shine the same way. Josh, tell us what happened when Benedict was up on Benedict beat Edward Waters 45 to 24. Benedict handed Edward Waters his first SIAC loss with a 35 to 3 lead in the first half. Talk to me, Josh. Well, first things first, the the scoreboard doesn't do any justice for how bad truly that game really was. Benedict could have scored 60 points and Edward Waters really should have scored 10 points max, just in all honesty. Coming into the game, I was very excited to see how high-flying high how how how high-flying and how high-powered that Edward Waters offense is with Tayvion and the receivers that they have over there. And I I was excited to see it. I seen it in warm-ups. I saw coach Dooley, you know what I'm saying? It was very exciting. I'm like, "Okay, cool. Like let's let's I'm I'm ready to see this." And then Benedict came out for warm-ups and they were very light. How How can I explain this? It was very Like you could tell that they were laser locked in focused. Like I've never seen a team at all the games that I've been to all year, never seen a team that locked in that focused. Like a lot of the times whenever I'm going to these games, players will come up to me, come up to the camera and be like, "We ain't doing no talking today. Like we on that." Like clapping hands, all that. None of that. They won. That defense is legit. Now, that from them getting pressure up front cuz a lot of the times Tayvion had time in the pocket. It was just nobody open in the back end. It was nobody open. He's holding the ball, trying to roll out the pocket, make plays. They were able to get pressure with four guys and they were able to drop seven back in the coverage, able to drop six back in the coverage, and make sure that any quick read that he had wasn't happening. I think they kind of got the script on how to eliminate them out the game because they was taking away his first read and by the time he got to his second read, somebody's beating the one-on-one block. Somebody's getting up for block. Somebody that was quarterback cuz they was doing a couple of spies, I mean couple of quarterback spies to make sure he wouldn't get out the pocket and run. They're making sure that whenever he break contain and get outside the pocket, they're chasing him down. So, it was a very great defensive plan from Benedict. Like I said, the scoreboard says, "Oh, they only lost." They could have lost by 50 points, truthfully and honestly. It It was It was bad.
What's the the 29 238 yd to 98 yard rushing advantage for Benedict the biggest difference? Yes, it was and you could tell it early on in the game. I know I said Babe, he should get CIAA player of the year. The running back from Benedict. I know he's in the SIAC. But boy, he's just as good, just as talented. I mean, runs powerful, downhill, fast-paced offense. And that was one of the things that I questioned before the game. I'm like, okay, I always hear about this Edward Waters D, I mean, offense. Is their defense just not good? And I seen it first hand. I'm like, okay, cool. Their defense is not good. I could tell their defense was wasn't good. Benedict has a lot of tall receivers. I think the smallest receiver that started was like 6'1 and a lot of Edward Waters DBs were like under the height of 6'. And I'm not I'm going to be honest. They are I don't want to say bad. I don't want to call them just a one game. But from the game that I seen Saturday, they can't They didn't do a good job at tackling. They're going to come and lay a hit. They're going to throw their shoulder, but they didn't do a good job wrapping up. They weren't able to make tackles and that's how a lot of the running game went within Edward within Benedict. They were able to run the ball at will. They were able to get first downs whenever they wanted to. And whenever they wanted to throw it up in the air, it seemed like everything was clicking. So, I got a question for you, Josh. Edward Waters actually outgained Benedict 447 to 367 yards, but lost by 21. Explain how that could happen to me or what you saw. Because like I said, like I mean, like you stated, the score was 35 to 3 at halftime and Benedict toned the offense down. Simple as that. That That's simply what happened. I mean, they literally stopped run Well, I ain't going to say they stopped running the offense, but they had so much control of the game that the the big plays that Edward Waters had came from just I don't want to say hail Mary's but they were deep balls, they were deep shots. There was no real consistency throughout the offense and whenever Edward Waters did put some consistency together, they would have a fumble or there would be an interception or be a three and out or be a fourth and out because they were trying to go for it on fourth down. So yes, they outgained them but they did so like that should just tell you how much dominating they did in the first half to where they got outgained by almost what? Almost 50 70, 80, 100 almost and still won the game by almost 30 points. That just shows you how great and elite that defense played on Saturday. So did Benedict establish itself as the team to beat in the SIAC? I'mma be honest, if Edward Waters was the number one team in the SIAC, Benedict is 100% in the driver's