HBCU Football Week 5: What 'Upset Saturday' Taught Us

HOUSTON -- Welcome to Week 5 of the HBCU Sunday Morning Quarterback, brought to you by HBCU Plus. This week’s slate of games kicked off with plenty of promise for South Carolina State, Prairie View A&M, Delaware State, and Alabama State. By the end of the day, these top-ranked squads were trying to figure out how their defenses collapsed in the final minutes, giving way to the first UPSET SATURDAY of the 2026 season.

Here’s what we have learned in Week 5:

THE STUNNER OF THE DAY

Last season, Prairie View A&M crushed Mississippi Valley State 59-6 in Terrell Buckley’s rookie season. No one thought Saturday’s contest wouldn’t be any different for Tremaine Jackson’s team. The Panthers were a double-digit favorite, but left Itta Bena a one-point loser to a team with only one win.

Delta Devils quarterback Josh Brown engineered the week's biggest upset in HBCU football. They rallied from a first-half 24-point deficit to defeat the “presumptive” 2026 SWAC West champion, 28-27.

Offensively, Brown earned MVP honors and became the Prairie View’s kryptonite, which would be fitting since the team wears green.

Y’all came to the Valley… and left with an L. 🤷🏾‍♂️😈

FINAL:
Mississippi Valley State 28
Prairie View A&M 27#TheValley #MVSUFootball #BringTheHeat pic.twitter.com/3fa9cYjjDr
— Mississippi Valley State Athletics (@MVSUDevilSports) October 3, 2026

The Kingsland, Georgia native finished the game completing 13-of-25 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown, and accounted for all three of the Delta Devils’ rushing touchdowns, finishing with 101 rushing yards on 17 carries.

Defensively, Javieane Stevens was the Terminator! He capped his day sacking Panthers quarterback Trevin Carter on a 4th down and forever. Stevens was relentless, ending up with 7 total tackles, .5 sacks (a whole sack is missing from the box score), and 4 QB hurries. He complemented Chirst Kore, who had 9 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Prairie View A&M started the game by scoring 24 points in the first half, but posted only 3 points in the second half. No one on defense spied on and contained Josh Brown during that period.

If this is how the Panthers plan to play football in the second half of the season, repeating as the division champions will be more troublesome than believing they are one of the FCS's best programs. I am certain that Coach Jackson will not tolerate another defensive breakdown going forward. Still, there’s plenty of concern about the Panthers' offensive consistency and their porous secondary.

The game-winner: Brown's 35-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Brown was beautiful to watch. Placekicker Luka Sari's PAT with 2:11 remaining gave Mississippi Valley State its only lead of the game. That’s all they needed. It was like a prize fighter winning the entire bout, only to get knocked out in the final seconds of the last round.

Prairie View A&M (2-4, 2-1 SWAC) will welcome the Southern Jaguars on Oct. 10, then host the high-flying Alcorn State on Oct. 17.

MVSU heads to H-Town to visit Texas Southern on Oct. 10.

Cameron Edge, Morgan State QB | Morgan State Athletics

Bears the Best Untold Story

One of the season’s best untold stories is Morgan State. The Bears are 3-1. We had Coach Wilson on HBCU Legends Podcast during their Week 4 bye; he was impressive, and so is his team.

Saturday’s upset of Villanova has Damon Wilson’s Bears ready to clash with their MEAC rivals. One element missing from the program is consistent quarterback play. Bringing in Cameron Edge may have solved the riddle.

Against Villanova, Edge threw for the third-most passing yards in the school’s history. He completed 31 of 40 passes for 444 yards and three touchdowns, while adding two rushing touchdowns.

During the Bears’ final drive, Edge provided the game-winning score with 36 seconds remaining in a 38-35 win at Villanova.

"It's a big win, man," Morgan State head coach Damon Wilson said. "It's a Top 25 team. It's a team that was in the semifinals a year ago. It's a historic program that has national championships under its belt. So it's big for us."

Morgan State must handle Robert Morris in Week 6, then travel to meet Tennessee State in Week 7’s action. Conference play for the Bears begins against Howard on Oct. 24, but they'll face tough competition in the home stretch of the season.

