Heading into the 2026 football season, there was a popular thought circulating around HBCU football circles. That thought was Bethune-Cookman might have a little something to say about who wins the SWAC East.
The thinking was that the Wildcats could play spoiler to one of the division’s preseason favorites, Alabama State or Jackson State.
Well, the Wildcats handled Alabama State in early October. And there they stood Saturday afternoon in Daytona Beach, trailing defending SWAC East champion Jackson State 21-17, facing 3rd-and-11 from the Tigers’ 19-yardline with under a minute remaining.
Quarterback Tyler Jefferson took the snap and looked left. First read wasn’t there. He stepped up in the pocket. Nothing. Jefferson scrambled right, buying just enough time to spot Rickie Shaw working his way across the field.
Shaw found a sliver of daylight in the right corner of the end zone.
TOUCHDOWN WILDCATS!
Bethune-Cookman 24. Jackson State 21.
Forty seconds remaining.
Pandemonium swept through the stadium as Shaw celebrated with his Kappa Alpha Psi shimmy!
But for a few of us, there was no pandemonium. Not yet.
We’ve been here before.
You know, this close to a win only to watch it slip through your fingers in the most agonizing fashion.
So while the stadium erupted, a few of us suspended our excitement and began an almost ritualistic chant:
“WE GOT TO FINISH! WE GOT TO FINISH!”
Heck, Athletic Director Reggie Theus was standing in that same end zone where Shaw had just scored. Amid the celebration, he looked me squarely in the eyes and said the exact same thing.
“We got to finish.”
Jackson State took the ensuing possession and marched into field goal range with six ticks remaining.
Here we go again.
But something funny happened.
The winds that had seemingly calmed down from the earlier downpour picked up almost on cue, blowing toward the left of the uprights.
Good snap.
Good hold.
Good contact.
But Andrew Ivaniciuc’s 49-yard attempt sailed left as time expired.
WILDCATS WIN!
What an ending.
What. A. Game.
And just like that, Bethune had knocked off the defending SWAC East champions, 24-21, and moved into a tie for first place in the division.
The Wildcats found a way to finish.
Was it a perfect game? Absolutely not. But that’s kinda what’s encouraging about this win. BCU left plenty opportunities on the field. But they were able to overcome their own mistakes, and STILL take down the Tigers. That says an awful lot about where Coach Raymond Woodie has this program right now.
The question now is was Saturday simply a big win, or was it an announcement?
You know, the kind of victory that shifts not just the momentum of a season, but the trajectory of a program.
DEFENSE, DEFENSE, AND MORE DEFENSE
As dramatic as Jefferson’s game winning touchdown pass was, the real story Saturday was Bethune’s suffocating defense.
The Wildcats slowed down Jackson State’s vaunted rushing attack and controlled their offense as a whole.
Consider these numbers from BCU’s defense
- held JSU to 33 rushing yards on 36 attempts.
- 13-of-28 passing, under 50 percent.
- 10 tackles for loss.
- 4 sacks.
- 1 forced fumble.
Pure dominance.
Stephen Sparrow was everywhere, collecting 11 tackles, a sack, and two tackles for loss.
Isaiah Washburn wasn’t far behind, recording seven tackles, a sack, and three tackles for loss.
The Wildcats pressured, pressured, and pressured the Tigers bringing 5 or 6 defenders on seemingly 90% of the snaps.
Offensively, Jefferson once again showed why his emergence has been one of the more intriguing developments of this season.
A week after providing the spark against Mississippi Valley State, Jefferson delivered three touchdown passes against Jackson State.
A 21-yarder to Josh Evans.
A 33-yarder to Rashon Brown.
And, of course, the 19-yard game winner to Rickie Shaw.
Jefferson hasn’t solved every issue with Bethune’s passing game. But he’s demonstrating a knack for making big plays when the Wildcats need them most. Plus he is a huge asset in the running game.
A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON
Here’s something you probably wouldn’t know unless you’re a football nerd like me.
Before BCU entered the SWAC, the Wildcats actually held a slightly better all-time historical winning percentage than Jackson State.
Heading into the 2020 season, the historical records looked like this:
Think about that for a moment.
For all the deserved attention JSU has has received throughout the years, Bethune-Cookman has its own rich football tradition.
But since joining the SWAC, the programs have traveled vastly different roads.
JSU has been one of the conference’s standard bearers, collecting SWAC championships and national attention.
Meanwhile, BCU has been fighting to rediscover the winning tradition that once made the Wildcats one of the most respected programs in HBCU football.
And that’s why Saturday mattered.
Not simply because Bethune beat Jackson State.
But because Jackson State represents the level BCU is trying to get back to.
The question surrounding this program has been whether the Wildcats could once again compete consistently with the SWAC’s best.
Well, on Saturday, they didn’t just compete. They won.
NOW COMES THE FUN PART
Let’s see how the Wildcats handle success.
But something about this victory and their recent play tells me they will.
Maybe it’s the way the defense has developed into one of the conference’s most disruptive units.
Maybe it’s Jefferson’s emergence.
Or perhaps it’s the growing confidence of a team that is beginning to believe it belongs in the championship conversation.
Will this be the catalyst that returns the Wildcats to the ranks of year in and year out contenders?
We don’t know that yet.
But we do know this: The Wildcats are contenders RIGHT NOW.
THE PATH FORWARD
The most straightforward path to the SWAC East crown is simple enough.
Win out and hope Alabama A&M drops a game.
If that happens, Bethune wins the East.
There are other potential scenarios, but with several weeks of football remaining, it’s far too early to start untangling every possible tiebreaker.
The Wildcats have more immediate concerns.
Get healthy.
Stay focused.
And take care of business against Arkansas-Pine Bluff this weekend.
Saturday was a huge win. Perhaps the biggest of the Raymond Woodie era.
But if this team wants to turn a signature victory into a championship season, it has to embrace the very words that echoed through the stadium during those final 40 seconds.
WE GOT TO FINISH.
Gameday Photos Against JSU
