How fitting that representation from the CIAA East in the conference championship game will come down to Virginia Union and Bowie State – two teams picked to finish fifth and seventh respectively in the preseason conference predictions.
Virginia Union has done it with defense all-season long; they are tops in the conference at keeping opponents out of the end zone, and run the air out of the ball at a clip of 196 yards and 1.6 touchdowns per game. The BSU Bulldogs have been a carbon copy of the Panthers’ formula of success – they are ranked behind Virginia Union in both categories, and pulled off the biggest upset of the year by handing Shaw University it’s first loss on the season in the Prince George’s Classic.
Of the four black college conferences winding down to their conference winners/championships, the CIAA may be the most compelling. Fayetteville State, the West representative, was picked to win the whole show and has made good on the expectation. The Broncos will match up well with either Cinderella showoff in Bowie State or Virginia Union, and it’s likely to be a low scoring game with the winner decided by who turns it over first and turns it into a big gain running play.
