ATLANTA — It’s the final weekend for the league taking on a majority of nonconference foes. The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will battle a heavy dose of HBCU FCS opponents this week while two upstart teams clash with traditional power teams.
It will be the SIAC seeing five of its team move up in competition Saturday. In fact, three of the league’s best of Preseason SIAC favorite Albany State, defending conference champion Miles College and one of the 2025 undefeated squads of Tuskegee University take a swing against highly touted FCS team with both Kentucky State and Morehouse College completing the field.
Starting off the NCAA DII week, the SIAC will be front and center on the Thursday night national stage once again. Live on ESPN2, Clark Atlanta aims to continue its rise on the Panther Stadium red turf against traditional top-half of the conference Fort Valley State in a 7 p.m. kickoff.
After the opening two weekends of action, the biggest early-season program on the rise, Edward Waters, entertains NCAA DII Region 2 finalist and No. 13 Virginia Union going to Jacksonville. The contest will be live on ESPN+.
With two weeks in the books, four teams boast no blemishes – Albany State, Tuskegee and Edward Waters look for their third victories, while Benedict College returns to action for its second victory.
The Week 1’s biggest wins went to Albany State over Kentucky State University, 49-21 on the road, and Edward Waters surprising defending SIAC champion Miles, 46-14. Tuskegee received an Honorable Mention with a 34-0 shutout of Central State in the first night under the lights in stadium history.
BOXTOROW’s HBCU D2 rankings have seven SIAC squads within its top 10 ratings – 3. Albany State; 4. Tuskegee; 6. Clark Atlanta; 7. Edward Waters; 9. Benedict College and T10. Fort Valley State & Savannah State. Albany State also received 18 votes in the AFCA D2 Football Coaches rankings.
FORT VALLEY STATE AT CLARK ATLANTA – ESPN2
Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. ET
Facility: CAU Panther Stadium
Address: 735 Beckwith St. SW, Atlanta, GA 30314
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The Panther Stadium red turf will host the next edition of one of the SIAC’s 2024 best game from last fall.
Clark Atlanta (1-1, 0-0 SIAC) pulled out the road win and it started its breakout campaign. The Panthers outscored the Wildcats of
Fort Valley State (0-1, 0-0 SIAC) in a high-scoring 45-42 final in the opening week’s action in a back-and-forth affair.
The two long-time rivals play for the 76th time on the ESPNU national TV audience. CAU snapped a 4-game losing streak in the series with the 3-point wink, but FVSU holds an all-time 54-17-4 advantage. The Wildcats have won 10 of the last 12 matchups and the last six played at Panther Stadium.
The visiting Wildcats are fresh off its one bye week of the year. FVSU had an extra week to prepare following a tough loss to No. 17 West Alabama, 27-17. The Wildcats held leads of 7-3 and 14-13 after the first and third quarters only to see the Tigers win the final 15 minutes by a 14-3 margin.
Linebacker
Jaydn Walker paced the FVSU defense with 12 tackles, two for a loss, one sack, and an interception.
CAU bounced back from a 3-point loss to 2024 national runner-up Valdosta State for a 17-12 home win over Florida Memorial. The Panthers’ first two games have been decided by a combined eight points.
CAU never trailed last weekend as quarterback
Zy McDonald’s 50-yard TD run. The graduate student has 382 yards passing in the first two games.
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE VS. HOWARD UNIVERSITY – HBCU Go
HBCU NY Football Classic
Saturday, Sept. 13, at 1 p.m. ET
Facility: MetLife Stadium
Address: 1 MetLife Stadium Drive, East Rutherford, NJ 07073
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The first of five SIAC clashes with HBCU FCS-level opponents will see
Morehouse (0-1, 0-0 SIAC) take the field against Howard (1-1, 0-0 MEAC) at MetLife Stadium.
It will be the 36th meeting in the series with the Bison having a 25-9-1 advantage. Howard has claimed each outcome over the last three seasons, while Morehouse last came out on top in 1994 (38-28).
The Maroon Tigers come off a bye week after it fell, 45-9, in Boston against the No. 26 Bulls of Johnson C. Smith. Morehouse fell behind 19-0 in the first part of the game and could not recover. Quarterback
Miles Scott connected for 262 passing yards while wide outs
Kamrin Brunson and
Noah Rhodes combined for six receptions and 171 yards.
Sean Johnson also had 17 tackles on defense.
