DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - It's Homecoming at The Beach as the Wildcats welcome in #23 Jackson State looking to build off their first win of the 2024 campaign this Saturday, October 26, at Daytona Stadium.

The game will be broadcast live on HBCU Go, featuring a College Gameday-style Kickoff Show airing at the B-CU tailgate before the game. Fans can catch the home radio call free on 1380 WELE Daytona Beach or at YouTube.com/CatEyeNetwork. Fans can also catch a brand-new episode of Hail Wildcats Radio premiering live one hour before kickoff. Local fans can also catch the Bethune-Cookman Pregame Prowl, a fully-produced pregame show airing live at 2:30 on WRDQ Channel 27 in Orlando.

Parking at Daytona Stadium is sold out. For those planning to attend the game, please consult the Know Before you Go Flyer below for information regarding B-CU's Homecoming Shuttle service.
 




Saturday, Oct. 26
Opponent: #23 Jackson State (5-2, 3-0 SWAC)
Time: 3:00 p.m. EST
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. | Daytona Municipal Stadium
Live Stats: https://bcuathletics.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Watch: https://hbcugo.tv/
Listen: https://wele1380thecat.com/
Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com/bethune-cookman-university-football-tickets/artist/821762



Luke Sprague saw his first action of the season at quarterback Saturday afternoon, entering the game in the second quarter and sparking Bethune-Cookman to a 20-10 comeback win on the road over Mississippi Valley State in a Southwestern Athletic Conference matchup at Rice-Totten Stadium.

Trailing 3-0 after the opening quarter of play, Bethune-Cookman looked towards redshirt senior quarterback Luke Sprague as he entered the game with 5:39 remaining in the first half for his first action of the 2024 campaign. Immediately, he kickstarted a drive that saw five consecutive Dennis Palmer rushing attempts before Sprague – a native of Springfield, Pennsylvania, capped the drive with a one-yard plunge up the middle for the go-ahead score. The extra point from Cade Hechter was good, and B-CU held a 7-3 lead.

After a quick three-and-out for Mississippi Valley State, the Wildcats struck for their second touchdown in the period when Sprague found Lorenzo Jenkins down the left sideline for 34 yards and the score.

B-CU led 14-3 at the half.

Once again, Sprague engineered a scoring drive – three consecutive for the Cats, on B-CU's first drive of the second half. He hit Jenkins on a 32-yard pass down to the Delta Devils 14 yard line, setting up a Hechter 26-yard field goal three plays later, putting the Cats up at that point, 17-3.

MVSU answered on its ensuing drive as quarterback Ty'Jarian Williams connected on 4-of-6 passing in a drive that spanned 75 yards and took more than seven minutes off the clock. The Delta Devils punched in the score on the ground courtesy a Williams three-yard keeper around the left side to bring the hosts back into it, 17-10.

Celebrating homecoming on the day, the second of three consecutive homecoming contests for B-CU on the road and at home, respectively, MVSU was knocking on the door of the Wildcats end zone once again at the start of the fourth quarter.

Williams and the Delta Devils had it first and goal at the B-CU two yard line, but the Wildcats defense stymied the drive with three stops inside, before an illegal substitution penalty pushed MVSU back to the six yard line. An incomplete pass forced the turnover and gave B-CU the ball with 12:32 remaining in the game.

Sprague and the Wildcats took advantage of the stop with a 16-play, 88-yard drive that ran 8:50 off the clock, as Hechter connected on his second field goal of the day – this time a 22-yard kick that gave the Wildcats a 20-10 lead with 3:42 remaining.

Mississippi Valley State was led in rushing by DePhabian Fant with 93 yards on three carries. Williams gained 25 yards and scored a touchdown from his quarterback position. He would finish 15-for-31 passing with an interception, adding 175 yards through the air. Nathan Rembert finished as the top receiver with 111 yards on seven receptions. Defensively, Erek Campbell led all performers with 12 tackles (nine solo), including 2.5 for loss and a forced fumble.

Bethune-Cookman leaned on Palmer as he contributed 126 yards on 27 carries, both career marks for the Wildcats running back. Sprague was 3-for-8 passing for 73 yards and a touchdown, taking over for starter Cam'Ron Ransom. Jenkins hauled in two passes for a career-best 66 yards and a score. The defense was highlighted by Kevin Washington Jr. and his career-high 10 tackles (six solo). Malik Stinnett had eight tackles (seven solo) and a fumble recovery.



Jackson State sits atop the SWAC East with a perfect 3-0 conference record. They are 5-2 overall on the year. The Tigers' only losses on the year came at the hands of 5-1 FBS opponent Louisiana - Monroe and Grambling State in what was designated as a non-conference game. The Tigers have won three straight since, taking down Texas Southern, Alabama A&M, and defending SWAC Champion Florida A&M.

Jackson State owns the SWAC's best offense, averaging 35.4 points per game on 31 touchdowns. Graduate running back Irv Mulligan has been the SWAC's best back, averaging 79. 4 yards per game on the ground with four touchdowns. Junior QB Jacobian Morgan leads the Tigers in the air with 176 yards passing per game and 10 passing touchdowns to four interceptions.

The Tigers also field the conference's second-best defense, allowing 23.7 points per game. They allow just over 100 yards per game on the ground, but have been a bit more susceptible in the passing game, sitting middle of the pack in the SWAC with just under 200 yards allowed per game. The Tigers lead the SWAC in sacks with 20 as a team - one ahead of B-CU.

Junior defensive lineman Joshua Nobles leads the Tigers and is second in the SWAC with seven sacks on 37 total tackles. Two Tigers have a pair of intereceptions on the season.




PROGRAM MILESTONES
Saturday's homecoming contest marks the 900th game in the history of Bethune-Cookman Football. The November 16 game at Texas Southern is the 450th game for the program at the Division I level.

NAME'S DENNIS. HE'S BEEN HIRED TO EXTERMINATE YOU.
True freshman Dennis Palmer starred at MVSU last weekend, totalling 126 yards on the ground, the highest single-game total by any Wildcat this year.
It is the most by any B-CU RB since Que'Shaun Byrd rushed for 163 yards vs. Grambling State on Sept. 24, 2022, and the most by a freshman RB at B-CU in over 20 years.

WIN THE HIDDEN YARDAGE
The B-CU punt team ranks top 50 in the country in net punting (35th) punt return defense (31st) and punt returns (12th). Anthony Frederique ranks 47th in the nation in punting at a 41.3 average. Frederique also broke out an 18-yard rush on a fake punt for a first down at MVSU.

HIT THE SACK
With 19 sacks on the year as a team, the Wildcats rank 16th in the country in sacks per game (2.71). They are second only to Jackson State with the SWAC lead in the category. Ejike Brown leads the team at five sacks on the year, good for 28th nationally and fourth in the SWAC.

HOMECOMING AT THE BEACH
Bethune-Cookman Football is 50-27-3 all-time in recorded homecoming games. The Wildcats have lost four consecutive homecomings. They had previously won nine straight.



Saturday marks the 11th meeting all-time between Jackson State and Bethune-Cookman. The Wildcats are 3-7 in the series, and 1-2 against the Tigers at home. In their most recent matchup, the Wildcats narrowly fell to the Tigers, 22-16, in Jackson.

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