KEY SWAC PLAYERS OF WEEK 5

Ashton Frye, QB, Grambling State — Frye led the Tigers' homecoming comeback in a 63–59 shootout with Alcorn State, completing 11 of 17 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 61 yards and scored twice.

Jacobe Robinson added 167 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-17 passing.

𝐇𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐝😴@Tyyyy3x caught 3️⃣ TD passes and had 96 receiving yards in Saturday’s homecoming win over Alcorn State👏👏👏#GramFam | #ThisIsTheG🐯 pic.twitter.com/32oshY4tse
— Grambling State Football 🐯 (@GSUFootball01) October 4, 2026

The defense made the play that swung it. With Alcorn State trying to run out the clock, Jon Horton pressured Jaylon Tolbert and forced a fumble at the Alcorn 36-yard line, giving the G-Men the ball back with a chance to win.

Jaylon Tolbert, QB, Alcorn State — Alcorn State quarterback Jaylon Tolbert threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns on 18-of-29 passing, but his late fumble proved costly in the 63–59 loss.

Tolbert spread the big plays between two receivers. Damien Jones caught four passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns, and Jamarr Ebron had three catches for 121 yards and two scores.

Alcorn State running back Fredrick Robertson had another solid game, adding 105 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.

Jackson State Stand Alone, But Are the Tigers No. 1?

You cannot escape the fact that Coach T.C. Taylor has his team believing - and they are winning. The Tigers did a Whodini trick, leaving Alabama A&M wondering how Jackson State pulled off the victory at the Gulf Coast Challenge.

A veteran head coach like Taylor knows that his team had 60 minutes to win. Coach Shade’s young crew isn't familiar with that, and they failed to pull off their upset bid.

It was another close win for the Tigers, a situation that worries, but gives way to understanding that they could be the best team in the SWAC this season…and their 5-0 record proves it.

Can they defeat South Carolina State at this juncture? Possibly, but the edge still leans toward the Bulldogs in Orangeburg rather than the Tigers from Jackson.

MVP: Jared Lockhart, QB, Jackson State — Lockhart threw two touchdown passes as Jackson State scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to beat Alabama A&M 31-28 in the Gulf Coast Challenge and stay unbeaten at 5-0.

Other notable performances, Week 5

Arkansas-Pine Bluff ground game: a dominant 299-yard rushing performance in the 41-10 homecoming win at Southern; the Golden Lions scored 34 unanswered points after trailing 10-7.
Tevin Carter, RB, Prairie View A&M: 94 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Edward Waters offense posted 61: The Tigers knocked off Division II No. 1 Kentucky State, 61-42.
Howard defense: took down Hampton 27-13, the first time the Bison have beaten the Pirates in consecutive years since winning four straight from 2011-2014.
SC State lost after a 12-play, 80-yard drive ended with Josh Shaw's 6-yard touchdown run to tie it 31-31 before The Citadel's walk-off field goal.
Bethune-Cookman 16, Alabama State 10: Redshirt freshman running back Rashon Brown rushed 31 times for 260 rushing yards, upsetting the Hornets, who were again without Andrew Body.

Total offensive performances, Week 5

Grambling State 63, Alcorn State 59: The two teams combined for 1,165 total yards. Grambling had 599 (370 passing, 229 rushing), and Alcorn had 566.
Morehouse 30, Tuskegee 28: Morehouse had 525 total yards (392 passing, 133 rushing) and 32 first downs. Tuskegee had 371 yards and 15 first downs. Morehouse held the ball for 38:18 to Tuskegee's 21:42, went 9-of-15 on third down, and scored on four of five red-zone trips.
Morgan State 38, Villanova 35: Morgan State had 444 passing yards to Villanova's 266, but only 77 rushing yards to Villanova's 191. Total yards were 521 for Morgan and 457 for Villanova.
The Citadel 34, South Carolina State 31: The Citadel outgained SC State 448 to 346, with 244 rushing and 204 passing. SC State managed just 91 rushing yards. Coming in, SC State had averaged 478.4 total yards, 280.6 rushing yards, and an FCS-best 47.0 points per game.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 41, Southern 10: UAPB outgained and outplayed Southern 453-318, including 299-164 on the ground. The Golden Lions converted 6-of-10 third downs and scored 34 unanswered points after trailing 10-7.
Jackson State 31, Alabama A&M 28: Jackson State had 405 total yards (236 rushing, 169 passing), and Alabama A&M had 358 (95 rushing, 263 passing). JSU ran the ball 52 times for 236 yards, recovered one fumble, and had no turnovers.
Howard 27, Hampton 13: Howard had 387 yards to Hampton's 277. Howard's defense recorded six sacks, and Hampton gained only 59 yards in the second half before its final drive.
Mississippi Valley State 28, Prairie View A&M 27: MVSU had 306 total yards to PVAMU's 258, and outscored the Panthers 21-3 in the second half.