seat for that SIAC championship game and if I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure the championship game will be played at Benedict if they continue to win out, if I'm not mistaken. Since Edward Waters got the win over Kentucky State and Benedict and Kentucky State don't play each other, if they do both continue to win out, I'm pretty sure Benedict would have the home game for the championship game, if I'm not mistaken. So Steve, real quick, Benedict beat Johnson C. Smith earlier this season. How does that compare to the CIAA contenders? [snorts] I mean, hey, I mean, you know, Johnson C. Smith right now is, you know, part of a three-team race to try to get to the Saturday game in Durham with with Virginia State and Virginia Union. So, you know, that's the only loss that they have all year. I mean, and it was a solid loss. It was a solid loss for them. So, you know, for them, they got to hope they got to cheer for Benedict to win this whole thing, you know, so that makes them look better. But yeah, I think, you know, that's that says something where, you know, you know, I think that shows how you know, you you can kind of see that what is the top ish of each conference right now. Um, again, Kentucky State Kentucky State is still going to have their say in this as well. It's not out. I mean, honestly, if you look at both conferences, both conferences really are three are three teams vying for two top spots. And so, you know, it's going to be interesting, you know, how do they match you know, how do they match up? You know, who really knows? You know, is Johnson C. Smith the best in the CIAA? Are they the most well-rounded? I I don't know, maybe. Virginia State, I still think, you know, I still think they, you know, they they could do I mean, they they definitely gave nightmares over there in in Durham for what they did to to them. Yeah, we're going to come to that. Believe me. Believe And I'm going to be honest and I'm and I'm and I'm going to be honest if and from from what I seen Saturday if Benedict and Johnson C. Smith lined up again today, I'm not going to say that it's going to be a 38-10 game, but it it's probably going to be a 38-28 Benedict win. Like I I think they win that game again, honestly. Okay. I hear that. So, listen. We heard about the BTA over there in South Carolina. You talked about that win that's a it's about ram time. But I got to go down and hang out at Howard homecoming. Now, I'm going to tell you this. Before I got to the game I mean, I was all over the place. My head was swiveling. My body was shaking. I mean, it was a beautiful place to be until I got in the stadium. What what was you what Hey, you would what you was doing out there, man? Nah, I'm just saying when you looking at things that you can see everything walking around, the art, the beauty, people partying. I mean like It was about It was about I was walking up there 10 minutes away and you could get to you could see the parties happening everywhere. I mean, I love DC. I love the energy of of black DC and man, I had a I had a time walking through there and enjoying the people till I got into the stadium. And I believe cuz it was cold. I don't know, was your game cold, Steve? It was It was Yeah, it was cold. I mean, it was cold. It was a little rainy, but yeah, it was it was okay. And then was you cold down there? Yeah, it was it was cold. It was windy, too. Oh, yeah, it was cold and windy in DC, man. And them people they they was some of the women were dressed too cute to go to the game and sit there for 3 hours. And so they didn't.
And and when you got there, it was quiet. Um Morehouse didn't show out. More So, I'mma tell you this, Morehouse didn't show out like I thought they would. Tennessee strap Tennessee State traveled better than Morehouse traveled. Fan-wise, inside the stadium. Cuz they was outside, but they wasn't inside the stadium. Of course, they didn't. get to the game. I'm not I'm not going to beat you up cuz I get so frustrated sometimes cuz Howard fans get mad at me, but they really it's like they don't cheer all the time to get the game going when I'm there. I'm not saying it happens all the time, but when I'm there. The band didn't even play that much. Morehouse cheerleaders went and put sweatsuits on. I mean, it was cold. So, the score was 31-17 Morehouse. But I'mma tell people and I said this before, Howard won the game. I expected a blowout. When the game started, I sat down and in sound of somebody said to me, "This is where you need to sit for the rest of this game, cuz it's going to be a blowout. And it definitely didn't stay that way. It turned into a Morehouse audition for the MEAC. Morehouse looked big, aggressive, and they played. Now, I am going to say um Howard had 30 I mean Howard had nine penalties for 100 yards. Now, what I did love is they got Eden James going. He had 120 yards for 13 carries, and he had a 61 race straight to the camera. I will be putting that up on Instagram later this week. And um I like him. J'Shawn Scrogins, I just don't know. You can see him make a beautiful pass, and then you can see him make a um a Donovan McNabb dirt ball. You know, and so it's really confusing to see See, brothers and sisters, I'm having a hard time understanding.
