LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor
The SIAC Championship game in Albany, Ga., (1 p.m., ESPN+) and the CIAA Championship Game in Durham, N. C. (3 p.m., HBCUgo.tv),both Saturday, will bring fitting ends to the 2025 races in both conferences. The contests will pair
four 9-1 teams who are the top four teams in the Black college SportS page NCAA Div. II Top Five.
BCSP No. 3 Albany State (9-1, 8-0 SIAC) is hosting No. 4 Benedict (9-1, 7-1) in the SIAC finale while No. 1 Virginia Union (9-1, 7-0 CIAA) will take on No. 2 Johnson C. Smith (9-1, 6-1) in the CIAA title game.
Albany State, under third-year head coach Quinn Gray, and Virginia Union, back-to-back CIAA champs under Dr. Alvin Parker, come in as favorites after running thru their conference races with unblemished records. Additionally, both
ASU and VUU handed their Saturday opponents decisive losses – their only losses in conference play and for the year – in meetings earlier this sea-
son.
Behind 294 passing yards and three touchdown passes from grad senior QB Isaiah Knowles, Albany State traveled to Columbia, S. C. and handed Benedict its only loss, 31-3 on Oct. 25. VUU hosted J. C. Smith on Sept. 21 and came away with a decisive 28-10 win behind 108 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns
from senior star running back Curtis Allen.
The rematches should be interesting.
SIAC Title Game
Albany State enters the championship game ranked second in Super Region II of NCAA Div. II with Benedict fourth. The ranking means both are likely to advance to the Div. II playoffs regardless the results of Saturday’s game. SIAC member
Kentucky State (8-2), who tied Benedict with a 7-1 league mark but lost to the Tigers in their head-to-head meeting, is seventh in the region and has an outside shot at getting into the playoffs.
SIAC Title Game
Albany State enters the championship game ranked second in Super Region II of NCAA Div. II with Benedict fourth. The ranking means both are likely to advance to the Div. II playoffs regardless the results of Saturday’s game. SIAC member
Kentucky State (8-2), who tied Benedict with a 7-1 league mark but lost to the Tigers in their head-to-head meeting, is seventh in the region and
has an outside shot at getting into the playoffs.
To knock off Albany State, the Tigers need to slow down Knowles and get solid play from QB Darius Ocean who completed just 10 of 28 passes without a touchdown and with one interception in their earlier meeting. Ocean was also picked off three times in last week’s 16-13 overtime win vs.Savannah State that got them into the title game.
Albany State comes in leading the conference in scoring (36.8 points per game) and scoring defense (11.5 ppg.). Benedict gives up just 16.4 ppg., second behind the Golden Rams.
CIAA Championship Game
Virginia Union and J. C. Smith come in ranked ninth and 16th nationally in the AFCA NCAA Div. II poll and second and third in Super Region I. Both are all but sure to advance to the Div. II playoffs regardless of the outcome of their
game Saturday. CIAA member Fayetteville State (6-4) enters the week on the bubble at eighth in the region.
Allen ran for four touchdowns in the earlier VUU/JCSU meeting but his 108 rushing yards was his lowest single-game total of the season.VUU QB R. J. Rosales threw only 12 times (completing five for 136 yards) in the first game
but also ran for 63 yards. Allen had three 200-yard and one 300-yard rushing effort en route to a CIAA- and Div. II-best 2,098 rushing yards. His 27 rushing touchdowns, 162 points and 211.3 all-purpose yards per game also lead the nation.
JCSU will need to limit Allen even more than in their first meeting, and get better passing and rushing stats from senior QB Kelvin Durham and redshirt freshman running back Bobby Smith. Durham threw for 193 yards (20 of 35) without a
TD and with one pick in the earlier meeting while Smith ran for 53 yards on six carries. Durham scored the Golden Bulls’ only TD on a 2-yard run. Smith has averaged 126 rushing yards per game over the last three games with four TDs. He finished behind Allen in CIAA rushing stats with 911 yards (91.1 ypg.).
VUU’s 42.5 points per game leads the CIAA with JCSU’s 35.1 ppg. second. The teams are also 1-2 in scoring defense (VUU, 15.8 ppg. and JCSU 16.5). They are also 1-2 in total defense (VUU288.1 ypg, JCSU 290.2 ypg.) and 1-3 in total
offense (VUU 481.0 ypg., JCSU 406.9 ypg).
MEAC race narrows
Delaware State (7-3) and South CarolinaState (7-3) both got league wins to stay on top of the conference with 3-0 marks. DSU hosts Howard (4-6, 1-2) Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+) while SC State is at N. C. Central (7-3, 2-1). Wins by DSU and SCSU this week would set up a showdown between the two on Nov. 15 in Dover, DE for the MEAC title and the league’s berth in the season-ending Celebration Bowl in Atlanta vs. the SWAC champion.
SWAC races not over
The SWAC divisional races are far from over. Jackson State (7-2) and Alabama State (7-2) lead the East with 5-1 marks. Bethune-Cookman (5-5) fell to 4-2, a game back in the East, after a loss to Grambling State Saturday.
B-CU looks to make its mark on the race as it travels to JSU Saturday for a 12 noon start TheGrio). ‘Bama State plays (4 p.m., SWAC TV) in Mobile, AL vs. Mississippi Valley State (1-8,0-6 E). Florida A&M (4-5, 3-2 E) is at Alabama
A&M (4-5, 1-5 E) at 2 p.m. (SWAC TV).
Grambling State (7-3, 4-2 W), one game behind West leader Prairie View A&M (7-3, 5-1 ), is at Alcorn State (4-6, 3-3 W) while Prairie View is hosting Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-6, 2-4 W) Both games start at 2 p.m. and will be streamed on
SWAC TV.