INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play begins this weekend for Bethune-Cookman Football as the Wildcats take on Howard in the 35th annual Circle City Classic at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The game kicks off at 3 p.m., and will be televised live on ESPN3.
 
Howard vs. Bethune-Cookman
Sept. 22, 2018 | 3 p.m. (EST)
Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Ind.
WELE Radio | WSOS Radio | WSIR Radio
 
Twitter: @BCUGridIron | @BCUathletics
Facebook: /BCUathletics 
Instagram: /BCUGridIron
YouTube: /BCUathletics 
 
Bethune-Cookman 1-2 (0-0 MEAC)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule & Results | Stats | Game Notes
 
Howard 0-2 (0-0 MEAC)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule & Results | Stats | Game Notes
 
Game Day Hashtags
#HOWvsBCU | #BeatHoward | #OneDestruction | #PreyTogether
 
Purchase Season Tickets
The first home game of the 2018 season is just over a week away, and season tickets are on sale now at the BCU Box Office and all Ticket Master Locations. You can also purchase tickets online at TicketMaster.com.
 
Story Lines
• Redshirt junior quarterback Akevious Williams picked up his second Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Week award this week, following a stellar performance at Florida Atlantic last weekend in Boca Raton.
• Bethune-Cookman has picked off a total of four passes so far on the year, and that allows them to sit tied for 13th nationally in that department with an average of 1.33 passes intercepted per game.
• Senior offensive lineman Dwayne Brown was officially named to the Black College Player of the Year Watch List for 2018. The Indianapolis, Indiana native was also selected to the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Preseason First Team.
• Defensive Lineman Kevin Thompson was extended a fifth year and will see action as a redshirt senior after missing all but a half a game last year with an upper extremity injury.
• Bethune-Cookman welcomes new offensive line coach Prince Pearson to his first-ever time along an MEAC sideline after the veteran offensive line coach has walked the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) sidelines for a number of years.
 
Series Notes
• Bethune-Cookman leads the all-time series against Howard by a count of 19-14-2.
• Howard owns a commanding 4-1 lead in the series in neutral site contests.
• Bethune-Cookman lost to Howard in the 1998 Circle City Classic by a count of 31-27
• Last season's loss to Howard snapped a string of six consecutive sins for the Wildcats over the Bison.
 
The Broadcasts
The game will be carried live on the CatEye Radio Network across all three stations in the form of WELE 1380 The CAT, WSIR 1490 and WSOS 99.5 & 1170 with Nolan Alexander (play-by-play) operating alongside Larry Wesley (color). The game will also be streamed live on ESPN3 and later tape-delayed on ESPNU.
 
The Coach
Head Coach Terry Sims is now in his fourth year at the helm of the Bethune-Cookman Football program. The Knoxville alum holds a record of 21-14 overall with the Maroon and Gold, and holds just an 0-1 record as a collegiate head coach against Howard – that coming as a setback in Washington, D.C. just a season ago.
 
The Weather
Projected temperatures on game day: Daytona Beach – 88/76 (20% chance of rain). Indianapolis, Ind. – 74/60.
 
#HighFive —
1. Bethune-Cookman Head Coach Terry Sims is looking for his first career win over Howard, a school where he spent four years prior to arriving at BCU.
2. BCU is meeting Howard for the second time in the Circle City Classic.
3. BCU has just a 1-4 record all-time against Howard in neutral venues, despite holding a 19-14-2 edge in the series.
4. The Wildcats will play four of their first five games of the year on the road.
5. With Head Coach Terry Sims being a native of Jesup, Georgia, BCU has three (3) players from Jesup on this year's roster.
 
A Win Over Howard Would —
• Give Head Coach Terry Sims his 22nd win overall.
• Be the 495th win all-time in school history.
• Give BCU it's 20th all-time win over Howard.
• Allow Terry Sims to improve to 4-0 all-time in neutral site venues.
 
Notes From The Last Meeting —
• Redshirt senior running back Michael D. Jones eclipsed the 100 yard mark on the ground for the first time in 2017.
• Redshirt senior quarterback Larry Brihm, Jr. connected on a passing touchdown for the third time in four games on the road during the 2017 season, hooking up with Frank Brown in the second quarter.
• Junior kicker Uriel Hernandez registered a season-long 42-yard field goal, giving him a made FG in three out of five attempts on the campaign.
• Junior punter Javuanie Francis handled all punts and kickoffs for the Wildcats in the second consecutive game.
 
#OneDestruction —
• The hashtag and theme for Bethune-Cookman Athletics across the 2018-19 athletic term is #OneDestruction.
• A destruction, in essence, is a group of wild cats together. With Bethune-Cookman being the Wildcats, it seemed only natural that BCU become ONE DESTRUCTION to prey on the opposition.
 
ESPN+ And The Wildcats —
• It was announced earlier this week that Bethune-Cookman and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has partnered together to produce four (4) home games at Daytona Stadium for the Wildcats.
• Bethune-Cookman is one of several schools around the league that are introducing ESPN+ as a platform to watch their contests.
• For a complete list of games around the MEAC, visit MEACsports.com.
 
A Road To Remember —
• For the eighth consecutive season, Bethune-Cookman opened the year on the road, so to speak. Two times (2011, '12), the Cats opened up in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Walt Disney World in nearby Orlando.
• This is the third time during the span that BCU stepped out of the state of Florida for a season opener. BCU played at Tennessee State (2013) and North Texas (2016) in the stretch.
• Technically, BCU opened up the 2016 campaign in Denton, Texas while the "original" season opener was canceled due to weather as part of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge that was held at Municipal Stadium and presented by ESPN.
 
30 Sacks, 30 Turnovers —
• The goal at the start of the season is for the Wildcats defense to make 30 sacks and force 30 turnovers. That would be a significant production hike from the two previous years of the current coaching regime that resulted in 26/14 in 2017, 13/17 in 2016 and 18/19 in 2015.
• North Carolina A&T came the closest to achieving 30 turnovers attained as a team in 2017, as the Aggies forced 29 altogether en route to an MEAC championship.
• North Carolina A&T led the MEAC with 38 sacks, while North Carolina Central picked up 31, respectfully.
 
Follow Bethune-Cookman Football on Twitter (@BCUGridIron) for all of the latest news and updates, as well as the official BCU Football Instagram (@BCUGridIron). For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BCUathletics), Instagram (@BCUathletics), Snapchat (@BCUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/BCUathletics).
 

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video