1.  BCU can run the ball

This past Saturday’s matchup pitted Bethune-Cookman’s #1 ranked rushing offense, against North Carolina Central’s #1 ranked rushing defense.  In the end, the Wildcats simply overwhelmed the Eagles on the ground rushing for 274 yards and 5 touchdowns.

On BCU’s 1^st drive of the second half, the Wildcats drove the ball 63 yards on 5 plays to pull ahead 21-17.  All 5 plays were runs.  That drive shifted momentum and highlighted BCU’s physicality advantage over the Eagles.  The Cats seized control of the game at that point and never looked back.  Junior running back Isidore Jackson carried the ball 14 times for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns in the contest.  The performance was good enough to earn Jackson College Football Performance Awards National Running Back of the Week recognition.  Speaking of Jackson, we learned that …

2.  Ike is fast enough

During BCU’s preseason media day event, Jackson stated that he had decent but not great speed.  However, Jackson’s speed was good enough to help him record the 4^th longest touchdown run in BCU history.  Jackson took a pitch off the left side of the line, broke a tackle, made a few guys miss, and raced 93 yards to give BCU a 28-17 lead.

3.  Marching Wildcats do yo’ thang

In the last three home games, The Pride’s halftime ballads were: ‘In my Bed’ – Dru Hill; ‘If I Had My Way’ – Chrisette Michelle; and ‘Stairway to Heaven’ – The O’Jays.  All three pieces were simply amazing.  The band could have scrambled on to the field, played those ballads and walked off and I would have been perfectly fine with their performance.  They really did sound that good.  Hail Wildcats and Hail Pride! 

(Okay, now back to football.)

4.  Coach Jenkins really does have a rotating quarterback system

Heading into last week’s game, it seemed that Quentin Williams had gained sole ownership of the starting quarterback position.  Williams started the three prior games during which he threw 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and completed nearly 70% of his passes. 

Coach Jenkins stated that Quentin did not take care of some of his responsibilities off the field and that Brodrick Waters had a better week of practice on the field.  As a result, it was Waters who started the contest for BCU.  Waters led BCU on their first scoring drive and rushed for 53 yards on the afternoon. 

Although not the starter, Williams saw significant action during Saturday’s game.  Included in Williams’ highlights was a 76 yard touchdown pass thrown to Preston Cleckley in the 2^nd quarter.

5.  De-fense, De-fense

Here is a number for you; “9”.  That’s the number of snaps, NCCU took inside the BCU 10 yard line on their first possession of the second half.  The Eagles got the ball as close as the 1 yard line, but an illegal procedure penalty backed NCCU up to the 6 yard line. 

A Bethune-Cookman player said ‘Hut,’ and that’s why we jumped offside,” Frazier said. “It wasn’t our quarterback, I’ll just say that”.  BCU safety, D.J. Howard, and linebacker, Dawud Lane, claimed ignorance to the coaches claim during postgame interviews.

The Wildcats limited the Eagles to a field goal on that possession and those would be Central’s last points of the contest.  BCU’s defense has now surrendered 7, 0, 0, 16, 3, 0, and 3 points in the second half of games against FCS opponents this season.  That equates to 4.1 points per game in the second half.  Not bad…not bad at all!