Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

ATLANTA — The postseason starts now! For the second time in three years, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Football Championship pits Benedict College facing Albany State for the league crown.

It will be two years and four days since the Tigers and Golden Rams clashed in Atlanta for the title. Saturday's 2025 version between the two foes will not only have both teams enter nationally ranked – No. 23 Benedict and No. 17 Albany State – but a unique situation where it should not be the final fall football for either squad.

Benedict College makes the trip to southwest Georgia to the ASU Coliseum and battles Albany State for the second time this season. The kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and can be seen nationally on ESPN+.

Back to the lowdown: The NCAA Division II Playoffs have been expanded to 32 teams, up from 28 for 2025. This means each of the four Super Regions will have an eighth team qualify and no first-round byes for any team. In Super Region Two's Top 10 and final rankings before the national bracket is announced Sunday night, ASU sits at No. 2 and only behind top-rated West Florida. Benedict is No. 4 after No. 3 Newberry, while Kentucky State is also very much alive for a spot at No. 7.

Speaking of Kentucky State, both the Thorobreds and the Yellow Jackets of Allen University will take part in the first year of a two-year Week 11 partnership with the Conference Carolinas. The SIAC will host the two games of Shorter University at Kentucky State (2 p.m. kickoff) and Erskine College at Allen (4 p.m. kickoff) as the two teams from each league not qualifying for their league championship game will meet in extra game to help both conferences gain more teams in the national playoffs.

All four SIAC teams playing this weekend secured their spots for the three games off big wins last Saturday. Albany State breezed past rival Fort Valley State with a dominant 48-3 final. Benedict College needed one of the longest SIAC's games played this fall by pulling out the 16-13 double-overtime victory over Savannah State to reach the championship game. 

Kentucky State put double-figure points on the board in each of the four quarters of a 55-0 road win at Lane College, while Allen broke a tie only 1:08 into the second half and never trailed again in a 53-30 decision over Edward Waters.


NO. 23 BENEDICT AT ALBANY STATE  – ESPN+
2025 SIAC Football Championship
Saturday, Nov. 15, at 1 p.m. ET

Location: ASU Coliseum 
Address: 504 College Drive, Albany, GA 31705
Live Stats
Local Weather

For the second time in three years, Benedict College (9-1, 7-1 SIAC) and Albany State (9-1, 8-0 SIAC) meet for the league bragging rights. The title rematch 735 days later has a bit of a different storyline compared to the 2023 matchup, which took place in Atlanta's Lakewood Stadium.

In 2023, the Tigers took an undefeated regular season and 10-0 record into the SIAC Championship. Benedict grabbed the first championship game trophy by putting the first 17 points on the scoreboard of an eventual 47-10 final score over ASU.

Unlike two years ago, both teams are nationally-ranked and both have a good chance of receiving a bid to the NCAA DII playoffs for the ensuing week. No. 17 Albany State is second and No. 23 Benedict fourth in the latest Super Region Two Top 10. The top eight teams qualify for the national playoff bracket of 32 teams.

This Saturday will be a rematch of the two league opponents from less than a month ago, which is different from 2023 where the title game was the first season meeting. Played in Columbia, S.C., on Oct. 25, the Golden Rams took control early and never gave it up. Quarterback Isaiah Knowles threw his first of three first-half touchdowns at 8:03 in the first quarter and helped ASU to a 24-0 halftime lead. The Golden Rams added a final score and took away the 31-3 matchup from the Tigers of then undefeated teams in SIAC games.

Benedict rebounded the last two weeks from its lone defeat of the year with a non-conference home win over Virginia-Lynchburg before it used two overtimes at Savannah State to clinch the rematch. Following Savannah State's second field goal in a row for a 3-point double-overtime lead, Benedict's running back Triston Morgan ran the first hand-off up the middle for the 25-yard game-winning scoring run for the 16-13 final.

In 35th Annual Fountain City Classic in Columbus, Ga., Albany State did not need any extra time to dispatch its rival Fort Valley State. The Golden Rams lead 7-3 early in the second quarter before they posted the game's final 41 points of a 48-3 going-away win. The ASU defense held FVSU to only 106 yards of total offense and returned two interceptions for touchdowns.

Between the two teams, there will be 20 All-SIAC players making up the participants. ASU quarterback Isaiah Knowles earned the SIAC Offensive Player of the Year award as leading the way with 11 Golden Rams and 9 Tigers between the First and Second Team picks.

The ASU and Benedict defenses have held a combined 10 opponents – 6 to 4 – to 10 points or fewer. The Golden Rams allow only 11.5 points to lead the SIAC with the Tigers right behind at 16.4. 

Albany State also leads the SIAC in scoring offense at 36.8 points with Benedict at a solid 26.8 to its credit. Both teams' top running back were All-SIAC Second Team members with ASU's Tiant Wyche, who is third in the SIAC at 68.4 yards per game, and Benedict's Triston Morgan, who is fourth at 67.6 yards per contest.

