Photo credits: BCU Athletics

Bethune-Cookman Football was selected to finish fourth in the preseason conference poll, announced Friday, July 28, by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference at the annual Football Media Day in Norfolk, Virginia.

Source: Wildcats Picked to Finish Fourth in Preseason Poll – The Official Website of Bethune-Cookman Athletics

The 2016 edition of the Florida Blue Florida Classic  kickoff in a few short hours. By night’s end, players from both schools will look to add their names to the lore of their respective schools by having a “Classic Moment.”

Before the next hero arises, let’s take a look back at some of the more memorable moments in Florida Classic history.

Memorable Florida Classic Moments

1978 – Florida A&M trailed BCU 17-0 at halftime in the first ever Florida Classic played in Tampa Stadium. The Rattlers scored 27 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 27-17 victory. Rudy Hubbard’s squad went on to win the first 1-AA (now FCS) National Championship later that season. A year later (1979) BCU won their first Florida Classic 25-20.

1994 – BCU QB Tony Kerrin connected with Morris Nobles on a 2 yard TD reception in the corner of the endzone to give the Wildcats a 27-24 lead with :47 remaining in the contest. BCU went on to win by the same margin and Coach Cy McClairen earned his first victory over the Rattlers as a head coach.

2003 – Daytona Beach native and NFL Pro Bowler, Eric Weems, scored 3 touchdowns and helped the Wildcats rally from a 28-10 halftime deficit. The final touchdown was set up by a fake punt attempt on 4th and 17 with less than 2:00 remaining in the contest. A FAMU player was flagged for pass interference on the fake punt and BCU was awarded an automatic first down.

Later in the drive quarterback Allen Suber avoided a sack, rolled to his right, and hit Weems who beat triple coverage just beyond the pylon with 9 seconds remaining to give BCU a 39-35 in front of the largest crowd (73,358) in Florida Classic history.

2004 – Florida Classic fans were treated to the first overtime in the history of the series. The Wildcats eventually prevailed 58-52.

FAMU’s Ben Dougherty (QB) and Roosevelt Kiser (WR) had career days in that contest. Midway through the third quarter, Dougherty connected with Kiser on a 66 yard TD reception and extended FAMU’s lead to 45-24.

Head coach Alvin Wyatt then made the decision to move eventual three-time All-Pro defensive back Nick Collins from safety to cornerback with the assignment of blanketing Kiser. The move proved to be very effective for the maroon and gold. The FAMU passing game was severely limited as a result of the coaching decision and the Wildcats outscored FAMU 34-7 from that point forward. Rodney Johnson’s 15 yard touchdown run in overtime sealed the victory for BCU.

Coach Wyatt, who was overcome with emotion after the win, fainted and had to be carted off the field by medical personnel. Wyatt was eventually treated for dehydration but was no worse for the wear.

Not only was the 2004 victory the first overtime game in Florida Classic history, it was also the first time BCU won three consecutive victories over the FAMU.

2005 – Like the year prior, this game was also decided in overtime; only this time FAMU would emerge as the victor. The Rattlers entered the contest as underdogs and quickly fell behind to the Wildcats 17-0. But A&M slowly climbed back into the contest and forced the game into overtime on the strength of a Wesley Taylor 43-yard field goal with less than 3 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. Taylor’s 26-yarder in overtime vaulted the Rattlers to a 26-23 win.

2010 – BCU entered the 2010 FC (Brian Jenkins’ first year) with an unblemished 10-0 record. However, a 3rd quarter injury to eventual MEAC Offensive Player of the Year, quarterback Matt Johnson, derailed BCU’s high-octane “Speedway Offense.” FAMU capitalized on the opportunity and secured a 38-27 win in one of the biggest upsets in FC history. Phillip Sylvester scored 3 times for the Rattlers and rushed for 146 yards on 26 carries in the process.

Dan Ryan recounts how the B-CU staff got the campus running again after Hurricane Matthew and deserves coverage worthy of any sporting event.