But the thing about it, and I don't want to take anything I'm going to say this, cuz I'm going to go back. I'm going to swallow my words and go back before we before I finish this long story. We There was a time when I was on the CIAA versus everybody in Virginia Union played Morehouse. And I said that at my age, I could have played for Morehouse. You remember that game, Steve? The Hall of Fame game. Mhm. [clears throat] I take that all the way back. I apologize, cuz this year Morehouse was big, they were mean, and they were aggressive, and they came out ready to play. And I think this game wasn't just about like Howard not playing well in the game. I think it really speaks to how well Morehouse came to play. I'm not going to lie. I liked the Morehouse quarterback. Um I'm sorry, I forget his name, but that was really something that impressed me was how they came to play. But you know, I'm not a great storyteller like Josh. So, I'm going to say two things. If Morgan State doesn't get their offense rolling, they had no rhythm that whole game until the third and fourth quarter. They had a 67 play 11 play 67 yard fourth quarter drive that kind of sealed the game. Their defense got an interception and then they scored again. I'm telling um if if they don't get this together, they're going to have a long, long day on Saturday. Cuz their next game is Morgan State. And like we got to fi- they got to figure out what they need to do to get some rhythm in the offense. Their defense played well. I'm really mad cuz I wrote it down and lost where I wrote it. Number seven at defensive end event I don't care who he plays for, that's my guy. He's going to give every quarterback trouble. Every game I seen him play, he terrorized the quarterback. He got a key sack um in the third quarter and he made a great play in the fourth quarter. Number seven at defensive end, everybody needs to scheme for him cuz he's a monster. I just want y'all to know that. So, this is what I'm going to tell you. This is my take. Howard showed that it could close a game. That 67-yard fourth quarter drive was extremely important. But I'm looking at nine penalties. Because when they play Morgan State, they're going to have a completely different challenge when they have to get up against them on defense and on offense. So, they need to get that together before we get um everything squared away. Um so, that's what I'm I'm a I'm going to wrap mine up really quick. Um Josh, I got something for you. Howard ran for 200 201 yards but committed nine penalties. How do you evaluate that balance? Um with them having a lot of penalties like that, that just comes from undisciplined. You know, you just got to be very disciplined and very sound cuz if you take away 100 of those well, nine, let's just say you get four penalties, you know. Those are probably penalties that can get taken back. You probably got some, you know, holdings, you know, some illegal man downfield, some false starts and stuff like that that can get your offense out of rhythm. And like you just stated uh before, Morgan State is coming to town and you You have those type of penalties that put you back behind the behind the sticks. You know, a lot of offensive coordinators want to be ahead of the sticks. A lot of people that don't know football, ahead of the sticks is basically being, you know, second and three, third and two, third and one. You don't want to be second and 12, third and third and 10. You don't want to be behind the sticks, you want to be ahead of the sticks. So, a lot of penalties can cause you to get behind the sticks. And versus a team like Morgan State, you don't really want that to happen. Yeah. And Steve, my man, tell me what Howard what Howard has to do to get ready for Morgan State. What do they got to show Morgan State?
[snorts] I mean, they've got to be ready for a dog fight, you know? I mean, Morgan State, they're coming up, their back is against the wall. You know, they thought that, you know, they they had last week, you know, we talked about things a week ago. A week ago, they were nationally ranked. They had the world at their oyster. They were the toast of the town. And uh all of a sudden, they went over to Tennessee State and uh and got exposed a little bit. So, you know, we'll see. They're going to be, you know, for sure ready to bounce back. I know, you know, again, we've talked about it, you know, Morgan State's defense has been a strength under uh head coach uh Damon Wilson, but, you know, this year, it's been found wanting a couple times. I mean, the fact that uh they let my guy Deion Lee run for 80-plus yards should be concerning to them. Um Deion Lee is a really good pocket passer, but he's not necessarily known as a runner, so, you know, if he was able to get out there on the out there in space on them, you know, Howard's probably going to want to see what they can do to get their guys out there in space to shake them up to shake them up, too. So, I think uh you know, Skrrt Skrrt got wheels. I can say that. Yeah, so, you know, I think that Howard has a blueprint that, you You Morgan State showed just was showing that they are not unbeatable again. Tennessee State only had one win coming into that game and they came away with the win over them. So, it's going to be interesting to see, you know, who's going to have the response, who's going to have the better game plan, and you know, it's it's we're right here for for MEAC play and you know, one loss puts you, you know, puts you in a in a bad spot to pretty much puts you out. So, you know, everything matters now. Yeah. So, three stadiums, three different stories. Now, we're going to talk about who had the best Saturday. Now, we going to bring to you our special segment brought to you by Brick by Brick. Our friend Wiley Pitt, he got his his documentary on Tubi. Please go check it out. It is called Brick by Brick. It's a story of JCSU who went from worse to first and we're talking about it. So, please get that together. This is Josh's player of the week. Jocs, talk to me. Who you got? Uh so, for the player of the week, man, I had a couple options, you know, I'm like I can go Daylan. You know, I can go with the Benedict quarterback or the running back, you know. I could have went with somebody from Winston, you know, they got their first win. So, you know what? Just switch it up this week, man. Let's switch it up. Player of the week. I can't give it to one, so I'm giving it to the whole Benedict defense, okay? I'm giving it to the Benedict defense because it was so much talk coming into that game that Elbert Waters was the hot hottest thing smoking since the Dan since Dan Marino and the and the undefeated Dolphins. I I I I heard that they was the best offense to touch turf since Kurt Warner and the Rams. I I I I thought they was going to be out there slinging the rock all over the place. You sound like you got mad and giving out the turducken. [laughter] Listen, man. I was very surprised and disappointed. Cuz I'm like, bro, I'm I was excited to see a light show. I was You know how I like You know how I like somebody tell you something like, "Yo, bro, I can't wait till you see it, bro. I'm telling you when you see it, I'm telling you like it's like that. I'm It's good." And then you like, "All right, cool." Like you hyped up, you ready for it. And then you finally see it and it's like I said we don't have the capacity. This is regular like this this ain't nothing. I'm like, "Wow." Like I was so disappointed in the offense that I had to look at the defense and be like, "Wow." Like y'all boys really playing defense. I literally I kid you guys not. I'm not even like trying to be funny. I stopped recording two drives before halftime. I stopped recording cuz they was already up 28 28-3. Well, 28-0 at that time. I'm like, "Let me just watch what's going on on defense." See, this is where I'm having a hard time. They play as a unit. Like I don't know who the DC is. I got to do some homework and look him up, but he needs his flowers. So, I I I would go with a player, but I'm going with the whole Benedict defense. So, shout out to that defense because y'all definitely put me on surprise. And then also, they shut down one of my favorite players in the CIAA, Fabian. Shut him down whenever they didn't shut him down. He still had 100 yards, but they blew him out 38-10. So, it's like, "Hey." I mean, I just got to give credit to that defense. So, instead of the player, I'm going to the Benedict defense. Steve, who you got? Uh I'm not asking for somebody. I'm just asking you who could make a legitimate claim.
