DeSean Jackson, Delaware State to face William & Mary; South Carolina State's 87 on Savannah State
DeSean Jackson, Delaware State to face William & Mary; South Carolina State's 87 on Savannah State
Video Transcript
What's going on, everybody?
This is Randall Barnes, the founder of HBCU Pulse and the host of HBCU Pulse Radio in the building for another special edition of the show on today, where as we know, HBCU football is back, and we're talking about week zero of the HBCU football season.
I have Ariel Kilgore in the building.
Ariel, how you doing today?
I'm doing good.
And just for the people that don't know, just a wild time in the MEAC, Morgan State is now number one in the conference.
A&T is in shambles, even though they're not part of the MEAC.
And f- all of them 5011 games, we saw something exciting.
I'm in a jersey, specifically Waterboy jersey, because at this point, put me in the game, coach.
Some of these games this weekend, put me in.
I'm ready.
Give me pads and all, because I don't know what was going on, especially my game of the week.
That's the last time I'm ever being kind.
I'm keeping this record, because what in the world?
But overall, great opener to football.
Exciting plays.
Some of these players on ESPN, top 10 players to watch going into the draft for next year.
If you didn't catch this weekend's football, you missed some absolutely exciting things that went down.
Yeah, for sure.
So let's go on and get into it.
Morgan State versus North Carolina A&T.
That was your game of the week.
Morgan State won 17 to seven.
And although North Carolina A&T lost, I won some money on North Carolina A&T on Cash App because they were very undervalued, and when they got that first touchdown, it went up, like, so much.
So I made a little bit of money, like $12.
But Ariel, what did you think about the game?
What are your thoughts?
Well, obviously, if I would've bet on them to win, I would've lost all my money, so I'm glad I'm not a betting man.
Like you said, Morgan State toppling North Carolina A&T 17 to seven.
Most essentially, what we had figured from what Sean Gibbs is saying from what we saw in the game, things just weren't capitalized that I believe could've been done, especially that interception for Morgan State that could've been brought back for a touchdown, and you had the missed field goal attempt.
You also had a blocked field goal attempt by Morgan State, who was able to in turn, turn that into a running touchdown drive.
Even though A&T started off in the first few seconds of the game with the opening touchdown, they moved the ball 70 yards that running touchdown.
So it goes back into what we were saying, that they have to establish a run game.
That run game haven't been established since the early 2000s, and we wanted to see it.
A little bit on the low side, I will say, when it did come to rushing, which I think contributed to some of their loss.
But I will say Braxton Thomas looked absolutely amazing.
He is the quarterback, by the way, that was injured in the UCF game, and they decided to start him, and I think he had a wonderful start, and we'll get into that.
I wanna say after those missed field goals and not capitalizing on that interception, it was really just downhill from there.
And what we saw from A&T is that they still don't know how to finish, which is a running story for any team that I would say is trying to be on top of the CAA.
Not able to move the ball, not able to create those turnovers on those third and those fourth downs.
Not much penalties, so I will say kudos to them on having a cleaner game.
And like I said, Braxton Thomas being able to come back out there since that urjury- injury last December.
He looked pretty good too, going 20 for 32, 240 yards.
You know, that one touchdown, even though it was a rushing touchdown, that pass off that he had.
I think A&T has found a quarterback, and I'm excited to see what this red shirt freshman who is now back is starting to look like.
But it's those crucial things that Sean Gibbs said in his press conference even talking about after the game.
We have to learn how to take care of those opportunities.
We have to learn how to make opportunities where there are none.
Because you can't just keep getting on the field and having those turnovers, having, getting those downs on fourth and downs and not being able to come back as quickly, just like Morgan State did.
And Morgan State really didn't do much at all to really beat the Aggies.
They just took advantage of the moment that they already have, and Morgan State always plays like that.
If you're gonna play overall sloppy and lazy defense, Morgan State is going to see that.
They're going to be like, "Hey, there's a weakness there," and capitalize on it.
Because this is the team that had came from behind last year winning against Norfolk in 35 to 38, getting 14 points all at the end of that fourth quarter.
This is also the same team that came back and beat Hampton and Delaware State in 2024 from come behind wins.
So even though A&T started great, they still have a very deep problem trying to finish.
And Morgan State said, "If you're not gonna finish, I'm going to put it in the end zone for you."
I will say that defense for A&T, holding them to a 17 to seven game, a low-scoring game, is a triumph within itself.
Just because I do think that there are some things that we can work on when it comes to pressuring the QB a little bit and keeping it tight, and they did force a lot of downs on Morgan State.
So I will say there were some things that you could see that were really, really great, but at the end of the day, having that blocked punt contributed to A&T's downfall.
Not necessarily being able to stop the offense of Morgan State on necessary runs, and not really establishing a run game that was needed most, and relying on something that the team is known for for all those years, handed Sean Gibbs his loss.
Morgan State is not the worst thing to lose to.
Like I said, this was a test of what he was practicing and what he was preaching this summer, that we are going to have better team.
We're going to play a little bit more cohesive.
We're gonna add more style.
You could see that.
So it's not bad.
They do play Georgia State again this weekend on September 4th.
And I'm not expecting the best, but I do think this is a good base and foundation, even with the loss, that A&T can still move upon.
We now have our QB.
We know that they- tossed to nine different receivers in the game.
So now we know that they are versatile, they have different players that they can depend on, especially when it comes to the RI receiver, Elijah.
He's a really good person that I can just depend on.
Elijah Kennedy, by the way.
We can, we can work on that, and we can work on this defense, we can work on this holding, we can work on the forced downs.
But when it comes to interceptions and making sure that we get back on the ball and moving the ball, I think that is one thing that they're definitely going to hone in into practice.
Not the game I wanted to start on our countdown to the centennial on October 31st, but I'm, I'm not overall disappointed.
I'm a little bit more optimistic to see what they bring this weekend than what I saw this past Saturday.
Yeah.
I mean, I think that your read on it was great.
I think that Morgan State, I'm glad that they won.
I'm glad that they're starting off the season on the right foot, and that Morgan State fans are enthused, they're excited about the win.
When So I think your breakdown was honestly really amazing, and I'm happy that Morgan State fans are enthused by this win.
And I think it is an amazing win because you start off the season with a win, it gives some confidence to these players, and it's gonna be a, a really, you know, long season for both Morgan State and North Carolina A&T.
So for Morgan State to leave that game with a win is very important.
But one thing I'll say is that it does still seem like there are the same issues that's persisting with Morgan State, even in the win.
And, and I don't, I don't like to downplay success, but I wasn't really impressed by the win because you have North Carolina A&T that immediately gets a touchdown, and then you have Morgan State that gets the field goal, and then we don't see any more scoring for either team, for either team, until the fourth quarter.
Now granted, I mean, that, that, that's the defense, maybe some mistakes that happened, but I still wanna see a Morgan State team with a good offense.
'Cause we know that Morgan State, and Damon Wilson specifically, is always gonna have a really good defense.
But we know back in Division II at Bowie State that Damon Wilson, he had some great quarterbacks in that era.
And we thought that sort of him coming to Morgan State, that he would also find some guys that could really throw the ball and really spin it.
Like, I'm still You know, my, my jury's out on, on the quarterback now, but I, I, well, I just wanna see more.
Like, A&T had a better offensive game.
Like, you look at the box score, you look at the footage, it was a better offensive game.
And I hope that North Carolina A&T fans aren't discouraged, 'cause it, it was a loss, but at the same time, look at Braxton.
I Look, look at that quarterback and what he did, and look at the numbers that he put up.
And then I look at the, the running back room, only 88 yards, and like I said last week, that's Sean Gibbs, that, that's his area of genius.
Like, he was working with Tyrique Cohen.
He, he was working with Montez Carter.
He was working with Emmanuel Wilson at Fort Valley, Brandon Marshall at Fort Valley.
So I thought that the running game would be more pro- prolific, especially in this game.
But the pass game is what actually worked for North Carolina A&T.
They had more total yards.
They had more passing yards.
So I think that there are some encouraging signs for North Carolina A&T, and this by all means wasn't a demoralizing loss.
Although I know that Aggie faithful want better, 100th homecoming, all of that, but I am encouraged by what I saw by North Carolina A&T in a, in an odd way, because you would think I'm encouraged by Morgan State.