Game History: 9-3 Albany State (since 2011)


SHORTER AT KENTUCKY STATE – SIAC Network
Conference Carolinas-SIAC Challenge
Saturday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. ET

Location: Alumni Stadium
Address: 111 Athletic Drive, Frankfort, KY 40601
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The Thorobreds are set at the starting gate to see the doors fly open and equal a feat not accomplished on the Frankfort campus in almost a century. Kentucky State (8-2, 7-1 SIAC) looks to continue its drive for a NCAA DII national playoff berth on the horizon when its hosts Shorter University as part of the Conference Carolinas-SIAC Challenge.

KSU enters the Week 11 contest on its most successful season in 48 years. The Thorobreds won eight games for the first time since it went 8-2-1 for the 1977 campaign. In fact, the Kentucky squad can equal the most wins in school history by defeating the Hawks on Saturday afternoon. In the program's sixth year of existence, Kentucky State recorded what is still the most wins for a year at 9-1 only 90 years ago in the 1935 season.

The Thorobreds finished tied for second in the SIAC with the Tigers of Benedict College at 7-1, but lost the tiebreaker for the SIAC Championship Game due to league opponents winning percentage.

Kentucky State's two defeats came in its second and third games as it enters Saturday on a 7-game win streak. KSU fell in its second game to SIAC Regular Season champion Albany State (49-21) and took FCS Grambling State to overtime (37-31).

In its seven-game win streak, KSU has outscored its opponents by 157 points, 267-110, or by an average of 23 points per contest (38.1 ppg to 15.0 ppg). The Thorobreds possess the SIAC's top offense at 402.4 yards per game and second in scoring at 35.3 points. 

KSU comes off a shutout, 55-0, at Lane College last Saturday. The Thorobreds scored at least 10 points in each quarter with 10, 14, 14 and 17 and held the Dragons to only 131 yards of offense compared to 508 yards of their own. Running back Chad Elzy Jr. rushed for 110 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown.

Shorter dropped its fourth close game of the season by a combined 10 points as it fell 35-33 against North Greenville. The two teams combined for 935 yards of total offense and 68 points. The Hawks led 13-0 in the first 12:14 of the contest only to fall behind, 21-20, by half. Running back Lanear McCrarey Jr. carried the ball 20 times for 189 yards and two scores.

Shorter's two wins came over Virginia-Lynchburg (57-20 on Sept. 20) and at Barton College (33-7 on Oct. 25). Shorter was shut out in its other game against a SIAC opponent, Savannah State, 13-0, on Sept. 6.


ERSKINE AT ALLEN – SIAC Network
Conference Carolinas-SIAC Challenge
Saturday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m. ET

Location: Bolden Stadium
Address: 29205, 2600 Barhamville Road, Columbia, SC 29204
Live Stats
Local Weather

Momentum ending one season is many times the springboard for the next season. Allen University (5-5, 5-3 SIAC) aims to finish 2025 strong when it hosts Erskine University in the Conference Carolinas-SIAC Challenge for the special Week 11 affair.

The Yellow Jackets have surged in the last almost month with three-straight victories and aim for one final victory and a winning season. Allen stands at 5-5 on the season, 5-3 in the SIAC, and can record its second winning year in the last three – it was 6-3 for the 2023 season.

After falling to Savannah State in overtime (23-20), Allen went on to take care of Tuskegee (28-13) and Morehouse College (28-17). Ending the regular season, quarterback Jamir Dismukes threw a 24-yard touchdown pass only 1:08 in the second half to break a halftime deadlock (14-14) and never trailed again against Edward Waters last Saturday. The Yellow Jackets went on to win the second 30 minutes, 39-16, for a 53-30 victory over the Tigers. Dismukes registered 369 yards of total offense – 284 passing and 85 rushing with three total touchdowns. The SIAC top running back Fabian Duncan ran 82 yards on 14 totes with a trio of touchdowns of his own. Wide receivers Marcus Fleming and Michael Townsend combined for 12 catches over 176 yards and one score.

Duncan earned the SIAC Offensive MVP and All-SIAC First Team as he rushed for 115.3 yards per game (1,153 yards total).

Erskine's lone victory of the 2025 season came on Oct. 18 in a 23-19 road final at Shorter University. Erskine came up short in its regular season finale at Barton by a 37-7 final total.
 

TEAM STANDINGS
TEAM	SIAC	OVERALL
Albany State	8-0	9-1
Benedict	7-1	9-1
Kentucky State	7-1	8-2
Allen	5-3	5-5
Edward Waters	4-4	5-5
Fort Valley State	4-4	4-6
Savannah State	3-5	4-6
Morehouse	3-5	3-7
Tuskegee	3-5	4-6
Miles	3-5	3-8
Central State	3-5	3-7
Clark Atlanta	2-6	3-7
Lane	0-8	0-10

**Team standings are calculated per the SIAC tie-breaker policy.

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ABOUT THE SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (SIAC)
The SIAC is a NCAA athletic conference consisting primarily of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The SIAC includes 15 member institutions (Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Edward Waters University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University), which are located within a contiguous seven-state footprint (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio). The SIAC sponsors nine men's and seven women's sports and is a proud member of the NCAA Division II. For more information, visit www.thesiac.com.