Mhm.
Alabama A&M, Aqeel Brown. I'd go with him. I was thinking about him, too. I go with him. I mean, you know, he's you know, he's a grown man out there and he played like it this weekend. And that's that's that's the one reason why I'm so hesitant about giving him the flowers cuz it's like I mean, it's about time he figured it out. And I'm not even trying to be funny, but it's like we're the same age. We're literally the same age. I could He's He's got to say he I graduated 4 years ago. So, it's like he he balling. I can't take that away from him. He's balling, but it's like We're the same age, and you know, but I mean, hey, he he hoping though. He hoping. He's hoping. I wanted to give them to him, but I was thinking that you was going to pick the receiver, Jaylen Bryant. I mean, Jaylen Bean. Mhm. Cuz he had 10 for 240. And four touchdowns. And and and I wanted and and I wanted to go there because I used to be a receiver myself. But it's the main reason why I went with cuz like again, I was just so hyped and anticipating the offense coming out there and putting up numbers like we had the president in here. He putting up numbers. Don't get And then I go out there and see that. I'm like, "Oh my god. Y'all just got dismantled." So, are we re- rewarding the biggest numbers or the best performance? That's why I picked the defense cuz I think that performance so dominant, it needs some flowers because the story is going to be oh, they scored a lot of points, but people that didn't really watch the game and wasn't really there are not going to know how dominant their defense really did to shut down Elway's Waters like that. And if I wanted to do numbers, I would have picked what's his name? And I I I I really wanted to, but I'm like, I I can't go away from how good that defense played. I got you. So, now Mind you, Tavion, the quarterback for Elway's Waters, was four-time player of the week in the SIC four consecutive weeks back-to-back-to-back-to-back, and he It look like it. Mhm. So, we went around our road report. We picked out Josh's player. We're going to check the MEAC real quick and see and see something. You know what I mean? Morgan State 5 and 2, South Carolina State 5 and 2, Delaware State, Norfolk 4 and 3, Howard 3 and 4, North Carolina Central 2 and 5. We spent about 2 months arguing about who's the best. Nobody in the MEAC has played a conference game yet. Morgan just lost. Howard just won. Now we find out which performances carry over. Steve, is does Morgan State's loss change your answer about the favorite? No, cuz I don't ever feel like I thought Morgan State was the favorite. I'm just going to be honest. I mean, you know, hey, they came out there and won the game, so credit to them. But, um you know, for me, did I think that Morgan was the best? that? No, I didn't believe that. Um so, I I think, you know, again, it's definitely it's definitely I I don't think it it shakes up that much for them other than, you know, maybe coming into the conference play it gets their attention a little bit, uh where otherwise maybe you if you rather have it last week against Tennessee State than this week against Howard because it is a conference game and you don't want a conference loss. So, So, the words out my mouth. it might be better for them that it happened this week, get back, refocus, and uh you know, get prepared for uh Ted White and Howard coming up to uh Baltimore. All right. So, real quick, is North Carolina Central's 2 and 5 record hiding a better team than people realize, Josh? Who believes that?
No. No.
[laughter]
Okay. All right. Okay. So, we went around in MEAC. We're going to move to the CIAA. We got three unbeaten teams and two top spots. Virginia Union 5 and 0. Virginia State 6 and 0. Johnson C. Smith 5 and 0. The conference records after this weekend and championship participants are still undecided. Steve, Virginia State throws up 76.
Virginia Union wins 48 to 7. And Johnson C. Smith keeps winning. Who's the best team?
Uh
Yeah.