Top defensive performances, Week 5

Howard defense - Rodney Roane: Hampton had just 59 offensive yards in the second half before its final drive. Howard had three sacks in that half and six for the game, including a strip sack by Roane.
Bethune-Cookman - Tre Rigby: Rigby recovered the fumble that sealed the 16-10 SWAC-opening win over Alabama State. The defense also stopped Aaron Frye for no gain on fourth-and-1 at the B-CU 20 with 2:22 left, and Frye fumbled with 31 seconds remaining.
UAPB defense vs. Jags: The Golden Lions allowed 10 points in the first quarter, then shut Southern out for the final three quarters.
Jon Horton - Grambling State: With Alcorn State trying to run out the clock, Horton's pressure forced Tolbert to fumble at the Alcorn 36. That turnover kept the comeback alive.
Mississippi Valley State defense: The Delta Devils held off Prairie View's final drive and got the ball back on downs with just over a minute left. They allowed the Panthers only 258 total yards.
Omari Russell, Alabama State (loss): His interception of Tyler Jefferson at the ASU 33 stopped a B-CU drive.

Key Week 5 Takeaways

Rushing wins decided several games. JSU, The Citadel, and UAPB each topped 230 rushing yards, and B-CU had a 260-yard back.
Passing teams lost the yardage battle. Alabama A&M, SC State, and Morgan State all out-passed their opponents but trailed on the ground. Morgan was the only one of the three to win.
Ball control? Morehouse held the ball 16+ minutes longer than Tuskegee!
The Citadel shut down SC State's rushing attack. The nation's No. 2 rushing attack was held to less than a third of its season average with 91 yards against their usual 280.6 per game.

Miles Scott | Morehouse College Athletics

By the Numbers in the Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic

Tuskegee announced parting ways with head football coach Aaron James on Sunday. The numbers Morehouse notched show how the Maroon Tigers dominated, especially in time of possession, which was 16+ minutes more than the Golden Tigers.

Offense

Miles Scott, QB (Sr.): Scott went 30-of-42 for a career-high 392 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. That beat his previous best of 367 yards against Kentucky State last season. He was named the game's MVP, which the release says is his second straight Classic MVP. His 22-yard TD pass to Red with 9:09 left put Morehouse ahead for good.
Savion Red, RB (5th yr.): He scored three of Morehouse's four touchdowns. Red ran 10 times for 52 yards and two rushing TDs, and caught 4 passes for 49 yards and another score.
Noah Rhodes, WR (Jr.): 5 catches for a team-high 125 yards, with a 44-yard long.
Jeremiah Gibson, WR (5th yr.): a team-high 8 catches for 105 yards, giving Morehouse two 100-yard receivers.
Chase DeVaughn, RB (Sr.): 16 carries for a team-high 68 yards, plus 5 catches for 38 yards and a TD.

Defense

Sean Johnson, LB (Sr.): a team-high 7 tackles, including 3 tackles for loss and a sack.
Kai Fernandes, S (Jr.): 3 tackles, a pass breakup, and a 32-yard interception return.
Jordan Williams, DL (Jr.): 2 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a sack, plus a QB hurry.
As a unit: 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and an interception.

Team numbers

525 total yards and 32 first downs, compared with Tuskegee's 15.
38:18 time of possession.
9-of-15 on third down.
After taking the lead, Morehouse got the ball at its own 3-yard line with 7:18 left. It drove 59 yards and used 6:21 of clock before punting with only 57 seconds remaining.

