With previous No. 1 Alabama State’s loss to Alabama A&M on Oct. 29, Jackson State takes the top spot in the Boxtorow National HBCU Football weekly Power Rankings. The Tigers received 14 of the 18 first places votes in the media poll and 10 of 13 in the coaches’ poll.
In the media poll, the Winston-Salem State Rams continue to climb the poll and are No. 2 this week, edging out both Norfolk State and Alabama A&M who are tied for third. The Rams received two first place votes, and two weeks ago clinched the Central Interscholastic Athletics Association’s Northern Division. Norfolk State defeated North Carolina A&T 14-10 in Norfolk on Saturday and retains a share of first place in the MEAC with Morgan State. Alabama A&M moves up three spots after defeating Alabama State 20-19 in the Magic City Classic. The Hornets drop from the top spot to No. 5.
Despite its 37-13 victory over Benedict, the Albany State Golden Rams slipped one spot to No. 6. The South Carolina State Bulldogs and the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats retained their No. 7 and No. 8 spots, respectively from a week ago. The Morehouse Maroon Tigers and the Hampton Pirates switched places from last week and are No. 9 and No. 10, respectively this week.
There was as much shake up at the top of the coaches’ poll with AAMU’s victory over Alabama State as the Bulldogs received two first place votes and jumped one spot to No. 2 this week. Norfolk State received the other first place vote and is No. 3, followed by Alabama State at No. 4 and like it did in the media poll, Bethune-Cookman retained its spot from a week ago and is No. 5.
The idle Florida A&M Rattlers and Morgan State Bears moved up one spot each from last week to No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. Hampton dropped two spots to No. 8. South Carolina State and North Carolina A&T remained No. 9 and No. 10 this week. Albany State and Fort Valley State meet in the Fountain City Classic in Columbus, Ga. this Saturday. If Albany State wins, they will represent the Eastern Division in the first SIAC Championship Game against Miles on Nov. 12 in Atlanta. If Albany State loses and Morehouse defeats Kentucky State, then the Maroon Tigers will represent the Eastern Division in the championship game.
FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW (Boxtorow) is a nationally syndicated sports talk radio show which places major emphasis on HBCU Sports. The voters in the media poll are comprised of some of the top media members in the country who cover HBCU football. The coaches’ poll is voted on by the FCS HBCU coaches. The media poll is in its fifth year and the coaches’ poll is in its third.