I don't know. I still don't know. I still don't know. Okay. I just I I don't All of them I mean, I guess, you know, you got Virginia State, but it's like their schedule has been so weak. Mhm. Like SWV. I just I don't know. I don't know. I mean, they're putting up the 70 plus scores is impressive. And, you know, Shaw at what now? Four and four and three? Four and four? Shaw's probably the best team that they have beaten, and they did beat them pretty soundly. So, it's hard to go against a team that's that's surging like that. But, you know, Or Bowie State. Bowie State. Yeah, you know, yeah. I mean, so they beat these two, but again, those those teams have three or four wins. Yeah, they don't they don't equal to anything. Yeah. And then other than that, they beat up on Livingstone, Winston, and Barton. So, you know, I But, I do like that their defense I do like it's it's really going to come down to their defense. And um my guy Carlos Fields, if their defense can uh they're going to have to show up and show out in 2 weeks when they come down. I think they go to Charlotte to play to play Johnson C. Smith and uh that's going to be the real bad the real test. If they can beat them, then it's hard to say that they're not number one given the fact that VUU and JCSU don't play this regular season, so Next weekend Next weekend we find out. I had that. So, Josh, you already talked about Benedict and beating Johnson C. Smith 32 to 10 earlier this season. Did that change how Does that change how you see the CIAA race?
Honestly, it does. It really does cuz just being in the CIAA from being here a lot and covering a lot and going to the SIC and seeing how dominant Benedict was versus one of their other teams in Edward Waters and seeing what they did to one of our probably the defending champs, uh Johnson C. Smith. It It It looks It looks like like it changes the landscape for me, but also that was week one and we're seven almost what seven eight games seven eight games in now. So, it's like week one is so far a long ago, but still again like I just stated, I still think Benedict wins that game. I don't think it's that big of a blowout, but it does change the landscape for me a little bit because the best in this conference got destroyed in the SIC. So, that makes me question Okay, so So, so okay, cool. So, put it like that. If if Smith Let's just say if Smith isn't the best in the division, they're still the defending champs. They're the defending champs. So, it's like even if they're not the best, they got blew out by 30 points week one. How would Edward Waters match up versus Johnson C. Smith State, I have to ask that question now. And Kentucky State, how would they match up?
That's interesting. But, you know, we're speaking about the CIAA race. So, does that mean that like them getting beat like that, does that mean that they're not as good as they look like or that the CIAA is not as good? Um Who knows? I'm I I don't I don't really I I'm not going to say the CIAA is not that good. I feel like the CIAA is great football for sure. I feel like, you know, that was just a bad game. I feel like they're still like a top team for sure. Oh, yeah. They are. And I think the CIAA is just top heavy. So, when they do play conference games, you know, it's it's it's uh Virginia State, Virginia Union, Johnson C. Smith. Then underneath you got Fayetteville State and a few others. I don't know who to like Fayetteville State sits by itself. I don't know who you want to put in that group and then the everybody else. And then Winston-Salem State. So, and Bluefield. So, you know, that's how I see how that rocks out. Now, which team of those top three had the weakest had the fewest weaknesses when plan A when plan A disappears? Which team in those games, when they can't do what they busted want to do, can find other ways to win?
Um You said You said the team that has it the most or a team that doesn't? The team that has the fewest weaknesses. The team that can figure it out when plan A doesn't work. So, when Virginia State can't pass, when when Johnson C. Smith can't run, when Union can't run, how do they have a plan B? say I'm I'm I'm going to say Johnson C. Smith. Um coach Flowers shows shown that he has uh championship pedigree. And uh he knows how to make adjustments in the second half like he did this year versus Fayetteville State. Even whenever they came down and uh they VSU took the lead late in that game. You know, they showed that that championship pedigree, they showed to stay calm and stay patient compared to where Virginia Union uh their their main thing was to run the ball and they have new different running backs to where you know, if they're not run the ball do you trust uh Rosales to make plays compared to the same line? Uh do they trust him fully to make the plays on the outside like the weapons that they had last year? You know, so you know, I feel like it's I feel like here like Steve said earlier, everybody has weaknesses. But who has the least uh I'd have to say Smith. Okay. Steve, who you got? [clears throat] [sighs and gasps] I guess I'd have to say I I'd have to say Smith. You know, I think Virginia State is as great as they've done, they're going to have they're going to have to beat somebody that matters. Um you know, that's been their Achilles' heel so far there in this time under under coach Frazier. I mean, they did they did beat Union that one year, but then they turned around and lost to them and and I don't and I'm sorry. I don't think they're I think Virginia I think Union was just skating on easy street that week and they were like, "Yeah, we want to play y'all again." So [snorts] you know, and they came back and beat And I don't know if I trust their defense yet. I don't know if I trust Virginia State's defense yet. I don't I don't know. I don't I don't know if I trust it. I feel like that's the out of the three that's the biggest weaknesses, I feel like they have the biggest weakness of the three and it's their defense.