Source: Final: B-CU Staff 1, Matthew 0

So this interesting thing happened this past Sunday.  A fellow Wildcat sent a group text message saying he had this crazy dream Bethune-Cookman lost to Savannah State 16-10 in overtime Saturday night. I mustered up a laugh after reading the message and quickly replied I had the same wild dream. But no matter how hard we tried to deny the obvious, there it was staring right back at us. Our beloved Wildcats had fallen to the Tigers and were 0-3.

Shocking! Shameful! What type of sorcery was this? Who saw this coming? I didn’t.

I guess that’s why the friendly texts meant so much Sunday morning. It was the best way us diehards could cope in our time of crisis. I am happy to say we all stayed  far away from bridges and sharp objects for the requisite 48 hours.Everyone is accounted for so I suppose we’re now  ready to talk about it.

Let’s start by saying congratulations to Savannah State for earning the victory and breaking the 16 year drought against the Wildcats. As much as I hated seeing my team lose, that small part of me that’s a pure sportsman at heart says kudos to the winning team.  I mean how can you not be a little happy for a team whose last win over the opponent came 2 months before Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas was nominated as the 42nd President of the United States of America. That’s crazy son! Craazzyyy!!!

It begs the question though: ‘what in the world is going on in Daytona?’ The Wildcat fan base has gotten use to winning and they aren’t handling the loss to SSU very well. I mean, Florida doesn’t lose to  Kentucky; FSU doesn’t lose to Wake Forest and Bethune-Cookman doesn’t lose to Savannah State……well I suppose we do now but you get the point. What does all of this mean?

2016 was not supposed to be a rebuilding year. We were supposed to be contenders this year. Could this mean we are witnessing Bethune’s recent dynasty come to an end? Is there enough talent on this team to turn things around? What about the coaching staff? Are they resting on yesteryear’s laurels? Do they have the capability to scheme up, coach up, and correct the issues that have this team stumbling to a lackluster start?

No, I am not jumping ship but I am mad. I am worried. I am concerned. We praise our team when they play well and we speak the truth when they under-perform. We do this not because we’re fickle fans but because we want to see the young men who strap it up for the maroon and gold preserve the legacy!

Okay, okay let me calm down! It’s going to be alright. Let’s take this slow shall we.

The first obvious observation is that it is far too early in this cycle to declare Bethune’s recent dynasty has come to an end. No Division 1 HBCU program has had more wins since the beginning of this decade. Dynasties are indicative of year to year success so let’s just press pause on this one.

Bill Parcells once famously said “you are what your record says you are.”  The Greek translation of that statement is this is not a good football team right now. Sure we’re only three games into the season but the problems that have Terry Sims and his team gawking at 0-3 will not magically disappear on there own. There are major concerns with this team right now specifically on the offensive side of the ball.

The offensive play calling and scheme is unimaginative. The offensive line play has been somewhere between shaky to bad. The wide receivers have had far too many drops and quarterback play has been underwhelming. That’s not negativity. It’s the truth. Any coach who says otherwise is cheating his players.

BCU is dead last in the conference in passing offense averaging just 97passing yards per game. Comparatively, they are averaging 95 yards per game in penalties. When the difference between your total passing yards and penalty yards is a net 2 yards, you’re going to have a hard time winning football games. Yes I said a net of 2 yards.  That simply is not good enough.

To be fair, the only experienced quarterback Bethune have on its roster is Larry Brihm and he got injured halfway through Game 2 against Tennessee State. Additional, All-MEAC Preseason 1^st team selectee Michael Jones has been out all year with an injury.  Perhaps the return of Brihm and/or Jones will provide the offense with a much needed jolt.

The defense has been good enough. The defensive line is growing week in and week out and secondary play has been pretty good as well. Diquan Richardson has been a maniac at safety flying all around the field making plays.

