Tuskegee Remains No. 1 in BTRC/BASN Poll

NEW HAVEN, Ct. — While there have several changes within the BoxToRow.com/BASN Top 10 HBCU Football poll over the entire season, one thing has remained the same — the team to beat is still the Golden Tigers of Tuskegee.

Willie Slater’s undefeated squad (5-0) maintained college football’s longest current winning streak at 21 with their 34-24 win over Alabama A&M this past Saturday in the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis.

The Golden Tigers still sit atop the BTRC/BASN poll with 115 overall points. They received nine of 12 first-place votes. Second ranked Hampton (4-1) received two and MEAC foe South Carolina State (4-2) got the other.

SCSU, ranked fifth last week, moved up from one spot following their 28-21 victory over Florida A&M at Tallahassee. DeShawn Baker and Will Ford combined for 285 rushing yards and three touchdowns as they defeated the Rattlers for the fourth straight time.

Tennessee State (5-1) moved from fourth to third, followed by the Bulldogs at number four, followed by Grambling State (4-2) who jumped from eighth to fifth following their 40-16 win over Prairie View A&M in Saturday’s State Fair Classic at the Cotton Bowl.

The Panthers (4-1), who suffered their first loss of the year, dropped from second to sixth in this week’s poll. The rest of the top 10 includes West Virginia State (5-0) who stayed in seventh and Florida A&M (3-2) dropped from sixth to eighth.

The Rattlers will look to bounce back on Thursday night as they host Winston-Salem State at Bragg Memorial Stadium at 7:30 p.m. The game will be seen nationally on ESPNU.

The Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman (4-1) make their debut in this week’s poll at number ninth and Albany State (4-1), who bounced back after their first loss, rounds out the poll at No. 10.

Other key games this weekend include Tuskegee battling SIAC for Morehouse in the 73rd Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic at Columbus, Georgia; South Carolina State hosting Norfolk State; Grambling State at Alabama A&M; Delaware State at Bethune-Cookman; and Albany State at Clark-Atlanta.

The Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic, scheduled for 2 p.m. ET, will be shown on a tape-delayed basis Saturday night on ESPNU at 10:30 p.m. ET.