Okay. Well, I'm not sure like I trust I like Rosales if they can't get the game because he also can get around in the pocket and he can extend plays. So I like him. I'm not so sold as much on JCSU's quarterback, but I haven't seen him like I've seen Rosales play as much. And so I I think I would pick Union for that reason because when they can't get the running going they can get him whether outside the pocket to with his legs or he can get some other things going. You know what I mean. But go ahead you got something to say Steve?
Uh what you eating man? No man I'm good I'm good. Oh all right you still sick from them Winston-Salem losses. All right so now see we want see you we won you can't even give us you can't even give us our ram respect but that's all right. So
You ain't Swac. You ain't Swac and you ain't Swac. I'm Swac. See that's what we going to talk about Swac International pictures. No I'm really not Swac at all. It's not right and I know y'all know better than that. Please stop. So let's talk about this Stop. Alabama A&M Alabama A&M beat Grambling State 61-31. Jackson State beat Florida A&M 27-17. Prairie View A&M beat Alcorn State Alcorn State excuse me Alcorn State 41-38. Bethune-Cookman over Valley 34-14. Alabama State over Arkansas Pine Bluff APB 21-15. Josh Alabama State lost to Jackson State then put 61 on Grambling. Who's playing better football?
Who who Who am I to choose in between? Who do you want me to choose between? I Who's playing better football out of the Swac? Alabama State lost to Jackson State then put up 61 on Grambling. You mean A&M? I mean yes Yeah excuse me A&M that's why I was confused a little bit. My fault. I'm I
I don't I'm I'm going to say Jackson State is playing better all around football from both sides of the ball from offense and defense. I know Alabama A&M just got a big win, put up 60 points and a lot of offense scored. But, as Steve said, you know, Jackson State did go on to beat um Alabama A&M, and I still trust Jackson State's defense, even though they don't have the quarterback position. You know, I'm saying that they don't have it figured out, but the backup played pretty solid versus FAMU. He did. But, I just trust Jerry a little bit more. But, um I feel like they're playing better football. I feel like coach TC Taylor helped him a lot in this game versus FAMU by running the ball early in the game. It was homecoming, so a lot of stuff can be, you know, going on within the a young guy from playing and getting his first real real start, you know, in a homecoming game like that out there in Jackson, especially versus a big rivalry game at FAMU. So, um I like the way how TC, you know, helped slow the game down for him. Not a quick game, nothing too exotic. They stayed ahead of the chains a lot, you know, made it very simple for him. So, I feel like they're playing better football. Okay. Steve, Jackson State responded um from losing to Grambling, right, to beating Florida A&M. Which version is the real Jackson State? Um I think I mean, I think I think it's I think it's still the I think it's the latter. Um you know, Jackson State, you know, people because of who they are and the success that they've had, people expect them to, you know, be dominant, and they don't expect it to have to be a struggle with a a FAMU team that, you know, is just really trying to get their I guess snakes don't have legs, but like they're trying to get their skins together. Scales? And yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know. The scales are still coming together. So, you know, they they yeah, you know, I think I think Jackson State still, you know, they uh they answered the bell when they needed it to. So, they may not get all the style points in the win and of course, you know, the the quarterback, you know, is a concern. We saw as we saw last year in the SWAC, you got to do what you can to keep your quarterback healthy and if you don't, you got to make sure that you got a backup that can move the ball around, so you know, hopefully they are I'm sure for them they're hoping that they can you know, they they came out of this they all coaches always say it's better to learn these lessons on the other side of a loss on the other side of a win than a loss, so you know, I think I think that I think that's the real thing them. I think as long as they don't play against Grambling, they're okay. And that's what I was going to say, Grambling just seems to have their number. I don't know what it is. It's the boogeyman. It has to be. It it got to be some kind of boogey. Um but what carries more weight right now when you talk about how we're looking at the SWAC? Is it their head-to-head results, quality wins, or consistency?
Me personally, I'm not a big fan of head-to-head results because a lot of things can go into the game. Prime example, the Alabama A&M JSU game. Alabama A&M was literally up in the game by 10 points almost 10 points with 5 minutes left and Alabama A&M literally choked the game. So it's like if they just literally just execute literally just execute the game, we're talking about that in a whole different light, but um I I think for me consistency is the biggest thing because for example, we just see PV, you know, beat Alcorn who's been playing very good football recently in a close game, but then they lose to Grambling and and I mean no yeah, then they have a close game with Grambling and then they uh lose to Valley. So it's like consistency is the biggest thing with me showing that you can show up each week and that's something that Jackson State and Alabama A&M has done the best job at within the SWAC is being consistent within their play. Yeah, Jackson State is consistent against Grambling, too.
