HBCU Football Week 2 Recap: Every Score, Money Game Takeaways and BC+ Results

HOUSTON — Week 2 produced an overtime classic, two shutouts, eight guarantee games that mostly went the way we expected, and a Saturday in which nine HBCU programs fell to 0-3.

South Carolina State is the only unbeaten Division I team that played while Jackson State and Benedict rested on a bye.

Houston handled Southern

HBUC Legends attended the game as Houston demolished Southern from start to finish. The Southern offense lacked strategy and creativity while facing the country’s 20th-ranked team.

The Cougars' defense defanged the Jaguars offense. Southern produced its first offensive first down deep into the second quarter. Coach Marshall Faulk’s team picked up four first downs — two by penalties.

Pregame field workouts for Southern and Houston. @hbculegends @GeauxJags @UHCougarFB pic.twitter.com/KIloSXcuBf
— Kyle T. Mosley (@KyleTMosley) September 12, 2026

Southern’s offensive line failed to open lanes for the running backs who finished the contest with -6 rushing yards in four quarters.

Backup quarterback Wyatt McCauley gave the Jaguar faithful something to cheer about on one play. In the third quarter, he threw a well-placed bomb to Wydell Clark Jr. along the sideline in front of the Houston Cougars. The touchdown play went for 79 yards.

Sept. 12, 2026; Southern University Jaguars head football coach Marshall Faulk looking at his team in pregame warmups before facing the University of Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas. | Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends on SI

Houston blocked the extra-point kick by Chris McKenna. Those six points were the only time Southern threatened the Cougars.

The Jaguars were outcoached at every level. Faulk and his staff had no answers for the riddles that the bigger, stronger, and faster Cougars posed.

"In today's landscape…we don't have the budget to compete against them. We just don't," Faulk said in his postgame interview.

Houston’s Coach Fritz said in his postgame interview that “everybody on the team, except five guys, got to into the game at least one time.”

Both Fritz and Faulk agreed to shorten the final quarter to eight minutes.

Measuring the Lopsided Losses to FBS programs

Houston, Baylor, TCU, UTEP, Miami, Virginia, Indiana, and Troy soundly defeated HBCU football teams in the Money Games. Only Alabama State provided the closest contest, losing by 17 points to Troy. In Week 2, the eight HBCU programs lost by an average score of 50.875 points.

Two losses were by 70+ points, three defeats were in the 50s, and two were by 41. Only Alabama State managed to disrupt the 23.5-point spread set by Las Vegas sportsbooks, losing by a 17-point margin.

So far all Bears 🐻 #SicEm pic.twitter.com/8Gk0QfIj7N
— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) September 13, 2026

Measuring the losses goes beyond the football field. Despite the financial windfalls HBCUs receive from guaranteed-money games, the ridicule plastered on social media persists.

As the margin of losses grows, schedule makers don't account for the psychological impact on the locker room, fans, and alums. Better yet, how about the pending recruits? An FBS program can leverage the losses as proof that an HBCU does not measure well and may not be a better choice for a player’s career.

UTEP puts in QB Raymond Moore III and he rips off a 79-yard rushing TD to put the Miners up 51-10 in the 4th quarter.#UTEP | #PicksUp pic.twitter.com/B97uPwxXwS
— Sam Guzman (@SamGuzmanTV) September 13, 2026

Nonetheless, it’s doubtful that money games will be abolished, even for PWI FCS programs. One case study is Wagner’s 87-3 loss to James Madison in Week 2. Even Notre Dame pounded Rice, 52-0 in FBS action.

How will the HBCUs respond in the years to come, since most contracts have already been signed to play these games? We shall see.

Three Results That Mattered

South Carolina State 66, Virginia State 0: This was the weekend’s cleanest argument, and it was not close. The Black College Football Poll ranked Virginia State second in Division II as both teams entered Orangeburg unbeaten.

In the end, Chennis Berry and the Bulldogs blanked the Trojans, scored 66, and recorded their second shutout in three games after opening the season 87-0 over Savannah State. South Carolina State is 3-0 and has now outscored three opponents 184-13.

Alcorn State 53, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 51 (OT): The 37th Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis may have been the best game of the weekend in HBCU football.

The Braves and Golden Lions needed overtime, producing 104 points of offense in the highest-scoring HBCU game of the season.

