What a difference a Bayou Classic win makes. Grambling State has taken over the number one spot in the Sheridan Broadcast Network’s black college football rankings, and should they defeat the Jackson State Tigers in the SWAC championship next week, they will like win the network’s Black College Football national championship.
Southern University, who is inexplicably ranked despite having more losses than all but one of the teams in the “others receiving votes” category, falls four spots to tenth.
| 1. Grambling State Tigers (21) | 10-2 | 258 | 3 |
| 2. South Carolina State Bulldogs (9) | 10-3 | 235 | 2 |
| 3. Tuskegee Golden Tigers | 10-1 | 217 | 1 |
| 4. Prairie View Panthers | 9-1 | 179 | 4 |
| 5. Florida A&M Rattlers | 9-3 | 151 | 5 |
| 6. Shaw Bears | 8-3 | 119 | 7 |
| 7. Jackson State Tigers | 7-4 | 74 | 8 |
| 8. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats | 8-3 | 71 | 9 |
| 9. Tennessee State Tigers | 8-4 | 45 | 10 |
| 10. Southern Jaguars | 6-5 | 35 | 6 |
| Others receiving votes (in order of points): Albany State 33, Fayetteville State 27, Elizabeth City State 24, Morgan State 19, Langston 8. | |||
Bulldog91 8:56 pm on December 10, 2008 Permalink
Please the SWAC is WEAK. GSU played Nevada and Northwestern State, are either of those teams in a bowl ? I know Clemson plays on NEW YEARS DAY!
ctw 1:32 am on December 14, 2008 Permalink
and what team in black college football is better than Grambling ?Bulldog
TYRONE 12:22 am on December 15, 2008 Permalink
FAMU DIDNT LOSE MANY KEY PLAYERS , SO MUCH OF THE TEAM NEXT SEASON WILL BE THE SAME. SO WATCH OUT!!!!
Engineer1 6:27 pm on December 15, 2008 Permalink
The SBN poll is a joke! Despite the ocnference Tuskegee is in, they could run at the top or near the top of the SWAC and MEAC. The perceived dominance of the SWAC and MEAC is a joke as well. All of us who went to HBCU’s know that in most cases there is no difference between the average D-II and D-IAA schools. A team such as Tuskegee is not your average program. And may I mention has recent bragging rights among several SWAC schools.
A.M 7:33 pm on December 15, 2008 Permalink
You can try to hate on the SWAC all you want, but GSU as proven themselves year after year. Nevada is in a bowl game this year, and I will agree that Clemson is a better team, but the bulldogs were shutout 54-0 in that game. And as far as Tuskegee goes, they are a very good team and would be good in those conferences, but they lost to one of the worst teams in the Swac this year, Alabama state. So you all can try and hate, but Grambling is the best team out of all HBCU’s in the country and deserves to be #1.
noonie 7:52 am on December 16, 2008 Permalink
If you think Grambling State is better than bulldogs of SCSU you must be out of your mind. Grambling played in a weak conference against weak opponents like j.state, alabama state. This is sad day in hell and I can understand why Buddy doesn’t give a crap about know SBN. The playoffs means more than these lame polls by imcompentent black folk.
dp 1:47 pm on December 16, 2008 Permalink
Noonie, E1 and Bulldog,
On what planet are you living and in which decade (though the latter doesn’t matter as neither Skeet nor SCSU would ever have been able to “compete” in the SWAC). Neither school had a credible win this year, though SC did have a somewhat credible loss (scored 21 points against App State – be mindful though that this is not the App State of last year). Skeet does play at a high level sometimes, but not high enough to be a power in the SWAC. Note that they were smacked by Bama State in the TD classic this year and the Hornets were just one game above the bottom of the barrel in a very weak SWAC East.
Noonie, you may be impressed by playing the FCS playoffs and feel they are superior to the “lame polls” by folks who look like most of us, but how many of those playoff games EVER have over 30K in attendance? The Classic has over 50K regularly and sometimes over 70K. Additionally, it is nationally televised on NBC – one of the “Big 3.” YOU do the math and just keep letting Mr. Cholly drop Plymouth Rock on you.
JC 3:15 pm on December 16, 2008 Permalink
I do agree with Noonie that the folks voting in these polls have no clue about what they are doing, but then again, the poll itself is a mockery.
Prior to desegregation, it would have been a good look for black college sports. Now, it’s just a confusing mess with folks trying to decide if wins mean more than division mean more than playoff appearances.
In a way its healthy, but it does a lot of harm as well.
CL 5:56 pm on December 16, 2008 Permalink
Tuskegee deserves this thing!!! Their lone lost was questionable, even the conference issued an offical apology for taking away a game winning touchdown. Therefore, Tuskegee is really the only real undefeated team. To go undefeated two years in a row is no easy task, give credit where it is due.
dp 6:24 pm on December 16, 2008 Permalink
JC, do you mean like the BCS?
JC 8:45 pm on December 16, 2008 Permalink
More like Division I-AA vs. Division II. People always complain that the CIAA and SIAC couldn’t hang with the MEAC and SWAC. Largely, that’s true. But some times, the lower-level conferences can rise to the occasion.