Yeah, loser. [laughter] Loser. Yeah, I think loser. I think for me and it's the head-to-head because who you beat is going to matter, especially again as we're talking about the the road to the Celebration Bowl and SWAC Championship game. You know, it sucks if you're Alabama A&M that you lost to Jackson State, but I mean, hey, if I'm Alabama A&M, just keep your uh just keep your head down and uh and keep winning because Jackson State still has some difficult games ahead of its schedule. They got Bethune. Bethune, Valley, who else? Uh they got Valley. They got Valley which is not going which we know they're not going to lay down. And I believe this game this year isn't in Itta Bena, maybe, I can't remember. But either way, and they still got to play Alcorn. So, they got to play those two. Yeah. They got to play those two. They got to play those two in conferences and thanks to Grambling, they already have one loss. So, as long as it stays one loss, Jackson State is in the driver's seat, but they're only one Jackson State loss away from being in control. Being out. So. Yeah. So, I mean, but that's the thing. I I look at it a little different. I think it's a combination of things. It's the quality quality wins and consistency. I think they go together. And so, but I'm not going to beat you over the head. Um I do like where Jackson State is. I do agree with you that Alabama A&M may be the better team right now, but that's why head-to-heads went um when they count. Those are what I mean by quality wins. And so, if you look at Jackson State, they they locked in a quality win over Alabama A&M. Um so, we're going to move cuz cuz Josh is definitely standing on A&M being number one in the conference. Um and and and one of the best teams in black college football. But now I need you to stand on this. Here's my claim. Morgan State is still the team to beat in the MEAC. Steve, stand on it. Who believes that?
No. Okay, give me evidence why not. I don't think they are. I mean again, you know, we've got to see them we got to see them they got to win the whole thing. Like there's just going to keep being doubts. I mean even this week if you beat Howard, I mean great. You beat you beat Howard. Um you know, which right now that's that's really not saying a lot. Um and so they're just going to they they had all of the momentum in the world. Had they went on and beat Tennessee State, you know, they could thump their chest and all of that stuff. But they still you know, knowing that in the MEAC it's going to come down to those five games and you know, again, one loss and now you become a fan of another team where you root for other team people to beat the other team and two losses you're out. And they've shown that anybody they've given everybody in that in that conference confidence that okay, Morgan State is coming but yeah, they got a they got a solid record but they're not unbeatable. Especially if they got to come to us. Steve, where do you feel like Steve I mean Josh, where do you feel like Steve's argument breaks down?
I'm I'm I'm kind of torn because I feel like it I feel like it breaks down because like I would have like they would come off of a amazing high. Everybody's claiming them number one. Everybody's saying you're the best, you're the best and what Nick Saban calls the rat poison. They got to hold to the rat poison and hear everybody hearing them sing singing their praises and then they went into Tennessee State Tennessee State probably overlooking Tennessee State a little bit, you know, thinking that you know, we're just going to dominate them. Everybody claiming us the best already and probably slept through Tennessee State. So, I feel like honestly, you know, I feel like Steve's not wrong, but then I also kind of disagree as well because out of all the the rest of the MEAC, they have they are still undefeated versus as well I mean yeah, Tennessee State, but they're still undefeated versus the non black FCS teams compared to everybody else. And again, if we want to say South Carolina State, who I I'm I kind of want to say, but they just have two bad losses versus Citadel and Charleston Southern and they're coming off of a bye. So, it's like I I got I got I'm with them and then I'm I'm not at the same time. So, I mean, I can't I can't just I can't just scrape away like yes, they're not some of the top teams in the FCS or Villanova, Robert Morris, and Towson, but we just seen Towson have a good game versus Campbell and Campbell is one of the top 15 ranked teams in the FCS. So, and then if they lose if Morgan loses those games, we're not even we're we're holding that loss to such a high level, but it's like we can't hold the wins to a high level either. So, it's like I I kind of got got to hold those wins to a high standard. So, I'm going to say I stand on that, Colby. I stand on Morgan State still being the team to beat in the MEAC. And after this week, we'll really be able to see because Mike Vick comes to town, South Carolina. All right. I I just I I respect what you said. I'm not going to hold it no further cuz next week is conference play and next week games matter. Friday, Central at Delaware State, Saturday, Howard at Morgan, Norfolk State at South Carolina State, Benedict at Albany State. And where is WSSU this weekend, Steve? All the way up in Lincoln, Pennsylvania, in your neck of the woods, literally. Yes. So, I will be at two games this weekend. But South Carolina hosts South Carolina State, excuse me, hosts Norfolk State. What match-up could decide this one?
