So the week I decided to delay my gameday preview, BCU Athletics and the Daytona Beach News Journal released their previews a day earlier than normal.  That’s fine by me.  No sense in rehashing the same information.  Check out the Hampton Athletics, Daytona Beach News-Journal, and BCUAthletics previews below.

From HamptonPirates.com:   HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University football team will return to Armstrong Stadium this Saturday, coming off a bye week to take on the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman at 6 p.m.

Saturday will be Military Appreciation Night, as well as Greek Night and Take-a-Kid-to-the-Game Night.

The Pirates (0-3, 0-1 MEAC) fell 44-20 to Florida A&M in their conference opener on Sept. 15, while the Wildcats (2-2, 1-0 MEAC) fell 21-14 to Tennessee State this past Saturday.

The Pirates are 9-8 all-time against Bethune-Cookman, though the Wildcats have won the last four meetings – including a 35-31 win in Daytona Beach, Fla. last season. Hampton last defeated Bethune-Cookman in 2007, when the Pirates left Armstrong Stadium with a 31-24 win.

 The two teams first met in 1995, when the Pirates won 34-14. In fact, Hampton won the first three meetings before the Wildcats picked up their first win against Hampton, 14-13, in 1998.

The Pirates are 4-4 all-time against Bethune-Cookman at Armstrong Stadium. http://www.hamptonpirates.com/news/2012/9/25/FB_0925122212.aspx?path=football

From the Daytona Beach News-Journal:  Three Keys to Victory

1. Mix it up. This is a chance for B-CU’s offense to get on track. Although Hampton has faced three good offensive teams — including the top-ranked offense in the country in Old Dominion — the Pirates rank 102nd (among 121 FCS teams) in total defense, allowing 462.3 ypg, and 114th in scoring defense, allowing 43.3 ppg. The Wildcats are 13th in the nation is rushing at 239.8 ypg.

2. Pressure the QB. Champion is averaging 222.0 yards passing, but the Pirates have allowed five sacks. Richardson has been held sackless the past two weeks going up against big and strong offensive linemen, but he should be able to utilize his quickness this week.

3. Win the turnover battle. B-CU is fourth in the nation in takeaways with 12 and is tied for sixth in turnover margin at 1.75 per game (plus-seven overall).

PREDICTION: B-CU 35, Hampton 17 — Read more: Daytona Beach News-Journal:

From BCUAthletics: 8 points About The Hampton Game

HAMPTON, Va. — Eight points to consider as the Bethune-Cookman – Hampton game unfolds Saturday night:

1) BOUNCE BACK: Bethune-Cookman has never lost more than two consecutive games in the Brian Jenkins era. The last three-game Wildcat losing streaks were in 2009 when B-CU started the season 0-4 and in 2007 when that team dropped four straight after starting 2-1. Before that, one must travel back to 1997 for a three-game losing streak.

2) BOUNCE BACK, PART II: Six of the seven Jenkins era losses have occurred in sets; the two at the end of 2010, the Miami-North Carolina A&T combo of 2011 and this present set. In all, B-CU is 2-3 after a loss under Jenkins and 30-14 since 2000.

Continued here: http://www.bcuathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205701009&DB_OEM_ID=23910