But 17 to seven is a great win.
That's 10 points.
But at the same time, I just wanna see a Morgan State that can score.
And, and that's why I'm not as impressed.
If they won 24 and with another touchdown, 24 to seven or something like that, now, now we can talk.
But like, I just wanna see more offensive firepower from Morgan State.
But I'm, I'm happy that they won, and maybe this could be the type of win that really jumpstarts the season, and they get in the MEAC play, and it might shock some people.
I mean, with Morgan State already going into the season as we And as Or they're number one in the MEAC, I think that's an accomplishment within itself.
They haven't been number one in the MEAC for the past five years.
Especially now that you bring Chenis Berry into this game, you still have Trey Oliver, and now you also have Delaware State, that's a lot of hard competition.
So starting, Morgan State starting at number one this season is actually a confidence booster within itself.
And I don't think them playing on the same trove and them playing on the same game theory, that they're always winning and coming from behind, that's a good sentiment to have.
That a team that isn't necessarily heavy offensively knows how to finish the game on the back end when it comes out of the halftime of that quarter.
So Quinn Boye not looking bad.
I, I Necessarily wasn't the best.
22 out of 41, 323 yards, three touchdowns, and of course that interception.
But I think that he is one of the better quarterbacks that we have seen out of Morgan State.
I'm not going to lie, I do agree with you.
I wish that there were better starts to Morgan State.
But I can't be mad at a team that knows how to finish, and they know where their strengths are when it comes to that special teams after we've seen that block punt and after we've seen those forced downs coming from the defense.
I would not necessarily say that Morgan State did bad.
Do I expect more from them coming into the season?
Yes, because you can't always be a play-from-behind team.
We don't want that overtime game like how you had with Norfolk State two years ago.
And we do want to see that kind of competition that you were putting up against the Eagles and that you were putting up against Delaware State and those Hornets, that you will put up eventually to everybody that is in your conference.
But when it does come to Morgan State, I think we should just give them their props in this game.
Yes, it was a low-scoring game, and there were both good things and bad things on each side.
But to start off with a win instead of being at the bottom of the MEAC how they've been in the past five years, I'm not really mad at this at all.
I, I think both-- This wasn't really a game where there's, like, a definitive loser and definitive winner and that I can pick at both of them.
Both teams had a really good game play, and both teams show really great game strategy.
Of course, there is a definite loser and a definite winner, but I don't have much I guess, constructive criticism or bad criticism to both.
They both showed signs that there could be some kind of life, some kind of win in this season, especially when Morgan State playing these heavy coaching teams in the MEAC.
There might be some competition there that we'll see against South Carolina State and that we'll see with Delaware State, and then also trying to battle for that number three spot or maybe that number two spot with Central.
I think there's some great competition and, like, some really good optimism here that we should capitalize on because I, negatively I can't really think of much.
Yeah, I totally agree.
So shout out to I guess both of them.
I mean, we're being really positive.
Shout out to both of them, Morgan State for the win, and North Carolina A&T, I think there might be something there, but we'll see in some of these other match-ups.
So my game of the week was Southern University versus Alabama State.
That was Marshall Faulk's first game.
Alabama State ultimately won 30 to 17, but don't just look at the box score to try to typify what this game was, because one of the things that I came out of Saturday afternoon with is Southern University is way better than what I thought that they would be.
There are some things that I don't take back from what I said on last week, because I think that what Marshall Faulk was saying about the next level being the FBS instead of the NFL, I still think that's erroneous.
I think that the next level is always and will forever be the NFL.
But at the same time, I do believe that there is a proof of concept there for the offense for Southern.
I think that there's a proof of concept for that defense.
A lot of people, I saw on Twitter, I saw the prognostication, a lot of people were impressed by the defense that they showed, especially in that first half.
You have the quarterback for Southern University, because he, he was real tight-lipped about who the quarterback would be.
And I talked about it last week that, hey, like, you have this new coach and you have not said who the quarterback is as we're moving into this huge game against the number one team in the SWAC East per the predicted order of finish at SWAC Media Day.
Like, why have you not named a quarterback?
Why are we still doing quarterback tryouts?
But they went with Christian Johnson as the starting quarterback.
He played at Hudson Community College.
He was a part of that 2024 NJCAA Division I national championship team.
He has an arm.
He threw for 3,103 passing yards and rushed for 907 yards with 42 total touchdowns at the community college level.
So I look at that and I'm hearing about him on the broadcast, I'm like, "Okay, let's see what he does."
And he showed the arm, he showed the run game.
It wasn't a perfect game, but in a lot of different ways I think that he sort of matched Andrew Body.
'Cause Andrew Body had a good game, but at the same time it wasn't like the game we saw g- with him a- against UA- UAB.
And I know that's, like, a, a prime performance.
Like, it, like athletes don't do that all the time, but I was expecting for Andrew Body to sorta, like, make them look foolish out there, and, and that just simply didn't happen, especially in the first half.
You have Southern that hops out to a huge lead.
They hop out to a 14 to three lead, which of course that, that's not insurmountable.
But at the same time, that's way more than I thought it would be.
Like, them being up 14-three, like I, in my mind that's 30 to three, in my mind.
'Cause it's like I didn't expect for Southern to be up at all on the Alabama State team that had brought back a lot of firepower.
You br- you bring back Holts Claw, you bring back Andrew Body, and that's a morale boost for the school, for the program.
And they're down 14-three, but it's like something hit when they got that second touchdown.
When Southern got that second touchdown, they're down 14 to three.
They immediately go down and score, and I'm like, "Okay."
And then we sorta saw the Alabama State that we were used to seeing from last year.
They had some slow moments, when it came to them ramping up to speed, for their game.
But I was more impressed with Southern coming out of this game.
I think that Southern is going to be really good.
I don't know what really good looks like.
I don't know if really good is more than two games won, 'cause they won two games last year.
I don't know if that's, "Hey, let's challenge Jermaine Jackson and, and, and, and also Chris Dishman at Texas Southern for the SWAC West crown," or I don't know.
But I just know that from what I saw, I saw a cohesive plan.
I saw a quarterback that can sling it.
I saw a quarterback that can run.
I saw a quarterback that can make things happen.
I was shocked that Trey Holly didn't have a better game, however, per reports, he had a disciplinary issue that Marshall Faulk didn't have him start the game, and that might have added to why he had the most carries in the running back room, but at the same time he might not have done as well.
Now I'm not saying that that is the reason why, I'm just saying that from what I'm, I'm rep- I, I've seen and I'm gonna write about it on Clutch Points, that that was the reason why he didn't start.
So I think that maybe if Trey Holly starts and, you know, those first couple drives he gets going, has a big run, this, this might be a totally different ballgame.
This might be Southern winning and upsetting, like Alabama State, the way that Texas Southern upset North Carolina Central.
But I think that that like ul- like that ultimately hit, like Trey Holly not being the starter, you know, he didn't really factor in that much into the ultimate win, though he was good in the run a- game and the receiving game.
But overall, I'm just leaving the game very impressed with Southern.
And Alabama State, and I was putting this on Clutch Points, they started off rough but they stuck the landing.
When you jump, like you wanna make sure you don't, you don't jump and you don't come down on, on your leg wrong, mess up your knee.
Like I've, I've had that happen before.
Like, like when back at Fort Valley, I hop into my twin bed, I hit my knee, can't move it.
And then, then, then I stretch it and it pops back in place.
I, I, I've had that happen before.
You wanna stick your landing And I think that Alabama State stuck their landing.
Holtzclaw is gonna be amazing this year.
Like when I saw Andrew Body and Holtzclaw in that backfield, it reminded me of like Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, like that type of dynamic where it's like, I don't know if Andrew's gonna pull it and run or if Holtzclaw's gonna just get it and just run to get a touchdown or a huge gain.
So, the, the thing about it is that I think that Alabama State is gonna be really good, and they backloaded a lot of their schedule, 'cause Jackson State, they're playing them and Prairie View A&M back to back heading into Thanksgiving, the Turkey Day Classic against Tuskegee.
So I'm interested to see what they turn into in November.
I wasn't impressed with their effort in the first half, but I do think that Alabama State is still gonna be as advertised, and they pulled out that win.
