DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Isidore Jackson scored three rushing touchdowns, Anthony Jordan added two scores and Bethune-Cookman defeated Fort Valley State 58-30 on Saturday.

Jackson, who ran for a career-high 150 yards on 19 carries, scored on runs of 13 and 8 yards in the second quarter and added a 20-yard rushing score in the second half. His 13-yard run gave Bethune-Cookman a 27-7 lead with 13:15 left in the second. With the win, Bethune-Cookman (3-3) ended a two-game losing streak.

Both of Jordan’s touchdowns runs came from 1-yard away. Fort Valley State (1-6), a team from Division II, extended its losing streak to two games. Bethune-Cookman totaled 648 yards of total offense, including 418 on the ground. Fort Valley State netted 422 yards — 321 of that through the air.

Cameron Pearson led Fort Valley State with 321 yards passing and four touchdowns.  Junior wide receiver Christopher Slaughter caught 8 passes for 201 yards including a 39 yard touchdown reception between two BCU defenders with 11:47 remaining in the contest.  The Fort Valley offense registered 5 pass plays in excess of 30 yards and posted 422 yards of total offense on the afternoon.

David Blackwell received the starting nod at quarterback for BCU.  The sophomore from Ft Lauderdale’s Cardinal Gibbons high school accounted for 222 yards passing (8 for 14 with 1 td) and 92 yards rushing becoming the first BCU quarterback to account for over 300 yards of offense this season.

Jackie Wilson entered the contest in the 4th quarter after Blackwell dislocated his right thumb.  Sophomore quarterback Jawad Yatim saw his first action of the season, however, he did not attempt a pass.  Maryland transfer Jamarr Robinson dressed for the contest but did not participate.  Brian Jenkins stated it was a coaches decision to withhold Robinson from the contest.

Team Stat Comparison

Passing Leaders

Rushing Leaders

Receiving Leaders

Scoring Summary

GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina A&T’s defense stifled the usually potent Bethune-Cookman offense in a 22-3 win on Saturday.

The Aggies (3-2, 2-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) recovered three fumbles, intercepted a pass, recorded a safety and held the Wildcats to 5 yards rushing. The win snapped the Aggies’ seven-game losing streak in the series and gave them back-to-back conference wins for the first time since November 2003.

Trailing 3-2 in the first quarter, North Carolina A&T scored 20 unanswered points to put the game away. Mike Mayhew, who rushed for 117 yards, capped the scoring with a 9-yard run in the fourth quarter. Lewis Kindle overcame two interceptions to throw for 119 yards and a touchdown for the Aggies.

The Wildcats (2-3, 1-2), who had won the previous seven meetings in the series by scoring an average of 47 points, were held to 108 yards total offense.

Team Stat Comparison

Passing Leaders

Rushing Leaders

Receiving Leaders

Scoring Summary

Here is a 30 second snapshot of the convoluted MEAC title race.

Norfolk State and North Carolina A&T are undefeated in conference play this year.  The Spartans or Aggies can win the MEAC’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs by simply winning their remaining conference games.  

Howard and Delaware State each have two conference defeats.  Both squads are still mathematically alive but unlikely contenders this year.

The 7 remaining teams –SCSU, HiU, BCU, FAMU, NCCU, SSU, and MSU –each have 1 conference loss but can advance to postseason play through a myriad of scenarios. A second conference setback for either of the 1-loss teams likely eliminates them from postseason consideration. 

Hail Wildcats

Keith Stroud attempts to catch a pass in the endzone

Associated Press

MIAMI — Lamar Miller ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns, Tommy Streeter caught two scoring passes and Miami used a series of quick scores to shake off a dreadful early start and beat Bethune-Cookman 45-14 on Saturday.

All five of Miami’s offensive touchdown drives took under 2 minutes — two of them checking in at 10 seconds or less. Jacory Harris completed 12 of 17 passes for 175 yards for Miami (2-2).

Bethune-Cookman (2-2) was facing a major-college opponent for the first time in its 86-year history, and took an early 7-0 lead when Jackie Wilson found Eddie Poole with a 1-yard touchdown pass. The Wildcats kept that edge until midway through the second quarter, when Miami got touchdowns from Streeter and Miller to take the lead for good.