Engineer1 8:54 pm on December 16, 2008 Permalink
You wanna know the big difference between D-IAA and D-II schools?…It’s basically the number of students not the talent of the ball players.
dp 9:58 am on December 17, 2008 Permalink
To be completely honest, the DII schools can’t really hang with the D I-AA schools. Basically, it IS the talent of the ball players BECAUSE of the number of students. Yes, sometimes a D II school will do well against a d I-AA school, but not consistently. The same is the case for most of the smaller MEAC schools. When you have a higher enrollment, you have a bigger talent pool. That’s why you see more big time player coming out of states with high populations. Sure, you’ll see a big time athlete come out of the Dakotas or Montana sometimes, but not nearly the number that comes out of Cali or FLA. Also, a kid is more likely to go to a school that is far from home that he’s heard of than one that he hasn’t – just like someone with a high GPA/SAT score is more likely to attend one of the Black Ivy League schools than they would be to attend a SWAC or MEAC school. Kids with high GPAs/SAT scores attend schools in the SWAC (I did), but I’d venture to guess the average SAT score at Fisk is higher than the average at Grambling.
Engineer1 4:15 pm on December 17, 2008 Permalink
dp…your post makes no sense…I didn’t go to Tuskegee…but I bet the average ACT/SAT score there is higher than the average at Grambling and the football team is still consistently good. Tuskegee is a private university where atheletes jump at the chance to attend.
dp 6:44 pm on December 17, 2008 Permalink
E1,
I never stated you went to Skeet, just responded to your post stating Skeet should be #1. I would agree that Skeet’s average GPA is higher than Gram’s, but probably not as high as Fisk’s. How many athletes do you see clamoring to attend Fisk? The same holds true with a Harvard or Yale vs. UGA or Bama. Skeet is consistently good for their division, but even when they beat Bama State or AA&M, it is typically close and those teams are not perennial powers in the SWAC. Just like Ohio State is consistently good in the Big 10, but when they face SEC or Pac 10 schools, they get trounced.
Btw – my previous post makes lots of sense – just put that scientific logic of yours to work.
Engineer1 10:56 am on December 19, 2008 Permalink
dp.. basically..the only perennial power in the SWAC is Grambling and maybe Southern or Jackson State and Skegee (not Skeet) or Albany State in the SIAC. What does that say for the rest of the teams? Even Grambling has had its down years and hasn’t been the usual power recently. As far as your analogy with Fisk, I don’t know anyone who has clamored to attend or who has ever attended Fisk. Even when Bama State and AA&M have been powers Tuskegee would beat them. I have to give Grambling their props but don’t think the power team in the SWAC is any better than the power team in the SIAC.
dp 5:00 pm on December 19, 2008 Permalink
E1,
In their best years, Skeet (that’s what I like) might be able to go 500 in the SWAC. The SWAC has been down somewhat of late, but any SWAC team would romp through the SIAC.
The analogy? Those who have high grades and test scores and wish to major in medicine clamor to attend Fisk or Xavier, in engineering Skeet, Howard, or Hampton, etc. Those who have high athletic ability clamor to attend the biggest DI school where they can make the team/get a scholarship. Of course, other factors come into play (geography, tradition, finances, relationships, etc.), but when those factors are set aside, folk want to go where their interest is near the top of the school’s focus.
cuervo 6:14 pm on December 24, 2008 Permalink
The SWAC is most overrated conference that is why they don’t get a bid to the I AA playoffs. SCSU is hands down the best black team in the nation. They play a tough game against App state who beat Michigan and won the national championship last year. Come on these stupid polls are for the WACK conference. I mean the SWAC. MEAC is a more superior conference period in all sports.
Tony 12:37 am on December 25, 2008 Permalink
It is obvious that some of these people that are blogging are not only biased towards their schools, but, they are also ignorant to many historical facts. The officiating crews was not only grossly negligent, but, were also incompetent. The destroyed Tuskegee’s opportunity to make history by going undefeated in consecutive seasons. This game was a rivalry that dates back over 70 years. It doesn’t matter what the records were. If ASU only wins one game in a season, they want that one win to be against Tuskegee. This is the history and tradition behind this game. So records are out the window when these two teams play. I want all of the so called football fans to do some research via the internet or other resources about Tuskegee’s football program / record for the past 10 years. You will find that Tuskegee accomplishment on the football field surpasses all other programs in the country including some of the top 5 Division 1 programs such as Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, and Penn State. Check out the data for yourself, then we can have a serious discussion about who is really number one in Black College Football.
bingy lingy 3:16 pm on December 31, 2008 Permalink
the SWAC has 4 teams in the top 10, and you call the conference overrated. watch your tongue youngen
Alrick Banks 10:47 am on January 9, 2009 Permalink
I would love to see the SWAC Champion play the MEAC champion in a bowl game. Yes just like the other bigger bowls. Attendance wouldn’t be a problem! Sponsors shouldn’t be a problem. These are two conferences that have D-I alliance. We need to get back to creating our own bowl games and creating our own wealth together. Then eventually add the D-II/Ind (like SIAC vs CIAA – old Pioneer Bowl). Maybe they could play on Friday and then the SWAC vs MEAC on Saturday in maybe Atlanta, Houston, Charlotte… D-I Black College National Champion and D-II Black College National Champion
JC 1:16 pm on January 9, 2009 Permalink
That would be ideal, but I doubt if the college presidents and conferences have the foresight to see the possibilities behind it.