And you know, we, we're both right 'cause we picked Alabama State.
I'm not mad.
Everybody's healthy.
So, you know, it was a good game, but Marshall Faulk, I see, so I see some concepts.
Listen, I just have to say welcome back, Andrew Body.
It was just so much fun seeing him play, and you're definitely right.
We got a Derrick Henry situation and Lamar Jackson situation.
Great enough, we, we had a Bijan situation.
I guess Two is gonna be that Tua and Bijan situation when we get to the Falcons.
But nonetheless, we're keeping it college.
I saw some really great just chemistry on that field watching Alabama State and seeing that maybe they are going to be the team that everyone should be looking out for, Andrew Body vying to make his invitation known for those e- for those NFL scouts, and seeing that he is bringing major plays to HBCUs.
And both of these teams overloading on yards, over 300 yards for both of them, and over 100 yards passing for both of them.
Alabama State almost pushing 200 yards.
And of course, Alabama State, they're not gonna do nothing else.
They are going to run the ball, and that is something that I wish I would've seen A&T do in their game.
But like you said, just speaking on s- and also with Alabama State, going five for five when it came to red zone completions, that's one of tho- those are those stats that you're looking for.
Those are the things that win games.
But switching over to Southern, how they're doing and what they're doing right now, I don't know if I would've seen an upset if Trey Holly would've had more time.
I do believe this would've been a closer game, just because Alabama State's defense is a little bit tougher, and I think they would've progressed during the game and kind of found some of those niches that Trey Holly usually does and would've stopped him progressively.
But this definitely would've been a closer game.
Maybe like a three, a three-point deficit minus, you know, the field goal that Alabama State did on, in that fourth quarter, but it would've been a lot closer to that.
But I will see, this Southern is reminding me of the Southern early 2015, 2014, back in those A&T-MEAC days.
They are starting to become a powerful team, especially when it comes to putting that offense on the field.
That was something that I was really shocked at, that they held their own against Alabama State, and not only held their own, but was able to tie with them at, at some point and actually hang with them, hanging with them in the second quarter, only holding Alabama State to 10 points, even though they went scoreless in that second half.
They were really running game on Alabama State, where it to, at some points it looked a little scary that was, the Horn is actually going to pull through.
Both of our games of the week showing that this may not have been that outcome for both of the teams that are working on restructuring how they are going to appear on the field.
But Southern is giving shadows of life that this isn't going to be a easy SWAC season at all.
They are going to try to make it to that championship game and try to go back to the Celebration Bowl.
I'm honestly impressed that they held up this long.
Both great games, but this Southern and Alabama State game just took me for a whirlwind, and something that I wanted to see and something I was hoping for with the 5011 games that we were getting, and some of them were blowout games.
This was a really good one that you had picked.
Yeah, and, and last thing I'll say about it is I know that, you had Marshall Faulk that sorta wasn't really enthused at the effort of the team in general.
He did say some positive things, but I wanna bring up a quote that he said after the game.
He said, "And the reality is we're gonna work with those guys on things and try to get them to fix it.
If not, we're gonna find guys to play that might not be as talented, that might not be the best in that department, but at least they won't beat themselves.
You just cannot have the mistakes and the penalties and the things we did to put ourselves in the position that we're in."
And he pinpointed penalties as the big reason why they lost.
Some costly holding penalties, just different things that we always talk about that are drive killers and they're hard to come back from.
"We hope to get better at just being disciplined in the arena of how to play smart football and how to do the number one thing I told you guys we can't do, which is beat yourself."
And then I, I wrote about in, my article where I talked about, tho- those quotes.
He, he'd had some, you know, some praise for the team.
Like he, he said the majority of the guys was pleased with their effort.
The guys played hard.
We just have to finish plays.
We gotta finish drives.
As good a job as Alabama State did, we really put ourselves in some bad situations.
I think that, you know, we all, we're all different, and we all lead differently when we're in leadership positions.
I don't know if he should've said, "We're gonna replace y'all," the first game.
I, I don't know if that's the way to go.
I think that you have to take the wins, which you can, you can take them, on a 2-and-8 team.
Alabama State was really good last season.
They're likely gonna be really good this year, and they're gonna be going ban for ban with Jackson State for who's making this, the SWAC championship and possibly the Celebration Bowl this season.
They might see them again in the SWAC championship.
We don't know.
That very well could happen.
After what I saw from Southern University, I think they could actually win some really crucial games, right?
You don't have to have like a perfect record to win in the SWAC West.
You just gotta have Prairie View lose, Texas Southern lose, Grambling lose.
You might beat them.
You win the tiebreaker.
You're, you're in there.
You know what I mean?
So I think that they very well could make the SWAC championship.
So my thing is- Don't go down on the guys too hard.
Like, don't, don't, don't say, "We'll replace y'all."
Like, I, I, I just think that that's a little bit too much because if, if, if Alabama State was, was beating y'all from jump, and then y'all had to do-- to come back and it didn't work, now I'm like, "We'll replace y'all."
But, like, y'all did really 14 to three is nothing to sneeze at.
And I think that when it comes to sports, we look at things as absolutes, and that's all I got this weekend, and we'll talk about that in a second.
But people look at sports as absolutes, as an absolute win, an absolute loss.
If we won, we did really good.
If we lost, we suck.
And that's just not what-- And I've always preached this on this show, incremental success matters.
You were up 14-three, Christian Johnson is QB one, and you can take that into your next few games, and hopefully he doesn't get injured.
Trey Holly is going to be better.
He is a transcendent running back talent.
He's gonna be better, and that defense is better than advertised.
So my whole entire thing is let, let off on him.
You know, say, "Hey, we didn't finish the job.
We can't do that."
But I wanna see more, "I'm pleased with their effort," than, "We'll replace y'all."
Just in my opinion.
I don't know.
I'm kind of with Marshall Faulk on the hard concept.
And I would say if this was any other team, if we were talking about Clemson or the University of Miami or we're talking about Notre Dame, these coaches talk like that all the time.
And then you're coming from a Southern team that hasn't really been good since nine years ago, almost pushing a decade, and not showing signs of life either, going 2 and 10 last year.
So some of this tough love when it comes to not starting Trey Harley or saying, "Hey, there are some good plays," but I do-- We are s- in the beginning of the season.
If I go with a whole new lineup this next game and it ends up working for me, your position is on the line.
I think g- guys still need to realize that these first five games, your position is not your position right now.
It's not definitive that you will play that no matter how good you are.
And I think because of where Southern is at and where they're trying to get to, there has to be some hard conversation, respectful conversations.
I'm not saying that what he said necessarily wasn't re- disrespectful and that it could've been said another way.
But the hardness that he is presenting and being a coach that he is, I'm, I'm not entirely against with how he's deciding to treat his players.
Yes, this was a good game, and you hang on to a really nice offensively put-together team.
But your position is not guaranteed just because you had a 17-30 loss, just because you held on by almost 13 points.
There has to be some kind of coaching effort that I expect more of you.
And also his coaching career is on the line as well.
I'm coming from a 2 and 10 team that I have to turn around and at least have four wins this year if they're gonna even consider me and put on the back burner all the terrible stuff I have said about AGCU's to continue here.
It's not just he's trying to be hard.
I, I also have a job to do, a job to keep.
And if you guys want to be successful, I-- you have to understand this is make or break time.
Yes, this was a good game, but I do believe he can push and there could be better.
And there could've been better if you didn't decide to sit Trey Harley.
And like, like I said, it's a disciplinary thing, and I'm not mad that he decided to hold his own and stand on, "Hey, he's just not gonna start until he gets his act together."
That's cool.
But then you have to get-- start thinking about when we get three, five games in and I'm not starting him because of discipline, and I end up losing these games.
What's more ma- what matters more, your pride or actually winning games?
But also he's still trying to find a team.
So I'm not upset with his remarks.
Could they have been said another way?
Cool.
But I think this kind of toughness is needed, and if this brings them into a win into the next game, then I can't really hone on him about his coaching efforts, just more of what he says that puts AGCU's in a better light.
But if it gets the job done, I, I'm not really mad at his post comments.
I'm not.
Fair enough.
So we're gonna see what happens with, Southern University moving forward.
And also Alabama State, glad Andrew Body's healthy.
We're glad that they're back in that rotation, and they still do look really good.
