HBCU Football Top-25 Power Ranking | Week 0
Since December 27, 1982, when players laced up their shoes and took the field in the first black college football game between Biddle College and Livingstone College (Johnson C. Smith), HBCU football has been deep in tradition, pageantry, pride, and history. On any given Saturday morning at an HBCU, students, alums, administrators, and fans would prepare for the day's ritual of the bands, dancing teams, exciting plays, cheers, camaraderie, and fun.
Last season, most believed the Jackson State Tigers were the dominant team in all HBCU football. That was the case until they ran into Trei Oliver's North Carolina Eagles in the 2022 Celebration Bowl. It was Deion Sanders' final game as the JSU head coach and mouthpiece of HBCU football. The loss indicated to all Division I black college programs that they also will have a chance to win the 2023 Celebration Bowl Trophy in Atlanta on December 16, 2023.
Before crowning a new leader in HBCU football, who are the Week 0 powerhouse programs on the landscape of HBCU football in America?
The 2023 HBCU LEGENDS TOP 25 Football Week 0 Power Rankings are as follows:
- North Carolina Central
- Florida A&M
- Benedict
- Jackson State
- Southern
- North Carolina A&T
- Prairie View A&M
- Texas Southern
- Alcorn State
- South Carolina State
- Alabama State
- Grambling State
- Howard
- Alabama A&M
- Virginia Union
- Fort Valley State
- Hampton
- Bowie State
- Morgan State
- Fayetteville State
- Norfolk State
- Tuskegee
- Albany State
- Delaware State
- Langston (OK)
Of course, after the Labor Day weekend, this entire board will change after we get a first look at teams in action.
The 2023 MEAC/SWAC Challenge between South Carolina State and Jackson State will be the Week 0 featured game on Saturday, August 26. ABC will televise the 7:30 PM ET kickoff as rookie head coach T.C. Taylor and the Tigers hope to exact revenge for the 2021 Celebration Bowl loss to Buddy Pough and the Bulldogs. It will be a contentious game with plenty of storylines, especially for Jackson State.
All of the pressure falls on last season's SWAC Champions. Taylor must make his mark early with a W before taking on Florida A&M in the 2023 Orange Blossom Classic in Week 1. For the Bulldogs, it will be another chance to showcase a well-coached and unappreciated football program guided by a legendary Buddy Pough.
Who will win? We shall see.