Alcorn State moves to 2-1 overall, but is tied with Prairie View in the SWAC West at 1-0. Arkansas-Pine Bluff falls to 1-2 and 0-1. Our BC+ model had the Braves winning by 12.9. Coach Cedric Thomas’ squad got the win by a margin of two in a close contest.

Albany State 49, Savannah State 17: The Golden Rams avoided a third straight loss; otherwise, the BC+ rating would have been wrong again about this team. Albany State won the game by 32 points, moving to 1-2 with a 1-0 conference record.

Chicago Football Classic had 28,318 viewers streaming the game, per @UrbanEdgeTv. @hbculegends pic.twitter.com/Hl72D55e58
— Kyle T. Mosley (@KyleTMosley) September 13, 2026

The Full Week 2 Scoreboard

Thursday and Friday

Miami (FL) 77, Florida A&M 7 · Thu. · Hard Rock Stadium
Virginia 59, Norfolk State 3 · Fri. · Scott Stadium

Saturday · FBS guarantee games

Houston 77, Southern 6
TCU 63, Grambling State 7
Indiana 55, Howard 0
UTEP 51, Texas Southern 10
Baylor 44, Prairie View A&M 3
Troy 34, Alabama State 17 · Closest of the eight

That winning feeling! 😈🏆

Coach Buckley soaking in the moment after a big one in Chicago! 🔥#TheDelta | #BringTheHeat | #ValleyInMotion pic.twitter.com/m4tA2zUqYD
— Mississippi Valley State Athletics (@MVSUDevilSports) September 13, 2026

Saturday · Division I

South Carolina State 66, Virginia State 0 · Second shutout of the season
Morgan State 55, Virginia-Lynchburg 0
Bethune-Cookman 43, Stetson 18 · First meeting · BCU’s first win
Alcorn State 53, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 51 · OT · 37th Southern Heritage Classic
Mississippi Valley State 31, Lincoln (PA) 20 · Chicago Football Classic
Alabama A&M 30, Tennessee State 3
North Carolina Central 30, North Carolina A&T 22 · 98th Eagle-Aggie Classic
Bryant 31, Hampton 3
Delaware State 21, Bowie State 6

FINAL FROM THE AGGIE–EAGLE CLASSIC. 🦅🔥

NCCU TAKES DOWN NC A&T, 30-22.

EAGLE PRIDE. 🦅🔴⚫️#NCCU #EaglePride #AggieEagleClassic #HBCUFootball pic.twitter.com/8X3f6Uiz8Q
— NCCU Athletics (@NCCUAthletics) September 12, 2026

Saturday · Division II

Albany State 49, Savannah State 17 · Golden Rams’ first win
Central State 49, Morehouse 21
Livingstone 44, Bluefield State 30
Valdosta State 38, Fayetteville State 9
Edward Waters 36, Miles 20 · Prince Hall Americanism Classic
Virginia Union 34, Chowan 19
Shaw 34, Ferrum 28 · OT
Johnson C. Smith 31, Winston-Salem State 6
Kentucky State 30, Clark Atlanta 3
Allen 43, Lane 7

Saturday · NAIA and elsewhere

Houston Christian 88, Arkansas Baptist 0
Texas Wesleyan 56, Texas College 20
Langston 19, Lincoln (MO) 14 · Ended BC+’s lock streak.

Idle: Jackson State (2-0) and Benedict (2-0) were on bye.

What Else Changed

Nine programs are 0-3. North Carolina A&T, Tennessee State, Morehouse, Winston-Salem State, Miles, Lane, Bluefield State, Ferrum and Virginia-Lynchburg all left the weekend winless. A&T’s is the most respectable — the Aggies lost by eight in the Eagle-Aggie Classic after being beaten by 49 in Week 1.

Fayetteville State was humbled. The Broncos came in 2-0 and lost 38-9 to a 3-0 Valdosta State team that plays at a different weight class. Two wins by a combined six points in the first two weeks now read differently.

Bethune-Cookman finally has a win. A 43-18 result over Stetson in the first meeting between the schools, at Daytona Stadium. The Wildcats are 1-1 after opening with a 73-6 loss at UCF that neither major scoreboard carried.

Shaw and Ferrum also went to overtime. The weekend’s second overtime game went to Shaw 34-28, moving the Bears to 2-1 while Ferrum dropped to 0-3. It was also a BC+ miss — the model had Ferrum by 15.8.