Now, let's get to our game of the week.
When we came on, I told you how excited I was that you picked this game of the week.
The game of the week, Delaware State versus William & Mary.
And it might be some folks at William & Mary that's watching 'cause they wanna know what's happening.
They playing Deshaun Jackson, Delaware State, and they on a high because they, they beat a ranked FCS opponent in the most unfathomable fashion on Friday.
So Ariel, take it away.
Let's talk about it.
I'm super excited.
Delaware State coming back in fashion.
This team said, "We are not gonna be number two this year," beating Stony Brook 41 to 34, going 10 points in the first quarter, then 14.
Just establishing that we are here, and it seems like all the uncertainty that I have had with, what's this team gonna look like?
Who are we gonna see?
What is this next QB looking like?
Quinn Boyd is something to be astounded by.
Twenty-two out of 41 completions, 284 yards.
Little bit on the low side from what they were doing last year, but three touchdowns in his opening game.
I'm excited that they decided to go with him.
But we also have to talk about these rushing room and what we got in the passing room when it comes to C.J.
Hester.
It also comes to Quinn Boyd, who showed a little bit of his legs, and Jeremiah Kony.
I think Delaware State, when it comes to Deshaun Jackson, may have something going for his team when they do need to get in there.
And excuse me if I mispronounce his name, but UL, man, that is going to be a star for Delaware State and a weapon that teams must be able to stop.
Because when he gets the ball, he gets going.
Mostly taking up some of those passing yards that accumulated to their win against Stony Brook.
A wonderful game at that.
And now they are my game of the week, which I'm so excited to see them in.
They'll play William & Mary.
William & Mary has done it in for me, mostly when they specifically played A&T.
Has always shown our butts to us, but I think this is a really good matchup when it comes to competition.
William, William & Mary, very good defensively, and they are gonna push you to your core.
And I think one of the things that Delaware State still has something to work on is staying in that momentum and keeping that strength when it goes into long, hard pushing games.
Case in point, when we go back to South Carolina State, when we were trying to figure out who was gonna be those MEAC temp- champions, I think Delaware State got tired.
They weren't having a sense of urgency coming down to that fourth quarter, which ultimately resulted in their loss even though they played a really good game.
With William & Mary, you have to keep that intensity in all four quarters: first, second, third, and fourth.
You can't lose it when you play them.
They are a team that kind of resembles a little bit like Morgan State, but they do like to shoot first.
And I know Delaware State likes to shoot and keep that momentum going, but there will be some ups and downs in this game.
So if they can hold that intensity against William & Mary, I could see them going two and O.
We haven't even got to in-conference play yet.
Delaware State already knocking off these wins, and if they have this win this weekend, this is gonna make for an incredible comeback story.
That Chennis Berry mi- he might get like a little whisper from God.
He not finna start shaking now, but he'll definitely hear a whisper that like, "Hey, you might wanna stay going 'cause we might have a rematch at the end of this season."
But I'm super excited for what they're going to bring and what I'm going to see in this game, and what Deshaun Jackson has for us in season two of him being here.
I love it.
So I wa- I wanna ask you this, so, and, and this is actually a very tough question.
I think it's, for me for sure.
Who you picking?
You picking William & Mary or you picking Delaware State?
'Cause that, and, and it's, it's a tough decision.
It's very tough.
It's a very, it's a very tough decision, and I'm going off of what I saw from Delaware State playing in that last game.
Like I said, Stony Brook not easy competition, but I didn't expect for this to be a high-scoring game as it was.
And just seeing what he is bringing back onto the field, and the replacements, and the positions that he has, I And I said this at the beginning of the show, that I'm not going to do questionable picks anymore, but I think I only meant that for A&T.
I'm going to go with Delaware State on this one.
I do believe they could actually pull out this win.
I'll take my L if they don't, but I think it's winnable, and it'll be exciting if they did.
I think it's winnable as well.
And I wanna talk about this, when it comes to this game.
So I watched this game.
It was on the MEAC Network.
Mm-hmm.
And, shouts to the MEAC for, you know, starting their, their own, free over-the-top, platform to showcase these games because to be honest with you, if this was last year, we would not have seen this game.
Like, this game would not have been airing anywhere, 'cause this, this is a Delaware State game, and it wasn't on ESPN+, so like we would not have seen this game.
We would've heard about it but not seen it.
So it's an interesting thing because as an insult in sports discourse, whether it's online or even in person, we call people box score watchers, especially in basketball.
Because we'll, you'll see certain things when you're watching the game, but some folks are like, "Hey, they had this many points.
They had that many points."
And we're like, "Th- th- but that's not the flow of the game."
So like you, you just box score watching.
You're not watching what's happening.
So let me tell you what, what, what I had to deal with on Thursday.
So I'm trying to write 'cause I'm trying to do my job.
I'm trying to work, trying to make sure I don't get fired, right?
And I'm like, okay, let me, let me write this article about Delaware State and Stony Brook.
Really good game.
People are, you know, fired up about Deshaun Jackson being at Delaware State.
Could not get the box score.
Literally going into Friday, they did not post the stats.
So I'm saying, Mac, we all, and it wasn't just me, all of us in the media like, "Where, where the stats at?"
Like it's be- it's, it's Friday morning.
You know what I'm saying?
I'm like, where, where the stats at?
So I was sort of like, okay, I watched this game, but I want my eye test to match up with the stats.
So I'm like, how am I gonna write this without these stats to sort of back up what I'm seeing?
And I'm not gonna lie to you, 'cause I don't lie on this show.
When you were s- breaking down the game, I just looked at the stats.
I have not seen them like at all.
Because, and it's not my It's not like Randall's not doing his job.
I, first of all, I was off Friday.
I already wrote the article on Thursday.
But like I literally just now seen the stats.
HBCUs gotta get better at that because we're trying to promote HBCUs, and that means we have to be expedited with our coverage.
We have to be expedient in how we cover these teams.
So please put the box scores up, guys.
So what I'm gonna say is what I perceived with my eye test, okay?
And I wrote an article on Clutch Points about it.
I put the QB battle still rages, rages on, the Hornet secondary is still bendable, and Delaware State played with their food and almost choked.
Like those were the three headers of my article because you had Hugh L. That is, he was named QB one, and he is really good.
He's way better than Kaden Bennett was in the pass game, but he also showed some competency in the run game.
But Delaware State also has Samari Collier that stepped up, and they had him like a Wildcat quarterback.
They had him running.
He had some very explosive runs.
That fits what we saw from Delaware State last year.
So now I'm wondering, okay, is Samari Collier gonna be that guy eventually, or is Hugh L. That guy 'cause of his passing talent?
I was very impressed with L., but Collier was explosive, and you know how I like running, running quarterbacks.
I dislike the running style more now because I see my guys getting injured.
Lamar got injured last year.
Andrew Body got injured.
E- even Don Hudson at Fort Valley, he's like a running quarterback.
He got injured last year.
And I saw it live against, against Delta State, and I wrote in my article like, "Stop running."
Okay?
Just stop.
You know what I mean?
So like I, I feel different about running quarterbacks now.
But I, I don't know.
I f- I feel like Deshaun Jackson's gonna have to make a pick.
Like you can't do the two quarterback thing like all season.
I, I think that eventually, especially once you play South Carolina State, once you play North Carolina Central, maybe even once you play Norfolk State, 'cause they, they won against Winston-Salem State.
I already made my prediction on how that's gonna go for they season.
So they might be tough going into that game on Halloween.
So I, I just really like want him to make that selection on who is going to be the guy- Who's gonna get the nod?
'Cause we can't have no QB battle leading into the heavy points of the season, and what are you gonna do against a William & Mary team that's really good?
And that secondary, if you're a member, Aria, I, I talked about on BET, they clipped me to saying something I didn't say, 'cause they, they made me say Norfolk State is not good.
I never said that.
I said Delaware State's secondary is not good.
And they're still not good, because Delaware State was the better team.
Like, they were up by, by a good amount, and they allowed them to come back primarily because Stony Brook kept testing that secondary, and the receivers passed the test.
Like, they, they gotta figure that out.
And then, like, when you look at the fact that you have a 18-point lead, they were up 31 to thor- to 13, like, early in the third quarter, and then it's 41-34, we can't do that.
