LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor
Black college football teams will again be in the cross hairs of their FBS counterparts in seven games this week.
No one faces a bigger task than Howard (1-1), who goes on the road Saturday (1 p.m., Big Ten Network) to face Indiana (1-0), the 2025 College Football Playoff National Champions.
The Hoosiers, coming off a 16-0 run to last year’s national title, began this season ranked sixth in the AFCA poll. They opened the 2026 season last week with a 52-18 win over North Texas. The Bison fell 28-21 to Richmond after opening with a win over Alabama A&M.
Howard is not the only team facing a ranked FBS opponent.
Florida A&M (1-1), coming off its 31-13 loss to BCSP FCS No. 1 South Carolina State, plays at AP No. 7 Miami (1-0) Thursday (8 p.m., ACC Network). Miami opened last Friday with a 45-6 win over Stanford.
Southern (1-1), after getting the first win in the Marshall Faulk era 34-15 Saturday over Kentucky State, is at No. 23 Houston (1-0) Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN+). Houston downed Oregon State, 33-20 last Saturday.
Norfolk State (1-1) lost to Old Dominion 31-10 Saturday and stays in-state to face 1-0 Virginia Friday (7 p.m., ACC Network). UVA opened with a convincing 34-8 win over NC State.
BCSP FCS No. 5 Grambling State (2-0), coming off a 48-26 win over Central State, travels to 0-1 TCU Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN+). TSU lost to UNC in Dublin, Ireland 15-10 to start the season.
BCSP FCS No. 4 Prairie View A&M (1-1), following its big 52-14 win Sunday over SWAC rival Texas Southern, is at 0-1 Baylor Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN+). Baylor lost 16-15 to Auburn in its opener. Texas Southern (1-1) plays at 0-1 UTEP Saturday (8 p.m., UTEP Stream), who was shut out 51-0 by Oklahoma.
In a match up of ranked BCSP teams, FCS No. 1 South Carolina State (2-0) is hosting Div. II No. 5 Virginia State (2-0), Saturday (6 p.m.) in Orangeburg, S.C.
VSU is averaging 43.0 points in its two wins while sophomore quarterback Rahsaan Matthews Jr. has thrown for 663 yards (331.5 ypg.) and 7 TDs while completing 71.8% of his passes. SCSU has given up an average of 6.5 points in its two wins while limiting the opposition to an average of 139 total yards per game. The Bulldogs have rushed for 715 yards (357.5 per game).
BCSP Div. II No. 2 Fayetteville State (2-0) is hosting AFCA Div. II No. 16 Valdosta State (2-0) Saturday (6 p.m., BroncosNetwork).
BCSP Div. II No. 4 Kentucky State (1-1) is at 1-1 Clark Atlanta Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN+). Nearby, Morehouse (0-2) is hosting Central State (1 p.m., SIAC Network).
Former CIAA and MEAC rivals N. C. Central (1-1) and N. C. A&T (0-2) renew their bitter showdown Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN+) in Durham, N. C.
Preseason BCSP Div. II No. 1 J. C. Smith (1-1) travels to winless Winston-Salem State (0-2) Saturday (8 p.m.). WSSU has been shut out in its first two games under new head coach Tory Woodbury.