There is still time to recover from the slow start and this squad is talented enough to do so. But the improvement must happen immediately as the Cats enter the toughest stretch of their schedule with matchups against North Carolina Central, South Carolina State and North Carolina A&T in the next three weeks. Win all three and you are still on course to reach the goal of playing in the Celebration Bowl; lose 2 or more of the next three and…….well there is always next season. Let’s hope for the former.

​

Tigers top MEAC kingpin Bethune-Cookman 16-10 in OT

Cantrell Frazier has been in the Savannah State football program for five years. An ankle injury ruined his senior season a year ago.

But the ankle was feeling fine Saturday night at T.A. Wright Stadium.

The Tigers called a jet sweep for Frazier and he turned the corner and maybe helped the Tigers program turn the corner as well.

Frazier’s 9-yard touchdown run in overtime gave SSU a stunning 16-10 victory over Bethune-Cookman, a team picked to finish second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference this season.

“We’re ready to take on the rest of the MEAC now,” Frazier said, amid his joyous teammates and adoring fans.

SSU (1-2, 1-0 MEAC) beat the Daytona Beach, Fla., school for the first time since 1992 and ended a streak of 16 straight losses to the Wildcats. Continue reading at: http://savannahnow.com/sports-college-sports/2016-09-25/stunner-savannah-state-tigers-top-meac-kingpin-bethune-cookman-16. 

​

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Patrick Smithcaught a 7-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Ronald Butler with 5:48 remaining, lifting Tennessee State to a 31-24 win over Bethune-Cookman on Saturday.

Jamaruz Thompkins tied the game for Bethune-Cookman (0-2) on a 20-yard run earlier in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats forced a three-and-out to get the ball back, but fellow backup Anthony Cruz was intercepted by Terrell Bonds to set up the game-winning score.

Bonds picked off Akevious Williams on the ensuing drive, giving the ball back to the Tigers (3-0) on their 45-yard line with 3:50 to play and a seven-point lead.

Butler finished 8 of 16 for 68 yards with two touchdowns and an interception after replacing O’Shay Ackerman-Carterin the second quarter. Earl Harrisoncarried the ball 14 times for the Tigers, totaling 154 yards and a score.

Thompkins finished with 58 yards on six carries.

Bethune-Cookman’s bid to obtain their third scalp of a FBS opponent was shot down in the Lone Star State on Saturday night.  North Texas rode to a 41-20 victory over BCU behind the strength of a strong running game.

BCU’s upset efforts looked on course early after the Wildcat D forced a 3 and out on UNT’s first possession. Frank Brown returned the ensuing punt 88 yards to put BCU ahead 7-0. It was the Wildcat’s first punt return touchdown since Michael Williams took one to the house against Hampton in 2009.

North Texas responded to BCU’s special teams touchdown with a 10 play, 65 yard touchdown drive that ended with a Jeffrey Wilson 20 yard scoot.

The Mean Green secured their first lead of the contest after a blocked Johnathan Cagel punt was returned 1 yard for a score.  Wilson scored his 2^nd rushing touchdown from 10 yards out and Trevor Moore converted a 19 yard FG to stretch the UNT lead to 24-7 at halftime.

UNT opened the 2^nd half with a 12 play, 83 yard touchdown drive before  BCU safety Diquan Richardson picked off a Mason Fine pass and returned it 30 yards for the Wildcat’s second score showing off some nifty footwork in the process.

The Wildcats squandered their best opportunity to get back in the game after they failed to score after recovering a blocked punt on the North Texas 5 yard line. A touchdown would have withered the lead to 2 scores with over 14 minutes remaining in the contest but it wasn’t meant to be.

The teams traded touchdowns in the 4^th quarter with BCU’s coming on the effort of quarterback Arkevious Williams racing 83 yards to pay dirt outrunning several North Texas defenders in the process.

The Wildcat offense looked sluggish all night and were outgained  by almost a 2-1 margin (450 total yards to 231).  Meanwhile the defense played a little better than the final score indicates but certainly have plenty room for growth.

Terry Sims and company will try to right the ship when Tennessee State come to town next Saturday for a 4:00 kickoff.