We, we, we cannot do that.
We can't be a tip-top quality FCS program that if we don't make the Celebration Bowl, we going to the FCS playoffs.
We cannot do that.
And now this is a proof of concept.
A lot of schools don't have this proof, this proof of concept.
We've seen it with A&T before, we've seen it with North Carolina Central, when you have these t- these HBCUs that go against these FCS opponents.
Now you have William & Mary that's coming in, they shocked the nation, they came back from an insurmountable lead, and they beat a ranked FCS opponent, and they coming right in to play Delaware State, and everybody's gonna watch, everybody's gon- gonna be looking.
This is the time to make a name for yourself.
This is how Deshaun Jackson, who don't wanna stay at Delaware State for the long haul, this how you get hired.
You beat the William & Marys.
You beat, you beat the Group of Five schools.
So I want him to prove that he is that guy, and that what we saw against Stony Brook, we- when you're up 31-13, you win 38-13.
You're, you're up 31-13, you win 31 to 20.
Get that garbage touchdown.
We win 31 to 20.
That's what I wanna see.
But here's the thing, Aria, I don't think I'ma see that.
So I am picking William & Mary.
So I feel bad.
You bet on black, not this time.
I, I'm picking William & Mary.
It's gonna be a good game, and I'll be happy to be wrong, but William & Mary is gonna win this game, and they not gonna have to come back.
They probably gonna win going away.
I think it's just one of those things where William & Mary beating Villanova is, it was a comeback win from a tough team that I don't th- was shocked that even William & Mary was even going to do that.
Now, when it does come to William & Mary playing Delaware State, I think it's important just for Delaware State to strike first, just because Delaware State, it, like, we're not gonna sit here and try to make comparisons.
They're not Villanova.
You, you guys don't have the same assets nor the same skillsets that they have brought in, and Will- William & Mary toppling them was, like you said, a shocking to the nation.
They are coming in with the force that I had just described that will kind of scare you, and Winston Watkins isn't playing despite that interception that he has.
This man can score on you with his eyes closed, and he's one of those quarterbacks that intentionally seeks knowing the game.
He knows how to make plays on you.
He knows where to go down the field.
He know who is on the field, and having a quarterback that is that intelligent is going to make it a little bit harder against a team that is still trying to decide who is gonna be their definitive leader in that, in that pocket.
I'm not necessarily mad about the double runs of QBs, having that two quarterback system, and I think it may come in handy when playing against William & Mary, just kinda confusing them for a bit, having two different styles, but also just having two different quarterbacks that offer different styles of playing.
One a runner, s- one of them is both, and both of them can be used interchangeably on the field, whether you want them as a whiteout, whether you need them on a certain play.
I think De- I think Deshaun Jackson has something going for us that may be needed at William & Mary, but I do agree something definitive is going to have to happen, 'cause you don't wanna keep it into play.
You can't do that into play going into the Chennis Berries and going into the Trey Olivers in this season.
I think it may work for William & Mary.
I'm not changing my stance.
I do believe that Delaware State could come out with this win.
This could be a really good win, and if it does, it starts a really big conversation about where Deshaun Jackson is in this space at Delaware State, but also what the MEAC run is looking like when it comes to rankings with them beating these powerful teams that I don't think even Chennis Berry did in his first year.
So I'm, I'm excited to see this.
My game of the week, Orange Blossom Classic, South Carolina State versus Florida A&M.
I am very excited for this game.
This is the type of game that you really wanna see, but you never get the chance to see.
Because when Chennis Berry first came to South Carolina State, I spoke about in our culture show we did in 2023, or in 2024, I spoke about how I want to see Willie Simmons versus Chennis Berry.
That, those are those coaching dream match-ups you hope to see.
And you know that probably when he was at Benedict, they wouldn't schedule with FAMU, and FAMU wouldn't schedule with Benedict.
Like, the D2 teams that they normally schedule, Fort Valley, Albany State, maybe Tuskegee, and then they had, they had, West Florida, when West Florida was Division II.
They're of course now FCS.
But now you have Chennis Berry at South Carolina State at that year, 2024.
I'm like, "We getting a chance to see it."
Lo and behold, all of a sudden, Willie Simmons exit, goes to Duke.
And I'm like, "Well, we still gonna see that game."
James Posey somehow, some way beat Chennis Berry, and Chennis Berry was winning that game in, the, the, the 24, the 2024 season.
But still, like, I, I still am very excited about this one because this is, number one, a rematch of former SIAC coaching rivals.
I'm always told when it comes to sports that rivalries are built in the postseason, and you have Chennis Berry and Quinn Gray, they played in the postseason before Chennis Berry got up out the SWAC, got up out the SIAC.
Because you have the SIAC championship 2022, 2023 and you have Quinn Gray, Albany State, they play against Chennis Berry and Benedict College.
And the thing about it, and I always say this, I said it on, on our Twitter space about the SIC on last night, there's no reason why Albany State was in the SIC championship.
They should not have been there 'cause Fort Valley should've handled their business.
Sean Gibbs should handle his business and beaten Albany State to earn us the right of getting beaten by Chennis Berry, 'cause he would've beat us probably, probably pretty badly.
He already beat us like 48 to, to 14.
But I'll get to that soon in a second.
But I'm excited for that because now we get to see Chennis Berry now in his third full season, with South Carolina State after a dominant victory over Savannah State against the Florida A&M team led by legendary head coach in Quinn Gray.
And then you have Isaiah Knowles that's there at quarterback.
I really do think it's going to be an amazing game.
Now here's what I wanna pivot to because I somehow, some way, REO, 'cause you always say at the end of the show, "Put me in the hot seat," this, this, that.
People always and forever put me in the hot seat on Twitter, especially since I decided to get this blue check mark to stream, the different pre-recorded shows and live shows, all the different stuff.
I, I did it because I couldn't do it for free on Twitter.
So like I got the blue check mark and the consequence of the blue check mark is more people see your tweets and for some reason everyone is angry on Twitter.
Everybody, they just wake up, they might be in a good mood, they get on Twitter, they get mad.
I don't know why.
So I'm looking, I'm, I'm covering the games, whatever.
I, to be honest with you, I didn't watch the s- the South-- the South Carolina State-Savannah State game.
I knew it was gonna be a blowout.
But I look and they're up like 72 to 0.
They were up like 52 to 0 at halftime, and that was good, it was making the rounds around social media.
So I'm like, oh, ding, ding, ding, write about it.
So I wrote about it to make, to see if I can-- we can go viral so we can get some clicks.
And I'm like, all right.
And I still didn't turn to the game, but like I saw that they had won like 86, 87 to like to 0, right?
So I'm, I'm looking and I'm like we, we making jokes like, man, like is do, do, do we have eligibility?
Do I have to go out there?
We do this, that.
And I'm like, man, Chennis Berry is a coaching legend.
10 to 15 years from now we're gonna talk about Chennis Berry the way we talk about Eddie Robinson and Pete Richardson and all these folks.
Like I was saying that, you've heard me say this before.
But I then see Shannon Sharpe, who's a Savannah State alumnus, Chad Ochocinco says, "Hey, Unc," 'cause he calls him Unc for some reason, "Hey, Unc, your school lost 87 to 0."
So he, he's shocked, he's trying to fathom why his team lost 87 to 0.
And when Shannon gets it, everybody is saying the most erroneous things about Savannah State and now it stops being funny, it stops being a joke 'cause it broke containment and now it's hit the populace of Twitter, the populace of sports fans.
And a lot of sports fans don't have a lot of sports literacy where you can look at these games, you can look at what's occurring and say, "Well, hey," diagnose from a simple way, "Well, this is a Division II program."
So like South Carolina State literally just won the HBC national championship like so it is what it is.
We gonna make our jokes, we gonna move on.
But now folks are like, "They need to fire Thomas Howard at Savannah State."
And they're saying, well, the reason why Chennis Berry beat Savannah State like this 'cause they didn't hire him and w- w- this, it was conspiracy theories, it was all this different stuff and it got on my nerves.
They were calling me stupid.
Shut up.
W- w- this, that.
I dealt with that all, all Sunday, okay?
So I, I was tired of it and I start, I started clacking to people.
I'm like, "Hey, listen," like "we, we, we gonna break it down."
