ATLANTA — After the most action in Week 0 action in conference history, the night lights will shine for the first time this Saturday night. The SIAC will watch Tuskegee's Cleve L. Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium light up for the first time in Golden Tiger history to highlight this Saturday's seven contests.
The Marauders of Central State trek to Alabama to play the Golden Tigers of Tuskegee in the inaugural night game. The two SIAC rivals begin the night kick-off at 7 p.m. ET live on TheGrio.
Along with the league's night clash ending the Saturday action, six other SIAC teams will lace up the cleats for battle. Of the seven contests, four SIAC teams take on non-league opponents with three early season conference clashes.
Starting off the Saturday play, Preseason SIAC favorite Albany State travels north against Kentucky State in a 2 p.m. kick. It will be the lone contest featuring two 1-0 teams.
Other than Albany State and Kentucky State, both Tuskegee and Edward Waters look for their second wins of the early 2025 fall season.
In the first weekend, the SIAC finished an even 5-5 in 10 games. Albany State, Benedict and Tuskegee helped the SIAC win three of the five CIAA matchups. Clark Atlanta and Fort Valley State took Gulf South Conference ranked teams of Valdosta State (31-28) and West Alabama (27-17) to the limit before bowing. Allen gave FCS member Morehead State all it could handle in a 38-31 final.
The week's biggest wins went to Albany State over Shaw, 51-7 on the road, and Edward Waters scoring the final 41 points of its 41-14 road upset at Savannah State. Tuskegee received an Honorable Mention with the game-winning field goal with 5:15 left of a 20-17 victory over Winston-Salem State.
BOXTOROW's HBCU D2 rankings have six SIAC squads within its top 10 ratings – 3. Albany State; 5. Tuskegee; 6. Clark Atlanta; 7. Edward Waters; 9. Benedict College and 10. Fort Valley State.
RV ALBANY STATE AT KENTUCKY STATE – SIAC Network
Saturday, Sept. 6, at 2 p.m. ET
Preseason SIAC favorite
Albany State (0-0, 1-0 SIAC) begins the league's action for the second time in as many weeks when it travels to face
Kentucky State (1-0, 1-0 SIAC). The contest is the lone one across the SIAC where both teams claimed victories last week.
The Golden Rams, who are one of the teams to Receive Votes with eight in this week's AFCA D2 rankings, seek to match last week's success. ASU paid back Shaw in a big way, 51-7, from a 2024 home loss.
ASU running back
Tiant Wyche rumbled 137 yards on 14 carries and found the endzone two times and earned the SIAC Offensive Player of the Week honor.
Cameron Watts added the Special Teams Player of the Week award after he returned two kicks for 115 yards, including a 90-yarder. The ASU defense held Shaw to only 189 yards while the Golden Ram offense totaled 487 yards.
Kentucky State rattled off the final 27 points in Detroit for the come from behind victory over Central State, 34-24. The Thorobreds victory was their fourth-straight after they wrapped up 2024 with a trio of wins to finish 5-6.
The KSU run defense was stout with giving up only 36 yards and record -53 yards on tackles for losses.
ASU took last year's meeting of the two programs by a 49-21 final and have won the last 11 in the series. KSU won the last time on Sept. 20 of 2003, 19-13, but it went 4-1 in home games last season.
CLARK ATLANTA VS. FLORIDA MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY – SIAC Network
Saturday, Sept. 6, at 3 p.m. ET
In the Sunshine Showdown, the matchup aims first for a victor in the second edition. After a 28-28 first half last Sept. 14, the Florida weather claimed the win and prevented the final 27:28 to be played for a tie.
Both teams aim for their first 2025 wins but come off very different loss types.
Clark Atlanta (0-0, 0-1 SIAC) pushed 2024 NCAA DII National Runner-up and No.12 Valdosta State to the limit. Following a first-half deadlock, the Panthers took the lead twice in the third quarter only to have the Blazers rally both times and eventually edge out the win via a field goal in the fourth.
Zy McDonald connected for 234 yards through the air with a pair of scores.
Florida Memorial (0-0, 0-1 TSC) fell behind quickly, 14-0, and never recovered in its opener at Reinhardt by a 49-35 final. The Lions did total 410 yards of offense, but they committed three turnovers.
LANE VS. LINCOLN (Mo.) – SIAC Network
Saturday, Sept. 6 at 3 p.m. ET
The final SIAC team to take the field has an unusual situation in its first 2025 game.
Lane (0-0, 0-0 SIAC) plays host to Lincoln (0-0, 0-1 GLVC) on Saturday afternoon.
In a unique occurrence, the Dragons will battle the Blue Tigers in what is essentially back-to-back games. Lane ended its 2024 campaign last Nov. 9 in Jefferson City, Mo. The Dragons took away a 41-28 win and ended the year at 4-6.
Now on Saturday, Lane hosts Lincoln in the opening game of the 2025 season.
Lincoln kicked-off last weekend where it prevailed over Lincoln (Calif.) by a 55-6 margin by scoring the final 49 points of the day.