The BC+ Report Card

The model went 15-4 on nineteen projectable games, for 41-10 for the season — 80.4 percent. Mean absolute error was 19.0 points, the worst of the three weeks so far, and the signed error was +2.9, meaning the projections were very slightly too generous to the favorites on balance.

Tennessee State at Alabama A&M — BC+: Alabama A&M by 0.6 · actual 27 · Toss-up · HIT
Central State at Morehouse — BC+: Morehouse by 3.7 · actual −28 · Toss-up · MISS
Edward Waters at Miles — BC+: Edward Waters by 5.9 · actual 16 · Lean · HIT
Valdosta State at Fayetteville State — BC+: Fayetteville State by 5.9 · actual −29 · Toss-up · MISS
Livingstone at Bluefield State — BC+: Livingstone by 6.4 · actual 14 · Lean · HIT
Bryant at Hampton — BC+: Bryant by 12.1 · actual 28 · Lean · HIT
Albany State at Savannah State — BC+: Albany State by 12.2 · actual 32 · Strong · HIT
Ark.-Pine Bluff vs. Alcorn State — BC+: Alcorn State by 12.9 · actual 2 · Strong · HIT
Virginia Union at Chowan — BC+: Virginia Union by 13.1 · actual 15 · Lean · HIT
Allen at Lane — BC+: Allen by 15.4 · actual 36 · Strong · HIT
Kentucky State at Clark Atlanta — BC+: Kentucky State by 15.7 · actual 27 · Strong · HIT
Ferrum at Shaw — BC+: Ferrum by 15.8 · actual −6 · Strong · MISS
N.C. A&T at North Carolina Central — BC+: N.C. Central by 18.4 · actual 8 · Strong · HIT
Johnson C. Smith at Winston-Salem State — BC+: Johnson C. Smith by 18.8 · actual 25 · Strong · HIT
Miss. Valley State vs. Lincoln (PA) — BC+: Miss. Valley State by 33.0 · actual 11 · Lock · HIT
Langston at Lincoln (MO) — BC+: Lincoln (MO) by 36.1 · actual −5 · Lock · MISS
Virginia State at S.C. State — BC+: S.C. State by 38.7 · actual 66 · Lock · HIT
Virginia-Lynchburg at Morgan State — BC+: Morgan State by 49.1 · actual 55 · Lock · HIT
Bowie State at Delaware State — BC+: Delaware State by 50.6 · actual 15 · Lock · HIT

The Lock that lost

For the first time this season, a Lock went down, and it went down badly. BC+ had Lincoln (MO) beating Langston by 36.1 points at a 96 percent confidence. Langston won 19-14. The 41.1-point error is the largest the model has produced all year, and it landed exactly where the model has been warned before: two programs with thin data, where the rating carries more assumption than evidence. Langston had been beaten 70-14 by Louisiana Christian a week earlier, and the model took that at face value.

The tiers came in out of order.

The model's confidence labels have been its most reliable feature thus far this season. This week, the Leans went 4-0, better than the Strongs at 6-1 and better than the Locks at 4-1, while missing on the Toss-ups at 1-2.

Over three weeks, the season figures still land close week after week. Here’s a look at the results:

Lock — Week 2 4-1 · season 15-1 · hits at 94% against an implied 96%
Strong — Week 2 6-1 · season 13-2 · hits at 87% against an implied 83%
Lean — Week 2 4-0 · season 10-3 · hits at 77% against an implied 68%
Toss-up — Week 2 1-2 · season 3-4 · hits at 43% against an implied 57%

Where the model went wrong

Beyond Langston, the two worst calls from the BC+ model were both Toss-ups that turned into blowouts — especially for my Maroon Tigers. Central State beat Morehouse 49-21 when the BC+ had Morehouse winning by 3.7. Valdosta State also defeated Fayetteville State 38-9 when the BC+ had the Broncos posting a 5.9 victory.

Delaware State also won by 15 after being projected by 50.6, a Lock that hit the pick and missed the number by 35 points.

Disclaimer: BC+ (Black College Plus) is a predictive rating system built for HBCU football, fit to 2025 results with the current season weighted triple. Ratings are points per game below a Top-5 FCS team. Season record: 41-10. Not a betting product.

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