And I wanna just say this as the precursor to the fan news show because I think that South Carolina State is gonna win, and I think they're gonna actually win probably by a lot because there are some signs I saw like th- there's some work that Quinn Gray has to do on areas outside of quarterback, 'cause Isaiah Knowles is that guy.
And remember like I, I, I'm gonna vote for the Quarter Five Back award.
He was the, the best quarterback in the nation when Andrew Botte went down.
Like he had made that run to the D two, in the D- D2 playoffs.
He didn't play that final game 'cause he got injured and, and Albany State, they went up big but they lost.
So to me, Isaiah Knowles was the Quarter Five Back award winner to me.
I voted for him and I think that he's gonna be one of the best quarterbacks in HBC football, but that's one man.
And the, the defense, the offense one, I wanna see what they do against Chennis Berry, South Carolina State, 'cause that's the best test.
But this is what I wanna say about Savannah State losing to South Carolina State 87 to 0 really quickly.
So a lot of people are not familiar with Chennis Berry and the fact that that was a bad loss, I'm not defending it, but this isn't an outlier.
HBCUs beat other HBCUs like that and I think we need to increase how we look at HBCUs and increase how we respect HBCUs and their coaches.
Chennis Berry does this all the time.
For some reason he has a penchant for beating down teams.
He beat Norfolk State 51 to 20 during homecoming last year.
That's when, that was Michael Vick Norfolk State.
They showcased it on the Coach Vick Experience on BET.
Beat Howard 42, beat Howard 42 to 12 last year.
Beat Delaware State 69 to 35, 2024.
Beat Morgan State 54 to 7, 2024.
Beat Norfolk State 53 to 21 in 2024.
And thing about it is like that's what he does and this his career so I'm not gonna read the whole rundown.
Like I'm gonna write an article about it on Clutch Points.
By the time people see this it will be out and I'm gonna run it all down on that article.
But I wanna just bring up some of his best Benedict College scores, his greatest hits at Benedict College.
He beat Elizabeth City 58 to 14, 2022.
He beat Fort Valley State University, my HBCU, got the shirt on- During our homecoming, 45-13.
He beat Fort Valley again the next year on ESPN national television, 48-6.
He beat Kentucky State 63-14.
He beat Lane College 48-7.
He beat Quinn Gray, who he's playing this weekend, 47-10 in the SIAC championship.
Chennis Berry is that good.
Savannah State is bad.
They also have 18 scholarships.
They should never have played that game.
But Albany State played FAMU and they, they only won 20-7.
So it ain't a D2 problem.
It's you're playing one of the mid-tier or worst teams in the SIAC with 18 scholarships against a reigning defending national champion.
When Mickey Joseph and Grambling lost 70-0 to Ohio State, no one batted an eye.
No one said, "Fire Mickey Joseph," 'cause that was expected.
We expected Ohio State, a reigning national champion with NFL prospects, to beat down Grambling 'cause Grambling does not have the talent.
So if we can accept that for PWIs, if we can accept that for these Power Five FBS schools, how about we accept it here with Savannah State and, and, and South Carolina State?
That maybe Savannah State did not have the talent to compete with a national champion in South Carolina State.
So the, the discourse was ridiculous 'cause, yes, oh, it was a bad loss, but Thomas Howard ain't getting fired.
We're not gonna discredit or disrespect those players.
They did the best that they could, and ultimately Chennis Berry is a coaching legend, and we're gonna be talking about him in five years, talking about how great he was, how people were sleeping on him before he gets the FBS call-up.
But I think that South Carolina State is going to win on this weekend.
No, I definitely agree with you.
South Carolina State definitely over FAMU.
There are just certain things that I can't deny off of Chennis Berry that he is doing at South Carolina State, and that his record precedes him.
I don't-- This may be a bad game.
I don't think it's gonna be super bad, and I'm not saying it's going to be, like, a low-scoring game, nor is it gonna be a low margin of the win.
This-- We could be seeing maybe a 20-point-plus win out of South Carolina State.
But you can't negate what he has done and who he is as a coach.
So when we go into your game of the week, even with it being the Orange Blossom Classic, there are still some things in-- within that FAMU team that are still being rebuilt.
And Chennis Berry and South Carolina State know what they're doing.
Like you said, they are national ranking champions.
You can't just try to discredit his championship and what the, technically the dynasty that he is building, and all these really great players just going into this game.
So yeah, South Carolina State for me, them Dogs are gonna run it.
We'll see how they run it after this.
But there's no, there's no other storyline that you can say against Chennis Berry and what he's doing and how he's building his legacy here, and that he has been the successor to Buddy Pugh after he decided to retire.
He is that guy.
He is him, and there's no, there's no conversation that you can say refuting that at all.
But I do ask, hey, man, your game of the week might be better than-- I don't know.
We, we both got some really good games of the weeks going on right now.
I'm starting to have kind of cool with these quick picks.
I, I'm gonna take my win as it lies because I know we finna get into the season, and you just gonna inch closer and closer.
But this week I'm taking my win.
I'm taking my win.
Yeah.
And, and you were 11 and 3 in the quick picks on last week.
The, one dissension that is very interesting, 'cause you're normally North Carolina Central, you know, fan e-even though, you know, you went North Carolina A&T.
And, like, Texas Southern, like, I've been higher on them in, in recent years, but we flipped, because I picked North Carolina Central, you picked Texas Southern, and you got that right.
And that was the only thing that we disagreed on.
So UAPB Morehouse, I wanna say this publicly, I totally forgot to put that game down.
I knew the game was happening.
I wrote articles about it on Clutch Points, but it just slipped my mind to put that in, and come on.
It was UA- it was UAPB versus Morehouse.
So we both would've picked UAPB, and, and, and we would, we would've said, "Ariel, can we agree that UAPB's gonna win?"
You would've said, "Yeah."
We would've moved on.
So I gave that to both of us.
So both of us got that right in we got that right in perpetuity, okay?
That, we just got, we just- I'll, I'll take- got it right honorary win.
I'll, I'll take the honorary- Yeah.
You know, degree of just being recognized that we, we both knew what was really gonna happen.
Yeah.
Yeah, we, we, we thought it and we, we linked in that way.
Exactly.
Okay?
And then, and, and, and just know we, I got, I got a, I got us planned to ne- never do that again.
And, and AI's gonna help, gonna help me out, and y'all can say I wasn't the one with AI, but the, the I'm, I'm using it ethically.
So UAPB Morehouse, we get the credit for UAPB winning.
Morgan State North Carolina A&T, Morgan State won, so we were wrong.
We were right about Southern Alabama State.
We were right about Stony Brook Delaware State.
We were right about Winston Salem State versus Norfolk State.
Ariel was right about Texas Southern.
I was wrong about North Carolina Central.
We were, we were wrong about, about the Meac SWAC Challenge.
It was actually a pretty good game, although it went on really long.
And then we both picked Alabama A&M.
Howard won.
Albany State FAMU, we got FAMU.
Clark Atlanta Grambling, that was Grambling.
Miles College Alcorn, Alcorn.
Jackson State Tennessee State, really good game, and that could've been my game of the week.
Jackson State won.
They almost lost.
That would've been interesting.
Mm-hmm.
Then Prairie View A&M versus Tarleton State, we got that one wrong.
So that, that, so that, that's another one we, we got wrong, and AI got that wrong because Tarleton State, won.
Prairie View A&M, they tried their best, they lost.
Mississippi Valley State versus Nichols, we had too much faith in Mississippi Valley.
They- We had too much faith.
Too much- Yeah that's, and that's what happens.
That's what happens when you put faith in Mississippi Valley State.
Yeah, and, and, and McKaith, McKaith- McKaith Pena's gotta, gotta step up.
I don't know what's going on.
So Nichols won.
That was crazy.
And Virginia versus Lynchburg versus Hampton.
Hampton won, so if I do the math here, you still, you, you are 11 and four still.
That's great.
I'm 10 and five, so like AI get it.
I need Clyde to get it right.
Okay?
We wanna make sure we got, we got this together.
All right, so let's go into our game of the week pick.
So of course we chose, our games of the week.
So for William & Mary versus Delaware State, that's the first dissension.
Randall's choosing William & Mary, Ariel is choosing Delaware State.
