Fourteen Down, Forty-Five Back

HBCU Games of the Week, Week 7: Grambling State at Alabama A&M.

Fourteen to nothing. Twenty-one to seven. Forty-five to thirty-eight.

Watch HBCU Games of the Week, Week 7 on YouTube.

That was Grambling State on October 10, and it is why a No. 4 team in the Black College Football Poll is headed to Huntsville with a reputation for coming back. Alabama A&M, the No. 3 team in the same poll, has a reputation of its own. It scored 55 on Bethune-Cookman and allows just 18.4 points a game.

Saturday, the comeback meets the defense. That is the HBCU Game of the Week.

The score: 81 out of 100

• Team quality, 25 of 25. Alabama A&M is No. 3 and Grambling State No. 4 in the October 12 FCS list.
• How close the models see it, 15 of 25. The SP+ projection has Alabama A&M winning by about twelve points.
• Stakes, 16 of 20. Two ranked teams, both 2–1 in the SWAC. The winner goes to 3–1 in the conference, and the loser falls to 2–2. Neither result clinches anything.
• Story, 10 of 15. A comeback offense against a defense that does not give up points, on Alabama A&M’s homecoming.
• Coverage, 15 of 15. The full mark every HBCU game gets.

The comeback

Grambling trailed Jackson State 14–0 and then 21–7 before it found its footing. Quarterback Jacobe Robinson finished 17 of 21 for 212 yards and four touchdown passes, and he added 52 rushing yards and another score. Tyson George caught eight passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Jackson State took the lead back at 38–35. With 1:36 left, D’Shaun Ford ran it in from the one to put Grambling up 42–38. Marcellius Johnson’s interception set up a 24-yard field goal with 1:01 to go, and the final was 45–38.

That leaves Grambling 4–2 on the season and 2–1 in the SWAC.

The answer

Alabama A&M had the opposite kind of Saturday. It beat Bethune-Cookman 55–17, led 17–10 at halftime, and scored 24 points in the third quarter. It gained 504 yards, 335 of them on the ground, and forced four turnovers. Byron Perrilliat ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns, and Jarel Williams caught four passes for 133 yards and two more.

That leaves Alabama A&M 5–2 and 2–1 in the SWAC, and 4–0 at home.

The numbers

Through October 10	Grambling State	Alabama A&M
Points per game	37.7	37.1
Total yards per game	440.5	459.0
Passing yards per game	256.2	270.0
Rushing yards per game	184.3	189.0
Points allowed per game	35.7	18.4
Total yards allowed per game	433.2	285.0
Passing yards allowed per game	256.2	155.7

These are averages against different schedules, not a forecast against identical opponents. The offenses look alike. The defenses do not. Grambling gives up almost twice as many points per game as Alabama A&M, and 100 more passing yards.

The people

Sam Shade is in his second season at Alabama A&M. When the school introduced him, it noted the championship work that came before: titles at Miles College and at Pinson Valley. Mickey Joseph is in his third season at Grambling.

For Alabama A&M, Cornelious Brown the Fourth has thrown for 1,741 yards and 16 touchdowns with four interceptions. Jarel Williams has 34 catches for 574 yards and seven touchdowns, and DJ Barber has 72 tackles. For Grambling, George has 31 catches for 412 yards and six touchdowns, and Ford has 204 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Grambling leads the series 23–9 and won 13–10 last year.

The pick

TLP’s pick: Alabama A&M, 38–31. The defense and the home record carry it, and Grambling’s offense keeps it within a possession until the end. Watch the first quarter. Grambling trailed 14–0 last week, and it cannot afford that in Huntsville.

When and where: Saturday, Oct. 17, 3 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Central, at Louis Crews Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. Video is on SWAC TV (tv.swac.org), and the radio is WJAB, 90.9 FM.

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Honorable Mention: Edward Waters at Benedict — 76 out of 100

Edward Waters is No. 1 and Benedict is No. 6 in the Black College Football Poll’s Division II ranking (the Oct. 11 edition, published Oct. 12). Both are 5–1. Edward Waters is 4–0 in the SIAC, and Benedict is 3–1.

Edward Waters was off last weekend after beating Kentucky State 61–42 on Oct. 3. It trailed 28–14 at halftime and scored 47 points after the break. Tavion Faulk threw for 498 yards and four touchdowns, and Izaiah Jean-Baptiste caught 10 passes for 114 yards. The Tigers average 327.8 passing yards a game, but they allow 37.3 points.

Benedict allows 18.3 points and 174.7 passing yards a game, and it runs for 205.5 yards. On Oct. 10 it beat Allen 37–24, blocking three punts and forcing four turnovers. A’chean Durant’s 14-yard touchdown in the third quarter followed a blocked punt, Jett Peddy threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns, and Reece Dobard caught three passes for 97 yards and both of them. Brian Jenkins Sr. coaches Edward Waters, and Ron Dickerson Jr. coaches Benedict, who has offensive experience from West Florida.

Benedict has won all four meetings since 2021, including 31–27 in 2025 and 31–28 in Columbia the year before. It is 2–0 in its home-designated games and hosts homecoming.

TLP’s pick: Benedict, 34–31. The defense and the punt pressure get the edge, and Edward Waters’ passing game keeps it to one possession.

When and where: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2 p.m. Eastern, at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, on ESPN Plus. No game-specific radio is listed, so Benedict’s free live stats are the backup.

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Also on the slate

Alabama State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff — 71 out of 100. No. 9 against No. 10 in the Black College Football Poll, on Pine Bluff’s homecoming. Alabama State is 3–3 and 1–2 in the SWAC. Arkansas-Pine Bluff is 3–2 and 1–1, coming off a bye after a 41–10 win at Southern. TLP’s pick: Alabama State, 34–27. Saturday, 3 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Central, at Simmons Bank Field in Pine Bluff. The radio is Deltaplex Radio, 99.3 FM The Beat. Check the SWAC TV listing for video, because no game-specific network is confirmed.

Virginia Union at Bowie State — 61 out of 100. No. 4 against No. 10 in the Division II ranking. Virginia Union is 5–1 and 4–0 in the CIAA with five straight wins. Bowie State is 3–3 and 3–1, and it just shut out Winston-Salem State 21–0, holding it to 223 yards. TLP’s pick: Virginia Union, 30–14. Saturday, 1 p.m. Eastern, at Bulldog Stadium in Bowie, Maryland. The school-linked stream and live stats are on Bowie State’s schedule page.

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Fourteen down. Forty-five back. Saturday, the question is whether it can happen twice.

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SOURCES

Official statistics, schedules, rosters, staff pages and game recaps from Grambling State, Alabama A&M, Edward Waters, Benedict, Alabama State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Virginia Union and Bowie State (through Oct. 14, 2026); Alabama A&M’s game-day notice of Oct. 11 and game notes; Grambling State’s and Alabama A&M’s Oct. 10 recaps and box scores; the Black College Football Poll (FCS list, Oct. 12; Division II list, Oct. 11, published Oct. 12); SP+ projections; and Alabama A&M’s introduction of Sam Shade (January 2025). Broadcast and radio details are as of Oct. 14, 2026. Verify everything before kickoff.

• Grambling State at Alabama A&M — official game-day notice
• Edward Waters at Benedict — official schedule
• Alabama State — official schedule
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff — official schedule
• Virginia Union at Bowie State — official schedule

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Harry B. and TLP use AI to research and assist in the publication of this article. AI makes mistakes, so please check for yourself.