The final score said blowout. In actuality, it was anything but. For 22 minutes, Bethune-Cookman seemed like too much for Miami to handle. Bethune-Cookman quarterback Jackie Wilson completed 21 of 31 passes for 180 yards. The Wildcats held nearly a 2-to-1 edge in time of possession and outgained Miami 422-335. The Hurricanes, who return to Atlantic Coast Conference play at Virginia Tech next week, didn’t grab full control until early in the fourth quarter, when Streeter and Harris connected on a 27-yard touchdown for a 31-14 lead. Eduardo Clements added a 1-yard run later in the period, and Kelvin Cain’s 59-yard interception return with 2 minutes left completed the scoring.

By then, the Bethune-Cookman sideline was largely silent. A couple hours earlier, it was a decidedly different scene from the Football Championship Subdivision school, which accepted a $400,000 payday to make the bus trip from Daytona Beach to Miami. For a little while, it seemed like the Wildcats would be leaving with more than a big check. Helped by two penalties, including one when Miami had 12 players on the field while lining up to receive a punt, the Wildcats went 70 yards in 12 plays to start the game. On 1st-and-goal from the Miami 6, Bethune-Cookman running back Rodney Scott burst through the line, but inches from the end zone, he lost two things.

One, his helmet. Two, the football.

Sean Spence and JoJo Nicholas were part of a scrum that caught Scott just in time, and the Hurricanes took over. But Bethune’s hopes of scoring first weren’t denied, just delayed. Wilson and Eddie Poole connected for a 1-yard touchdown with 4:05 left in the opening quarter, a drive helped nicely by Anthony Jordan bowling his way through safety Vaughn Telemaque for a 27-yard gain on a 1st-and-23 call.

Not only were the Wildcats winning early, but they were downright dominant in the process. Miami running back Mike James, stopped twice around the goal line in the final moments of last week’s loss to Kansas State, was stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the Bethune-Cookman 29 late in the first quarter, a play that had Wildcats coach Brian Jenkins leaping and pumping his arms. With good reason, too. After 15 minutes, Bethune-Cookman held a 7-0 edge in first downs, a 137-39 edge in yards — and a 7-0 lead on the scoreboard.

Eventually, Miami found a way to breathe some life into a largely empty, highly concerned stadium. Streeter hauled in a 56-yard catch from Harris — a one-play touchdown drive — with 7:16 left in the half, tying the game. Travis Benjamin’s 44-yard punt return less than 2 minutes later, followed by a pass interference penalty, set up what technically was another one-play touchdown drive, a 3-yard run by Miller to give the Hurricanes the lead. Combined, those drives took 19 seconds. By comparison, Miami’s next scoring drive was a marathon, a three-play series that went 59 yards, the last 43 of them on Miller’s run 1:13 into the third quarter, putting the Hurricanes up 21-7.

Even then, the Wildcats weren’t finished. Wilson’s 3-yard touchdown run midway through the third cut the Miami lead to 21-14. Jake Wieclaw’s 30-yard field goal pushed the Hurricanes’ edge back to double digits entering the fourth, and when Harris and Streeter connected on their second touchdown play of the game, Miami was up 31-14 with 13:13 left and many fans began leaving. Miami may have endured a key loss late in the first quarter, when linebacker Ramon Buchanan left with an injured right knee and did not return.

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTER				COOK	MIA
	TD	04:05	Eddie Poole 1 Yd Pass From Jackie Wilson (Sven Hurd Kick)	7	0
SECOND QUARTER				COOK	MIA
	TD	07:16	Tommy Streeter 56 Yd Pass From Jacory Harris (Jake Wieclaw Kick)	7	7
	TD	05:25	Lamar Miller 3 Yd Run (Jake Wieclaw Kick)	7	14
THIRD QUARTER				COOK	MIA
	TD	13:47	Lamar Miller 43 Yd Run (Jake Wieclaw Kick)	7	21
	TD	05:20	Jackie Wilson 3 Yd Run (Sven Hurd Kick)	14	21
	FG	01:50	Jake Wieclaw 30 Yd	14	24
FOURTH QUARTER				COOK	MIA
	TD	13:13	Tommy Streeter 27 Yd Pass From Jacory Harris (Jake Wieclaw Kick)	14	31
	TD	08:39	Eduardo Clements 1 Yd Run (Jake Wieclaw Kick)	14	38
	TD	02:00	Kelvin Cain 59 Yd Interception Return (Jake Wieclaw Kick)	14	45

MIAMI — Bethune-Cookman will get everything it wants this weekend. A check for appearing. A chance to gather thousands of alumni in one place. Another opportunity to play on national television.

And best of all, a shot against one of college football’s big-time programs.