Come on, Steve. Talk to me. Uh I think that uh Norfolk State is going to have to uh stretch the ball against South Carolina State. And honestly, their special teams are going to have to come up big again. I was at that game when they played against Hampton and they got two kickoff returns. The field goal unit was really good. And uh that covered up their passing game. Uh that wasn't the greatest. So, you know, there's their passing could be iffy. If they come out If they could not find a consistent passing game, then, you know, South Carolina State could be in some trouble at homecoming. Um you know, of course, you know, South Carolina State had a After going 0 and 1 for 2 weeks in a row, South Carolina State has had the has had the the week to you know, sit back and and gather themselves. Um and so, I expect for them to be prepared and ready. But, you know, right now you know, and that's why you were talking about Morgan, until somebody in the MEAC beats South Carolina State and probably until they get beat twice Cheney State still hasn't lost. So, they you know, until they they still got that That's not going to do anything for them this week, but I do think just for me, until somebody knocks them off in the MEAC they've always been the favorite in the MEAC. I respect that. I think I think I think I think the biggest match-up within this game is going to be the Norfolk State O-line and the South Carolina State D-line. Because South Carolina State has one of the best D-lines in HBCU football. And so, are they going to be able to control the line of scrimmage? Is Norfolk State going to be able to move that D-line a little bit and be able to run the ball? Cuz if so, I feel like they can win this game. If Norfolk State can run the ball and move the D-line of uh South Carolina State just a little bit to where they can open up the run game, get some play action involved cuz that's the script that uh Benedict I mean not Benedict uh Bethune gave and Citadel executed it and uh Charleston Southern executed it. Can we get the run game going, get some play action going, get them linebackers drawn into the run and throw it over the top, throw it over their head, get some chunk yards off like that and also sprinkle a little bit of quarterback run. So, all of that relies on the trenches doing their work up front first. So, I feel like that's a big match-up within this game. Norfolk can Norfolk can run the ball. Yeah, they can run the ball and and they're not going to be intimidated by South Carolina State cuz I mean they've already played ODU and UVA. So, Exactly. And I feel like that's the I feel like I feel like if they can I feel like if that's the not to say that South Carolina State has a lot of kryptonites, but I feel like recently recently cuz knowing Chennisberry is going to correct that for sure. But, just recently watching South Carolina State, a lot of the things that gets them in trouble is discipline. Their undiscipline gets bad at times whenever their teams are able to run the ball consistently cuz that opens up the play action. You got play action, boot. If I'm not mistaken, Norfolk State has a very mobile quarterback. You get a lot of quarter You get a lot of you know, outside Yeah, you get a lot of outside zones going, you get some sweeps going, some tosses going. Then you get a PA boot. That linebacker crashes down, he's jumping down, you got the tight end over the top. So, I feel like if they're able to run the ball and be consistent with it, they get the play action game going and it could be a long day for South Carolina State. Yeah. And I like the freshman quarterback. Uh fun fact, he got a twin brother that plays receiver. So, that that's an interesting thing about that team. But, Josh, this the one I really wanted you to answer. Right? What's up? After Benedict's win, what does Albany State test tell us about the SIAC ceiling?
It It it it tells us that the SIAC has a lot of depth in that conference within a lot of the teams. Like a lot of the teams have a lot of depth within um a lot of good football being played. Um Benedict coming into that game was like the third or fourth ranked team in the SIAC, if I'm not mistaken. Um cuz I remember on the scoreboard they had like the uh seedings on it. Edward Waters was number one. I'm pretty sure Benedict was like three or four. I cannot remember exactly, but I know they weren't one or two. And I'm pretty sure they're not three. Like they were like one of the fourth or fifth teams and going into that game it just showed like yeah, there That's a That's a lot of depth within this conference. And Albany Albany State They've been They've been They They've been They look solid. They look solid. And if I'm not mistaken, that game is in Georgia, correct? I think so. I got to go check. I'm pretty sure it's in Georgia, so yeah. And it's all Benny. Yeah. All Benny. All Benny. Yeah, I'm a going to beat me up cuz I remember Yeah, I remember a couple years ago I was saying Alcorn they they was going to beat me up. Alcorn, yeah. All All Benny. Yeah, all Benny. I'm sorry. So we going to get that sorted. I'm sorry. [laughter] So look, we going to wrap this up. We going to take this final drive and bring it around. Steve, what is the biggest thing you learned watching football this weekend? Um Yeah, any You know, one week you can go from giving out the belt to taking the belt. Just to ask Edward Waters. Mhm. Yeah. Josh, what team changed your opinion the most this week? Uh
I'm going to say Edward Waters. Edward Wa- Edward Waters because that just showed that in every conference from CIAA, SWAC, MEAC, SIAC, there was no clear cut number one best team ahead of everybody else. Before before last weekend, I felt like the Waters could have been that team that showed that they are the best team in all the conferences, but after after Saturday, it just showed no matter what it there is no clear cut number one. So, that's the biggest thing that surprised me. I hear that. Well, look, this what I'm going to tell you. Howard found his fourth quarter answer against Morehouse. Howard found his best fourth quarter answer against Morehouse. Morgan State couldn't find one in Nashville. And Saturday in I can't even get words out today. Saturday in Baltimore Saturday in Baltimore will tell us a whole lot which team is better prepared for the MEAC race. So, you heard our top three. Now, give yours. For Steve, Josh, I'm Jacoby Simmons. This is