October arrived and suddenly, HBCU football looked like a different world

October arrived in HBCU football with all the subtlety of a drum major at midfield.

It did not tiptoe into the first Saturday of the month; it high-stepped through the door, rearranged the rankings, wrecked a few predictions, spoiled a homecoming and left one of Black college football’s most historic programs searching for a new head coach.

And somehow, that was only the football.

Of note:

• Mississippi Valley State delivered one of the biggest surprises of the weekend against defending SWAC champion Prairie View A&M.
• Jackson State needed a fourth-quarter comeback against Alabama A&M.
• Grambling State survived a wild finish with Alcorn State in its homecoming clash.
• Bethune-Cookman shook up the SWAC East in beating Alabama State.
• University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff crashed Southern’s homecoming.
• Morehouse beat Tuskegee, and the next day, the Golden Tigers made a coaching change.

September can introduce a football program. However, October is when the good and great teams and the contenders and pretenders separate.

The answers are already changing the HBCU football landscape. Morgan State is 4-1 and forcing its way into a MEAC conversation that South Carolina State has controlled in recent years. UAPB has emerged as a factor in the SWAC for now. The CIAA remains crowded, while the SIAC spent another Saturday reminding everyone that trying to predict that league can become a trying hobby.

For the past few seasons, several conference races have followed familiar paths. Jackson State, Florida A&M and Prairie View have claimed the past three SWAC championships. South Carolina State has won consecutive MEAC titles. Virginia Union and Johnson C. Smith have set the pace in the CIAA, while the SIAC has produced three different champions in three seasons.

The first weekend of October suggested that familiarity might not mean much in 2026.

Of course, HBCU Saturdays have never belonged exclusively to the gridiron.

Southern’s Human Jukebox pulled familiar selections from the book on The Bluff. Jackson State’s Sonic Boom of the South partied in Mobile like it was Mardi Gras season. Grambling State celebrated 100 years of the World Famed Tiger Marching Band. Hampton and Howard added another chapter to the Battle of the Real HU, while Morris Brown showed once again that homecoming culture can make the yard come alive without a football game.

This is October. The games get heavier. Conference races get tighter. Homecomings become reunions, fashion shows and family gatherings. If the first weekend of the month was any indication of things to come, figuring out who actually runs HBCU football in 2026 might take a while. And, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Grambling turns Alcorn State matchup into homecoming comeback for ages

There was no shortage of offense in Grambling State’s 63-59 homecoming win against Alcorn State, but the Tigers saved their biggest statement for the final 10 minutes. Grambling erased a 59-42 fourth-quarter deficit with 21 unanswered points, capped by Ashton Frye’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyson George with 19 seconds remaining. Alcorn quarterback Jaylon Tolbert passed for 411 yards and five touchdowns without an interception, but Grambling survived the back-and-forth after the two teams combined for 122 points and 1,165 yards of offense. GSU snapped a three-game skid against Alcorn, earning its first win against the Braves since 2022.

The Citadel crashes South Carolina State’s perfect start in Orangeburg

South Carolina State’s 13-game winning streak ended where the Bulldogs had not lost all season, as Evan Kiely’s 31-yard field goal as time expired lifted The Citadel to a 34-31 victory in Orangeburg. The Citadel controlled the ground game, outrushing S.C. State 244-91, and finished with 448 total yards as the Bulldogs suffered their first loss since a 31-24 setback at Charleston Southern on Sept. 27, 2025. S.C. State had won eight straight to close last season and its first five this fall before Saturday’s loss. It also marked S.C. State’s first defeat against The Citadel since a 31-8 loss on Sept. 29, 2001.

Jackson State bends vs. Alabama A&M, then shows why it is still unbeaten

Jackson State spent much of Saturday chasing Alabama A&M before flipping the Gulf Coast Challenge in one furious fourth-quarter response. Trailing 21-10 entering the final period and 28-17 with less than nine minutes remaining, the Tigers rallied behind Li’Darius Pryor’s 29-yard touchdown run and Jared Lockhart’s go-ahead 17-yard touchdown pass to Kobe Paul. JSU scored 21 fourth-quarter points and escaped with a 31-28 victory to improve to 5-0 and remain unbeaten in SWAC play. Alabama A&M gave the Tigers their toughest conference test yet, but JSU found another way to protect its place among HBCU football’s elite.

Mississippi Valley State climbs out of 24-point hole to stun Prairie View A&M

The first weekend of October football in the SWAC delivered an early shock as Mississippi Valley State erased a 24-point deficit to stun defending conference champion Prairie View A&M 28-27. MVSU held Prairie View to fewer than 260 yards of offense, while Delta Devils quarterback Joshua Brown accounted for all four MVSU touchdowns with 144 passing yards, 101 rushing yards, three rushing scores and one passing touchdown. The victory marked Valley’s first win against Prairie View since a 27-7 victory at Rice-Totten Stadium on Nov. 19, 2022. A year after Prairie View dismantled MVSU 59-6, the Delta Devils flipped the matchup and opened October with one of the SWAC’s biggest statements of the weekend.

Morgan State makes statement beyond MEAC with win at Villanova

Morgan State traveled to Villanova seeking another measuring stick and returned home with one of the strongest nonconference wins of the HBCU season. Cameron Edge threw for 444 yards and three touchdowns, added two rushing scores and delivered the decisive touchdown with 36 seconds remaining in a 38-35 victory. Villanova still had a chance to force overtime, but its 47-yard field-goal attempt missed as time expired. Morgan State is 4-1 for the first time since 2009 and has turned itself from an intriguing MEAC contender into a team demanding broader national attention.

Edward Waters takes control of SIAC spotlight vs. Kentucky State

Edward Waters and Kentucky State combined for 103 points in one of Week 5’s biggest Division II HBCU matchups, but the Tigers made the loudest statement in a 61-42 victory. Kentucky State entered the weekend with a legitimate case as the top Division II HBCU team, yet Edward Waters exploded for 40 second-half points to turn the highly anticipated SIAC clash into a 19-point win. The victory kept Edward Waters unbeaten in conference play and strengthened its place among the teams to beat in the SIAC. Edward Waters left little doubt about which program made the bigger Week 5 statement.

Bethune-Cookman runs through Alabama State and into SWAC conversation

Bethune-Cookman did not need an elaborate formula to shake up the SWAC race. The Wildcats leaned on Rashon Brown Jr., who rushed for 260 yards, and piled up 337 yards on the ground in a 16-10 victory against Alabama State. The win snapped Bethune-Cookman’s five-game losing streak against the Hornets and gave the Wildcats an immediate statement as they entered conference play. For an Alabama State team carrying championship expectations, the loss offered an early reminder of how unforgiving the SWAC can be.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff spoils Southern’s homecoming with statement victory

Southern’s homecoming started with a 10-7 first-quarter lead and ended with Arkansas-Pine Bluff taking control of A.W. Mumford Stadium. The Golden Lions scored the game’s final 34 points in a 41-10 rout, as quarterback Garrison Davis threw four touchdown passes and added 92 rushing yards. Southern entered the matchup without several key players, but UAPB still capitalized on the opportunity, averaging 8.2 yards per play and handing the Jaguars one of the SWAC weekend’s most lopsided losses. UAPB reached 3-2 overall and 1-1 in league play for the first time at this stage of a fall season since 2019.