Howard suffered its first loss, 55-7, when it stepped up to the NCAA FBS level at Temple after an season-opening 10-9 win over Florida A&M. The Bison found the endzone for the only time in the middle of the second quarter and only amassed 121 yards of total offense.
BENEDICT AT CENTRAL STATE – SIAC Network
Saturday, Sept. 13, at 1 p.m. ET
Facility: William Patrick McPherson Memorial Stadium
Address: 1447 Campus Drive, Wilberforce, OH 45384
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One SIAC team looks to continue being stingy on defense and the host program yearns to put points on the scoreboard again.
Benedict (1-0, 0-0 SIAC) has yet to allow a point this season, while
Central State (0-2, 0-2 SIAC) failed to score under the lights last Saturday night.
Benedict holds a slim 4-3 advantage over Central State in the series. The two league members have not played since 2018, a 24-14 Benedict victory. In fact, Benedict won three-straight from 2016 through 2018, but Central State pitched a shutout, 24-0, in the 2015 contest.
The Tigers enjoyed their bye week after they blanked the Broncos of Fayetteville State (10-0) in a low-scoring final. Benedict booted a first-quarter field goal only 2:29 into the game and added a touchdown later in the second frame. The Benedict 10-point lead held up as no more scoring took place over the final 33:08 of the day.
Isaiah Stephens and
Markell Davis combined for 17 stops, 1.5 for a loss and a force fumble leading the Tiger defense.
Central State fell behind 9-0 early and 24-0 by intermission before Tuskegee scored the only 10 points of the second half.
Jaden Bossie leads the Marauders rushers with 103 yards on 27 carries in the first two weeks.
TUSKEGEE AT FBS NO. 15 JACKSON STATE – SWAC TV
Saturday, Sept. 13, at 3 p.m. ET
Facility: Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
Address: 2531 N State St., Jackson, MS 39216
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The tallest SIAC task against a FBS opponent goes to the Golden Tigers.
Tuskegee (2-0, 1-0 SIAC) has the enviable face off against FBS No. 15-ranked Jackson State (1-1, 0-0 SWAC) on Saturday afternoon.
It will be only the fourth time the Golden Tigers and Tigers have met on the gridiron. Jackson State holds a slim 2-1 margin, but Tuskegee claimed the last game by a 33-7 final.
The Tuskegee defense came alive under the lights in the inaugural night game. Tuskegee held Central State scoreless, 34-0, for its second win in as many games. Quarterback
Raequan Beal completed 15 of 25 pass attempts for 226 yards and two scores. His main target,
EJ Hall, earned the Newcomer of the Week honors after pulling in two passes for 72 yards with a 66-yard touchdown and setup another score with a 34-yard punt return.
Kicker
Lorcan Ryans added the SIAC Special Teams Player of the Week after he booted 2 of 3 field goals and all four point after tries to go with a 62.9-yard kick-off average.
EDWARD WATERS VS. NO. 13 VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY – ESPN+
Unity Classic
Saturday, Sept. 13, at 4 p.m. ET
Facility: Nathaniel Glover Community Field & Stadium
Address: 1658 Kings Road, Jacksonville, FL 32209
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In the most-prolific NCAA DII match-up involving SIAC teamsk, No. 13 Virginia Union (1-0, 0-0 CIAA) treks to Jacksonville for upstart
Edward Waters (2-0. 2-0 SIAC).
Something will have to give in the game. The two teams have outscored their first three opponents by a combined 132-31 margin. All three victories saw the winner score 41-plus points.
Saturday will be the inaugural football meeting of the two teams for the Unity Classic.
The Panthers started the year with a 45-3 going away win over defending SIAC champion Miles back on Aug. 31. Virginia Union posted the first 10 and the final 35 points in that game and outgained its foe by a 556 to 249-yard margin, including 375 rushing yards. Running back Curtis Allen ran for 185 yards on 17 carries and two scores.
Edward Waters started the year 2-0 for the first time in a decade (2015). The Tigers can make program history as they have never began a season with three-straight wins since the program was restarted in 2001.
Edward Waters scored the first 16 points last weekend against Miles and went on for the 46-14 win. Linebacker
Trevon French earned the SIAC Defensive Player of the Week award after he recorded seven tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and broke up a pass.
