• BOXTOROW HBCU Coaches Poll: FBS upset propels Tennessee State to No. 2

    BOXTOROW HBCU Coaches Poll: FBS upset propels Tennessee State to No. 2

    RALEIGH, N.C. – Historically Black College football teams performed well in the opening week of the college football season and pulled off many upsets, including North Carolina A&T’s convincing 45-3 victory at Gardner-Webb that pushed the Aggies atop the BOXTOROW Coaches Poll after week one.

    North Carolina A&T received 12 of 21 first-place votes and was followed by Tennessee State, which was one of two HBCU schools to defeat an FBS program as the Tigers knocked off Georgia State 17-10 Thursday and received six first-place votes. TSU looks to improve to 2-0 on Saturday when it faces Jackson State in the Southern Heritage Classic at Liberty Bowl Stadium.

    But the biggest upset of the week – and perhaps one of the biggest in college football history – was Howard’s 43-40 victory over UNLV. While the Bison didn’t receive any first-place votes, their No. 6 ranking is the highest they’ve ever placed in the BOXTOROW coaches poll.

    Defending HBCU national champion Grambling lost to Tulane and fell three spots from its preseason No. 1 ranking to No. 4. The BOXTOROW HBCU FCS coaches poll is administered by FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW. The coaches poll is voted on by the HBCU Football Championship Subdivision coaches.

    2017 BOXTOROW FCS HBCU Football Coaches Poll Week 1

    (Records through September 3, 2017)

    No. Team W/L Pts
    Preseason Ranking
    1. North Carolina A&T (12) 1-0 194
    3
    2. Tennessee State (6) 1-0 180
    5
    3. Southern 1-0 152
    4
    4. Grambling (3) 0-1 151
    1
    5. North Carolina Central 0-1 113
    2
    6. Howard 1-0 87
    NR
    7. Prairie View A&M 0-0 81
    6
    8. Alcorn State 1-0 80
    7
    9. Bethune-Cookman 0-1 38
    9
    10. South Carolina State 0-1 37
    8

    Others receiving votes: Florida A&M (1-1) 19, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-0) 5, Hampton (0-1) 4, Alabama A&M (0-1) 3, Delaware State (0-1) 1.

    Note: (1st-place votes in parentheses for Top-10 teams)

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    Michael Wallace
    Published on Sep 05, 2016

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