And for my game of the week, which is South Carolina State versus FAMU, Orange Blossom Classic, we both are choosing South Carolina State for AI purposes and for the audience.
So let's get to the swack.
So Bethune-Cookman versus UCF.
Can we agree that UCF's gonna win?
Yeah.
And it's not even like When, when, when we do these, guys, it's not even that, like, we're not considering the type of level of talent and, like, coaching staff or anything.
It's just, you know, UCF, they beat down A&T last year, caused multiple injuries on the field, and I'm praying that Bethune-Cookman leaves this game in a healthy manner and not necessarily any kind of depression.
I mean, there's nothing that you could honestly do against UCF.
I would love, I would love to see a miracle game, but in this, when we agree, it's just because we know the teams, and I just know Bethune-Cookman is not finna win against UCF.
Yeah.
But Bethune-Cookman has improved.
Like, they beat FAMU last year.
They, had a offensive shootout with South Carolina State, so like they, they've gotten better, un- under Raymond Woody.
But UCF's just different.
Yeah.
And hopefully they do, leave that game healthy.
So UAPB versus Missouri, can we agree Mizzou's gonna win this?
Absolutely.
Yeah, we're, we're on that.
Same thing here, but a little bit different 'cause we don't got faith in the UAPB like that, right?
Yeah.
Do you have faith in the UAPB?
Okay.
Okay.
I, I- want be honest.
You know, yeah.
Yeah, Alcorn State versus Southern Miss.
Can we agree that Southern Miss is gonna win?
Yeah.
You know, I hate ga- I hate this week's games.
Like, I was looking at it, I was just like, "Sheesh, man."
Like, give us something that we can actually debate about.
But yeah, we can agree.
We can agree.
Okay.
Miles College versus Alabama A&M.
I'm sorry, Miles College.
Can we agree, Ariel, that Alabama A&M's gonna win?
Absolutely.
I thought you was about to say, "I'm sorry, Alabama."
I said, "Hold on."
No.
"Wait a minute," before you finish that statement.
No, nah.
Like it, but it's not, it's not If Sam Shea was on the other side, yeah, 'cause he coached at Miles.
He, he was coaching at Miles, this is like 2020 what?
2024 maybe.
But no, it's not 2024 anymore, so no, it ain't happening.
Central State versus Grambling.
My God.
Can we agree Grambling?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Okay.
Golly, man.
My, my, my- And shout out to them.
I'm glad they're starting their season on a positive note 'cause they, they, they finished strong last year, but there was just still some things I was just like, "They could've been better."
And they were so close.
They were so close to playoffs, so I'm happy that they're starting their season off right.
And you know what's so interesting about Central State and, and Grambling, you know, Central State was a power in the NAIA and also in Division II.
They made, the Division II national championship, I think this was the '80s or the '90s.
And I believe Billy Joe was the coach.
And they beat Eddie Robinson.
Like they actually beat, they beat Eddie, Eddie G. Robinson, yeah.
So, that's not happening with Mickey Joseph.
This is a different time, different era.
But shout out to Central State.
Historic HBC power in Division II back in them days.
And they actually weren't in the SIC back then.
They were in another conference.
So Edward Waters versus Jackson State.
Now Edward Waters is They, they were projected to be, one of the top teams in the SIC, and get this, Ariel, the offensive and defensive preseason player of the year, both from Edward Waters.
So they're expected to be really good.
But with that being said, and I'm sorry, Dr. Faison.
If Dr. Faison, Zachary Faison, Albany State alumnus, he might watch the show.
I'm sorry, but can we agree Jackson State's gonna win this game, Ariel?
Oh, yeah.
I mean, no, no offense to Edward Waters.
You know, hold it down, POP.
But like, you know come on now.
Let's, let's be real.
Let's be real.
Yeah, yeah.
Kentucky State versus Southern.
I'm gonna give Kentucky State some respect 'cause they made the, the D2 playoffs last year.
Who you pick for this one?
You know, I think this could be Southern's game.
I'm, I'm, I'm confident that we, we may see Marshall Faulk win this game.
He should win this game, especially, you know, with the conversation that we had earlier.
If you're tough, if you're gonna play tough love, you gotta win these easy games.
So hopefully this, this is something that can be positive on what he said, and not necessarily come back to bite him in the butt.
So I'm, I'm picking Southern.
I don't see- That was He's, he's, he's saying, "Hope it doesn't bite him in the butt."
I'm sorry, just I just liked the way you said that.
That was a good one.
That was It better not bite him in the butt 'cause i- if, if it does, the whole team's getting replaced.
I'm telling you.
The whole team, including him.
He's on, he's on that list.
Everybody's getting replaced if you lose to Kentucky State.
Yeah, 'cause Southern fans wouldn't, wouldn't take that.
Now listen, Kentucky State beat Central State 41 to 14.
And listen, you got Felton Huggins, who's the coach.
I gotta tell you this story real quick, Ariel.
So Felton Huggins, he was on SIAC Talk with us.
That's the, the, the, the Twitter space show that we do/podcast that we do.
This was like his fir- before the first year.
And he had told us that he was gonna run a, a, a triple-option air raid offense.
And, and I was like, "What is that?"
Like a triple-option air raid?
And while he does not run that, that- that's not the offense that they run if you watch, if you watch.
That's not what they run.
But he still is really good, and Kentucky State is going through a lot right now politically with, them, them becoming a polytechnic school.
Like, that's being pushed through, and we don't know what's gonna happen with Kentucky State in general, and hopefully the football team stays solvent.
So what he's doing is, is really amazing, so I really commend him.
I, I pick Southern.
It would be funny if Kentucky State won, but after what I saw, from Christian Johnson, and Trey Holly's gonna be way better, this week- And I think he's gonna, you know, start, everything's gonna be all good when it comes to, to the quote-unquote disciplinary issue that occurred.
I, I think that Southern's gonna win.
I, I can't pick against them, but shout out to Thornton Huggins, shout out to Kentucky State.
We stand with Kentucky State, all right?
So Alabama State versus Lane College.
Out of respect for Lane College because they did beat Eddie George and Tennessee State back in, I think that was '22 or '23.
Who you think is gonna win this game?
Respectfully, I'm going to say Alabama State.
I'm riding with Andrew Body till the wheels fall off.
There's- Okay there's no, there's, there's, there's no discrepancy on that.
Yeah, I pick Alabama State too, but gotta give, we gotta give a credit to Lane College because- Yeah they definitely beat F- Eddie George and Tennessee State, back a couple years ago.
So Mississippi Valley State versus Sacramento State.
I'm, I'm not giving respect to Sacramento State because they, they, they, they in disarray.
Even though I, I know that's, that's Mississippi Valley State, but Sacramento State got a lot going on.
So who you picking to win this game?
I'm scared to go, to go I'm so scared.
I'm scared.
I'm s- we may disagree on this one.
I'm going Sacramento State.
No, we, we don't, we don't disagree.
They just got a lot, 'cause they, they want to be FBS so bad, and I guess they are, and then they made a tweet that said their FCS era is here, and it's supposed to be FBS.
So I was like, they got a lot going.
And people were clowning them on Twitter like- You gotta know who you playing, man.
Like, come on now Like, they wanted to be FBS so Like, they, they, they tried to get Mi- remember they tried to get Michael Vick?
Like, 'cause it was Norfolk State, and then literally Sacramento State was trying to get him too.
And he decided to go to Norfolk State, which was a good decision for Vick, especially if they, they do well this year.
But it's like, and I, I was just saying, 'cause they were even talking about like, "Hey, we wanna get Deshaun Jackson."
And I'm like, you don't wanna go to Sacramento State because they got a lot going on.
And it's not a bad school by any means, and you got, got a Black, got a Black president when it comes to university presidents.
So I'm, I'm not dissing them as an institution, but they want that FBS validation so badly.
So I want you guys to do well in the FBS.
I want you guys to succeed.
Y'all are in Sacramento, so go, go do your thing.
Y'all got California athletes, go do your thing.
They're gonna win this game because I think that just that Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley has a, a lot on his hands, that he's gonna really need to have time to build out that roster the way he wants to.
Yeah.
But Sacramento State ain't no powerhouse, and they, their FCS era is here.
So, you know, we got, we gotta let them have they FCS era, you know?