Scott will be a strong candidate for SIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Coaching Matters

Don't expect Chennis Berry, Tremaine Jackson, and DeSean Jackson to be down next week.
Morehouse head coach Brad Sherrod didn't tell his players about his father-in-law's death until after the game.

Coach Sherrod told HBCU Legends before on Friday before facing Tuskegee: "I think we've had a number of guys that have shown up. I know Chase Devon has done a great job all year. He's been consistent on running the football and making something happen when he has, has the ball in his hands. We talked about Jeremiah Gibson. I think he's been consistent as a, as a blocker and a, and a receiver. Um, for us as well. So he's done it, done an incredible job. I think Sean Johnson, our linebacker, has done a great job all year."

He continued, "He's been one of our consistent leaders, one of our consistent performers, uh, on the, on the defensive side. And then we got a young man named Jordan Woods, I think, is starting to come on and develop as well as an outside linebacker. So we're excited about him. He's been consistent week in and week out. He had an interception against Lane. So he's starting to come into his own and understand what we're asking him to do. And then Josh Houston, we talked about, uh, he's starting to become a more consistent football player for us and someone we can rely on and put him in some situation to do some things for us. So we're excited about those guys."

2026 HBCU Football Scoreboard: Week 5 (Saturday, Oct. 3)

The Citadel (2-3) 34, South Carolina State (5-1) 31
Morgan State (4-1) 38, Villanova (2-4) 35
Robert Morris (3-2) 33, Norfolk State (3-3) 31
Howard (2-3) 27, Hampton (1-5) 13, Battle of the Real HU), Washington, D.C.
Albany (3-3) 28, Delaware State (3-3) 3
Campbell (5-1) 38, North Carolina Central (2-4) 31
Bryant (4-1, 2-0) 31, North Carolina A&T (1-5, 1-2) 30
Western Illinois (3-3, 1-0) 28, Tennessee State (1-4, 0-1) 21
Florida Memorial (3-2, 1-0) 31, Southeastern (3-1, 0-1) 16
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-2, 1-1) 41, Southern (2-3, 0-2) 10
Mississippi Valley State (2-4, 1-1) 28, Prairie View A&M (2-4, 2-1) 27
Grambling State (3-2, 1-1) 63, Alcorn State (3-3, 2-1) 59
Bethune-Cookman (3-2, 1-0) 16, Alabama State (3-2, 1-1) 10
Jackson State (5-0, 2-0) 31, Alabama A&M (4-2, 1-1) 28
Florida Atlantic (4-1) 66, Texas Southern (1-4) 10
Central State (3-3, 3-1) 45, Fort Valley State (1-4, 0-3) 32
Benedict (4-1, 2-1) 31, Clark Atlanta (1-5, 1-3) 3
Edward Waters (5-1, 4-0) 61, Kentucky State (4-2, 3-1) 42
Miles (3-3, 3-1) 9, Lane (0-6, 0-4) 6
Savannah State (1-4, 1-3) 38, Allen (2-3, 1-2) 36
Morehouse (2-4, 2-3) 30, Tuskegee (2-3, 2-1) 28, Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic, Montgomery, AL
Bowie State (2-3, 2-1) 34, Shaw (4-2, 2-2) 29
Johnson C. Smith (4-1, 3-0) 51, Bluefield State (0-6, 0-4) 0
Virginia State (5-1, 4-0) 42, Lincoln (PA) (1-4, 1-2) 32
Fayetteville State (3-3, 2-2) 28, Livingstone (2-4, 2-3) 20
Virginia Union (5-1, 4-0) 20, Elizabeth City State (0-5, 0-3) 7
West Liberty (5-1, 3-0) 41, West Virginia State (1-4, 0-3) 38
Southwest Baptist (3-3, 2-1) 52, Lincoln (MO) (2-3, 1-2) 17
Texas Wesleyan (3-2, 3-0) 34, Arkansas Baptist (2-4, 2-2) 27
Texas College (1-5) 38, Westgate Christian (1-5) 35
OUAZ (4-1, 4-0) 27, Langston (2-3, 1-3) 0

We are entering Week 6. Monday, the HBCU Legends and BC+ rankings will be posted. Stay tuned for a possibly eye-opening SWAC Coaches Call.

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