MILES AT ALABAMA STATE – TheGrio
Saturday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. ET
Facility: ASU Stadium
Address: 915 University Drive N, Montgomery, AL 36106
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The Alabama area rivalry adds the 24th football clash on Saturday afternoon. Alabama State (1-1, 0-0 SWAC) opens its home schedule against defending SIAC champion
Miles (0-2, 0-1 SIAC).
Over the first 23 meetings, the Yellow Jackets maintain a 21-3 lead in the series. ASU prevailed 24-3 last fall after Miles claimed the 2023 edition by a 21-17 final tally.
The Golden Bears have started off the 2025 campaign in a tough way. Miles opened with a 45-3 loss to No. 13 Virginia Union before Edward Waters jumped on it last weekend in a 46-14 final score. Miles aims to regain its offensive prowess on Saturday after posting only 158 total yards versus Edward Waters.
Alabama State won its first game in a 30-7 win at Southern University to even its season mark to 1-1. Trailing 7-6 in the early third quarter, the Yellow Jackets ran off three touchdowns and a field goal over the final 23:57. Quarterback Andrew Body has thrown for 510 yards in the first two games.
LANE AT ALLEN – SIAC Network
Saturday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. ET
Facility: Fairfield Central High School
Address: 836 US Highway 321, Winnsboro, SC 29180
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In only the second SIAC league game of the upcoming weekend, two teams battle for their first victory of the year.
Lane (0-1, 0-0 SIAC) travels to central South Carolina for its game at
Allen (0-2, 0-0 SIAC).
Lane fell by a 27-15 final to Lincoln (Mo.). The Dragons fell behind in the opening quarterk, 14-0, and were unable to gain the lead. Lane did pull to within a point, 15-14, only to see Lincoln return the ensuing kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown.
Jeremiah Malbroue led the home defense with 10 tackles and one for a loss.
Allen pulled to within a score, 21-17, with 9:55 left in the game, but visiting Livingstone added the game-deciding touchdown five minutes later for the 28-17 final. Allen outgained the visitors by over 100 yards (392-283) but it committed four turnovers.
KENTUCKY STATE AT GRAMBLING STATE – SWAC TV
Saturday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. ET
Facility: Eddie G. Robinson Stadium
Address: Ballock St., Grambling, LA 71245
Live Stats
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The Thorobreds test themselves down in Louisiana in a renewal of the series against the Tigers. For the first time in 72 years,
Kentucky State (1-1, 1-1 SIAC) lines up across from Grambling State (1-1. 0-0 SWAC) on the football field.
Thumbing back in the series records, the Thorobreds and Tigers have only met two times – both Grambling wins during the 1953 (13-0) and 1952 (14-13) seasons.
The Thorobreds aim to regain their winning ways after they suffered a setback at the hands of Preseason SIAC favorite Golden Rams of Albany State, 49-21.
Chad Elzy Jr. rumbled in from three yards out and pulled KSU to within seven, 28-21, late in the second quarter. Albany State, though, won the fourth quarter for the needed points for the win. Wide receiver
Darius Cyprian pulled in three passes for 106 yards on offense.
After a sound victory over NAIA Langston University (55-7) to start the year, Grambling found the defending FBS National Champion Ohio State to be too much last Saturday (70-0). Grambling’s last win against a NCAA DII team came last Sept. 7 of 2024 in a 37-20 final over Tuskegee.
RV ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY AT FLORIDA A&M – SWAC TV
Saturday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. ET
Facility: Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium
Address: 1601 South Martin Luther King Junior Blvd., Tallahassee, FL, 32307
Live Stats
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The final SIAC versus HBCU FCS matchup could be the best of the weekend.
Albany State (2-0, 1-0 SIAC) seeks more success in Tallahassee when its takes on Florida A&M (0-2, 0-0 SWAC) under the lights.
The Rattlers maintain a 12-3 lead in the series, but the Golden Rams gave them all they could handle three years ago in a 23-13 final. ASU picked up its last win, 14-6, in the fall of 1993.
The Golden Rams have outscored their first two foes by a 100-28 margin. After having its way at Shaw (51-7), ASU opened SIAC play with a 49-21 final at Kentucky State last Saturday. Quarterback Isaiah Knowles picked up the SIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after he accounted for all seven of his team’s touchdowns and 499 yards of total offense.
FAMU dropped a tight one-point decision (10-9) against Howard before it moved up in competition against Florida Atlantic a week ago (56-14). Florida Atlantic opened a first-quarter lead of 22-0 before FAMU put both of its touchdowns on the scoreboard in the second half.
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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 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.