All right, so Texas Southern versus Prairie View A&M.
Labor Day Classic, Ariel, get this, at 12:00 PM on Sunday.
So when folks are in church praising the Lord, they gonna be playing this game.
And I'm, I'm, I'ma have to watch it 'cause I'm, I'll be working on Sunday to, to cover that game a- as, as well as Orange Blossom Classic.
So who you got, Ariel?
Well, I'll be there to watch it.
You know, my service is early.
My When football season come, my pastor know what's up.
Appreciate him, Dr. Daryl Holloway, Community Church in Conyers.
Love him.
Listen, I'm proud of Texas Southern.
So proud of their win that they have and Prairie View A&M, of course we know they had their ups and downs, and they did play a game this weekend.
I'm gonna go two for two.
I'ma see if I can go 2-0, and I'm going Texas Southern.
Now, you would think I, I learned from my mistake.
I'm not, I'm picking Prairie View A&M.
I- Ah Tremaine, 'cause they played so well against Tarleton State.
The only problem is Tarleton State's offense was crazy.
Like, just from that first drive on, that offense, like, they were throwing that ball down the field, and just there was nothing that Prairie can do.
And it wasn't like, I wouldn't say that, that the secondary in the state was bad, 'cause they got one guy, of course that's amazing.
But, like, just Tarleton State, that quarterback, dude, he- I know he's a new quarterback, but he's just different.
And then they, and Prairie View narrowed it, where it was like 25-21 at halftime, but that third quarter, they just started opening it up.
And then Prairie View scored too late because they started, you know, g- doing well, but it was just too little too late.
I think that Prairie View A&M is gonna be good once again.
And I think that once again, the Labor Day Classic is going to be a, a amazing game.
And this would've been my game of the week, but I had to do Chennis Berry, especially after the A7 point game.
I needed, I needed a reason to, to talk my talk about Chennis Berry 'cause people tripping.
But I, I pick Prairie View A&M, so that's gonna be our second dissension, so.
Okay.
Okay.
We love to see it, we love to see it.
So Norfolk State versus Old Dominion.
I'ma give some respect to Michael Vick.
Who you think gonna win this game?
I'm not gonna give respect to Michael Vick.
Love, love this win from this past weekend.
Great.
I, I don't, I don't think he's there for Old Dominion.
I, it, it's a winnable game, but I, I don't trust them in this.
And I'll, I'll take my L where it lies, but I, I for AI, already is gonna go with Old Dominion.
I'm going with Old Dominion as well, okay?
So this next one, I'm going to give a lot of respect to Elizabeth City State because Fort Valley State University just played them.
They were beat- they were beating us to start the game, okay?
And Fort Valley came back, and we won.
So shout out to Elizabeth City State.
I did like what I saw while I was watching that stream, but that stream was really bad on CIAA Sports Network.
I had to turn it off.
It's, it kept skipping.
I'm like, "Nah, I'm, I'm too bougie to watch this, watch this stream.
I can't do it."
But they, they did look really good though, and they did almost beat Hampton last year.
Ele- Elizabeth City, they I'm looking at the score now.
They were 4-6 last season, 4-3 in conference, and they only lost to Hampton 27 to 20 last season, and Johnson C. Smith won the CIAA championship.
They only lost to them earlier in the season 21 to 17.
So just giving this respect to Elizabeth City State- Yeah University.
So with that being said, who do you think wins this game?
No, Elizabeth City is one of those sneaky teams that is just like, they're not really the best, but they will capitalize on opportunities when they do see you, which I think for Central, not saying that they played necessarily a bad game when it came to Texas Southern, I think it was a great game that they played, but there are still, I would just say some rough spots, some sloppy things that I think Trey Oliver will have to work on with Josh Jones and this offense coming in.
I will respectfully say though, I think this is Central's game.
Central should see a comeback after this, after playing Texas Southern, and I'm going with North Carolina Central on this one.
Yeah, I'm going with North Carolina Central as well.
I, I just, I know that losing Matt Leone was gonna be tough- Yeah but yeah, it, it, it, it might, that might be a thing this year.
Yeah, so I, I, I feel sorry for them in that sense.
I think they're still gonna have a good season.
Yeah.
'Cause I said this in my recap of, of the Texas Southern, the, the Texas Southern North Carolina Central game.
Mm-hmm.
It is never a question, we've, and you said this before, it's never a question on if Trey Oliver is gonna be good.
It, but it's just how good the team is gonna be.
Yeah.
Are they Celebration Bowl good?
Are they FCS playoffs good?
Or are they win seven, eight games, satisfy the fan base, and let's, I'll see you next year good?
You know what I'm saying?
So it's like, are, are we gonna win six, seven, eight games?
Are we going to Celebration Bowl, FCS playoffs?
You know what I'm saying?
I feel like that's the question.
Yeah.
And it just looks like this is gonna be that seven, eight win season, and it, it's not gonna be Celebration Bowl season.
But we will see.
I'm picking North Carolina Central though.
This will be a good pick me up for them.
Mm-hmm.
So Richmond versus Howard.
Respect to Howard, they won the MEAC SWAC Challenge.
So who you think is gonna win this game?
Oh, I'm, I'm definitely not giving it to Howard.
I'm sorry.
Okay.
I said like that's respect- respectfully, great, great opener, great team holding out when they was playing Alabama in this MEAC SWAC.
But against Richmond, this And it's no, it's no offense to them.
I think they will still play a good game, but this is just one of those games that necessarily doesn't really matter.
So I, I, it, I think it's okay to lose to Richmond.
I'm picking Richmond for this.
Yeah, Richmond just beat Bucknell 35 to 14, and I'm, I'm looking at, the team stats just to inform us.
So they ended up having, 194 rushing yards.
They had 199 passing yards, very even game.
They held Bucknell to 187, yards of total offense, and, they also forced a fumble.
So yeah, like I, I think that Richmond probably will win, but Scroggins is, is, he gonna be the guy.
I, I think Ted White's gonna know how to unlock Scroggins, 'cause Scroggins was killing it, in the MEAC SWAC Challenge.
Like they got, they got they guy.
Like Starks, Tariq Starks was, was cool and all.
It didn't really work out all that well, but Scroggins was killing them.
So I, I, I'm, I think that Howard's gonna might be better than at least I think, 'cause I didn't think they'd be all that, all that good this year.
But like Howard is gonna be good, so shout out to Ted White, the legend, all right?
So Morgan State versus Arizona State.
Can we agree Arizona State?
Yeah, man.
I've fallen in love with them ever since last year, them, coming to that bowl game and having, I can't Scowtaboo, that breakout running back that now plays in the NFL, man.
Go Arizona State.
Becoming running back university up there.
They're a great team.
But like I, no offense to Morgan State, this is just not, this is just a really well-developed program, like I said, seeing so much success last year.
Arizona State is going to win, unfortunately, against Morgan State.
Yeah.
And okay, let's talk about your Aggies real quick.
North Carolina A&T versus Georgia State.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry Arielle, can we agree Georgia State?
Oh, no need to be sorry.
Absolutely Georgia State.
Yeah.
The Georgia Aggies are going crazy.
This is actually going to be a, a, like an Georgia Aggie event that everyone is going to.
I will not be there.
I'll be turned up with K. Camp 'cause he's here this Friday.
But we all have come to the consistence in our group chat that Georgia State is winning this game.
We're just there for moral support.
If, if it decides to be a upset, cool.
But we have all, from all Georgia Aggies into AI, we have come to, we have come to an agreement that Georgia State is winning this game.
Yeah.
Geo- Georgia State is going to for sure win this game.
Okay, Hampton versus can we agree Hampton versus Maryland, that Maryland is gonna win?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
O- All right, so this last one, we got one last one, and y- you see it.
Yeah, I see it.
Tennessee State versus Georgia.
First, can we agree Georgia's gonna win?
Absolutely.
A fight will be put up, but they're not winning that fight.
They're not winning this dog fight at all.
At all, no pun intended.
At all.
But Arielle, great show on today.
Where can we find you on social media?
You can find me on Instagram at arielle.onrecord, or you can put me in the hot seat on X, formerly known as Twitter as @scree_ree_, or you can check out my website at ariellekilgore.my.canva.com, and then we have some more stuff coming soon.
Like what you hear?
Yeah.
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