EDWARD WATERS VS. MILES – ESPN+
Saturday, Sept. 6, at 4 p.m. ET
In two surprising outcomes beginning the year, the two SIAC foes head into the weekend in opposing viewpoints. Defending SIAC champion
Miles (0-0, 0-1 SIAC) ran into No. 19 Virginia Union and had a tough outing, while
Edward Waters (1-0, 1-0 SIAC) used special teams to turnaround and record a road upset at Savannah State.
In the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic, the Golden Bears cut the Panthers' 10-point lead down to 10-3 on a 39-yard field goal midway through the second quarter. Virginia Union, though, proved why it made it to the Region 2 final last season with the last 35 points of the day in a 45-3 final.
Kamren Ivory threw for 174 yards, but the Miles rush attack amassed only 50 yards on the ground.
After ending 2024 with a pair of wins, Edward Waters carried the success into 2025. Trailing 14-0 early, the Tigers'
Kieren Jackson returned the kick-off 90 yards for a touchdown, before SIAC Defensive Player of the Week
David Law-Mortimer scooped and scored a fumble recovery from 54 yards for a 14-14 tie. Edward Waters continued with the momentum and added the game's final 27 points for 41-unanswered for the 41-14 victory. SIAC Newcomer of the Week
Noah Bodden passed for 220 yards and two scores and plunged in for a three touchdown from one-yard out.
Miles does hold a 2-1 lead in the short series between the two programs and won the last game played in Jacksonville in 2021 by a 16-9 final.
ALLEN VS. LIVINGSTONE – SIAC Network
Saturday, Sept. 6, at 6 p.m. ET
In the lone SIAC-CIAA of the weekend, the Yellow Jackets look to reverse last season's matchup's result. Following a promising Week 0 performance,
Allen (0-0, 0-1 SIAC) entertains Livingstone (0-0, 0-1 CIAA) Saturday evening.
The Blue Bears edged out the home win, 23-21, over the Yellow Jackets last Sept. 14 on a 22-yard field goal with 3:18 left in the game. Overall, Livingstone holds a 3-1 lead in the series, but Allen pulled out the last edition played in Columbia, 34-32, back on Sept. 18 of 2021.
Allen produced a promising start to the fall against FCS Morehead State. The Yellow Jackets pulled to within 21-14 right before halftime and the teams traded scores in an even second half, but fell short, 38-31 to the Eagles. Quarterback
Jamir Dismukes completed 26 passes of his 38 attempts for a SIAC-high 309 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Nanders Lawrence grabbed nine of those passes for 104 yards and a score as part of 416 yards of total offense.
Livingstone suffered a tough road loss at the University of Charleston, 39-10. The Golden Eagles put up the first 14 points and the Blue Bears were unable to get back into the contest. Of the 244 yards of offense, Alfredo Sotelo threw for 174 of those yards.
SAVANNAH STATE VS. SHORTER – SIAC Network
Saturday, Sept. 6, at 6 p.m. ET
In the final non-conference affair, both the Hawks and Tigers aim to turnaround tough opening finals.
Savannah State (0-1, 0-1 SIAC) and Shorter (0-0, 0-1 CC) were outscored in Week 0 by a combined 75-21 total.
Savannah State aims to improve upon its 5-5 mark from last year and begin the first step in the right direction in the first contest of the series with Shorter. In fact, Shorter has dropped its last three games against SIAC foes, including a 44-28 final last year to Kentucky State.
The Tigers started the opener fast as
Joseph Hampton and
David Gardner Jr. rushed for touchdowns covering 30 and 12 yards for a 14-0 lead. The second score would turn out to be the home team's final points as Edward Waters used a kick-off return and a fumble recovery to gain momentum for the eventual 41-14 win.
Darrian Bell posted a standout effort on the Savannah State defense with 11 tackles and a forced fumble.
Shorter fell by a 34-7 tally at Anderson (S.C.) last week. The Hawks tied the game at 7-7 early in the second frame but the Trojans put the final 27 points on the scoreboard. Shorter was outgained 329-174 yards of total offense.
Savannah State has claimed wins in its last three NCAA DII non-conference games, including a 30-18 final over Lincoln (Calif.) last year.
TUSKEGEE VS. CENTRAL STATE – TheGrio
Saturday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. ET
Let there be lights! For the first time in program history, Cleve L. Abbott Stadium will be lit up via the new stadium lights Saturday night when
Tuskegee (0-0, 1-0 SIAC) hosts
Central State (0-1, 0-1 SIAC).
Tuskegee started its 2025 campaign successfully by owning the third quarter, 14-0, for a 17-10 lead. Lorcan Ryans sealed the Golden Tiger win with his second field goal of the night coming from 29 yards with 5:15 left in the game for the 20-17 final over Winston-Salem State. Quarterback
Raequan Beal passed for 150 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Golden Tiger attack.
Central State led 16-10 at halftime, before Kentucky State rallied in the final 30 minutes and 34-24 win. The Marauders captured the first-half lead off two long runs –
Jaden Bossie from 63 yards and
Dai'Vontay Young from 73 yards. Both Central State rushers hit the 100-yard mark for a combined 210 yards on 26 carries. Domonique Davis II registered 14 stops and one for a loss on defense.
Tuskegee leads the series by a 10-1 margin, including the last five meetings. The Golden Tigers won by a 30-14 final on the road late last October.
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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.