Only 86 years after starting its football program, Bethune-Cookman – a relatively small, historically black university in Daytona Beach, Fla. – is finally going to play one of football’s top brands. The Wildcats visit Miami on Saturday afternoon, marking the first time the team from the division formerly known as I-AA will line up against a team with ties to the Bowl Championship Series.

 Suffice to say, there’s going to be no shortage of alumni from the visiting school entering Sun Life Stadium this weekend.

“It happens to be the biggest game this week for us,” Wildcats athletic director Lynn Thompson said. “But I have to give credence to the fact that it’s an opportunity for the university to be seen on a national platform. It’s an infomercial on B-CU. For 3½ hours, we’ll have the nation’s undivided attention. We’re hoping to utilize this opportunity to penetrate some recruiting circles and maybe tell potential donors and sponsors something about Bethune-Cookman.”

Bethune-Cookman (2-1) is a perennial contender in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, where it plays alongside the likes of Florida A&M, Howard, Hampton and South Carolina State. Miami (1-2) is using this as another tuneup for its return to the Atlantic Coast Conference season next week, with road games looming at Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

 The Hurricanes are quite clear on what this opportunity means to Bethune-Cookman, which expects “thousands” of graduates to attend.

 “It’s their Super Bowl,” Miami quarterback Jacory Harris said. “We understand they’re going to come out here playing their hardest. They’re going to give us their best game. We’re going to give them our best game.”

 For the Bethune-Cookman players and coaches, it means as much as any rivalry game would. Maybe even more, when considering that it’s a homecoming for Wildcats coach Brian Jenkins. Like about two dozen of his current players, Jenkins grew up in South Florida, maybe a 20-minute drive from the stadium the Hurricanes call home. He rooted for them. He wanted to be them.

Come Saturday, he’ll try to beat them.

Click here to read more: http://www.news4jax.com/sports/29340402/detail.html.

If Miami running back Lamar Miller’s left shoulder injury is bearable, he will play against Bethune-Cookman University at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday.

It became evident late Sunday afternoon that Miami coach Al Golden in no way intends to peek past Bethune Cookman to plan toward 11th-ranked Virginia Tech — the Canes’ Atlantic Coast Conference road opponent on Oct. 8.

Not after UM’s 28-24 loss to Kansas State in which the defense allowed 265 yards rushing and couldn’t come up with a turnover after four Wildcats’ fumbles.

And not after the Hurricanes offense couldn’t score the winning touchdown after four chances from within 2 yards.

“All respect,’’ Golden said Sunday during his Kansas State recap teleconference, “we’re trying to win the game. That’s all we’re trying to do. … We’re not there right now.

“We’re playing too many young guys and we’re trying to settle into being a good team ourselves. We’re just trying to fix the things that we’re not doing well.

“For all the things we didn’t do well, we had a chance to win that game. That’s ultimately on my shoulders, and that’s something I’ve got to get fixed. Our kids are fighting back. They’re competing. They’re giving themselves an opportunity to win, and we’ve got to make sure we do that. But we don’t have time to move forward right now on anything else but Bethune.’’
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/26/2425115/miami-hurricanes-have-respect.html#ixzz1ZIV4Lqtk 

Hurricane Running Back Lamar Miller

Photo courtesy of MEAC Media Relations

NORFOLK, Va., September 27, 2011 – Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Commissioner Dennis Thomas has issued a statement regarding the final play of the Bethune-Cookman University vs. Hampton University football game played on Thursday, September 22, 2011 in Daytona Beach, Fla. The game was televised live on ESPNU.

“In addition to reviewing the video with the MEAC’s Coordinator of Football Officials Rosie Amato, I felt the need to procure external analysis of the play in question and requested three seasoned and nationally respected officials including Rogers Redding, CFO National Coordinator of Football Officials and NCAA Football Rules Committee Secretary-Rules Editor, Doug Rhoads, Coordinator of Football Officials for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and Dr. Gerald Austin, Coordinator of Football Officials of Conference USA, to independently review the play in question. Upon their review it was concluded unanimously that the ruling to reverse the on field call to an incomplete catch was accurate therefore invalidating the final Hampton touchdown.

The analysis of the video evidence concluded that the airborne receiver did not maintain control of the ball after hitting the ground, and by rule did not fulfill all the elements of the process of completing the catch. The rule support for this reversal is Approved Ruling 7-3-6-XII and 7-3-6-XIII found on page FI-35 of the 2011-12 NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations manual.”