DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - It's Homecoming at The Beach as Bethune-Cookman Football looks to make it back-to-back wins for the second time this season and five straight wins at home as they host Arkansas - Pine Bluff on Saturday, October 25 at 3 p.m. at Daytona Stadium.

Fans can purchase tickets at BCUAthletics.com/Tickets. Fans attending the game can view expectations, regulations, and best gameday practices at the official B-CU Gameday Central. 

The game will be streamed live on SWACTV, which is available online or via the Roku/Smart TV app. Fans can listen to B-CU's coverage of the game live for free at YouTube.com/CatEyeNetwork,  BCUAthletics.com/Radio, or on local radio waves at 1380 WELE in Daytona Beach.

In anticipation of heavy traffic and parking needs for Saturday's homecoming game, B-CU Athletics is happy to offer free parking and a free shuttle from the Daytona International Speedway to and from Daytona Stadium.

Shuttles will begin running at 10am on game day and continue running to and from the stadium until 90 minutes after the game. Auxilliary game day parking at Father Lopez High School will also be available for $40. 

For additional details, see the flyer below. Parking directions can be accessed at BCUAthletics.com/HOCOParking
 



Saturday, October 11
Opponent:  Arkansas - Pine Bluff (3-4, 1-2 SWAC)
Time: 3 p.m. EST
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. | Daytona Municipal Stadium
Watch: https://tv.swac.org/
Listen: 1380 WELE / Youtube.com/CatEyeNetwork / BCUAthletics.com/Radio
Live Stats: https://bcuathletics.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com/search?q=bethune-cookman



Cam'Ron Ransom passed for 254 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for one score as Bethune-Cookman defeated Southern University 45-14 at Daytona Stadium in a SWAC football game in Daytona Beach, Florida.
 
Southern opened the scoring with a 71-yard strike from quarterback Cam'Ron McCoy to Darren Morris on the Jaguars opening play from scrimmage, putting the visitors up 7-0 following the extra point from Zimmer.
 
Bethune-Cookman responded on its next drive as the Wildcats marched 83 yards on 13 yards as Cam'Ron Ransom went 6-for-7 passing on the drive. The redshirt senior capped the drive with a 13-yard rush up the middle, calling his own number for the score. The extra point from Juan Dominguez was good to the game at 7-7 with 2:24 remaining in the first quarter.
 
It took the Cats just three plays into the second quarter to go ahead for good in the game as running back Rashon Brown, playing in his first collegiate game, scampered around the left side for 12 yards and the score to put the Cats up 14-7.
 
After forcing a Southern punt, B-CU marched down the field again, taking the ball all the way from its own 20 yard line in for the score on a Ransom pass to Rickie Shaw II, connecting with the receiver at the five yard line as he raced in for the score at the pile-on. That extended the Cats lead, 21-7.
 
The Maroon and Gold nearly saw its lead grow to 28-7 on a Malek Huggins breakaway punt touchdown for 73 yards, but an illegal block in the back flag negated the play.
 
However, the Bethune-Cookman offense continued rolling in the second half, scoring on the Wildcats first series. On third-and-three from the Southern 22, Ransom found Huggins for a 20-yard gain to put the Cats at the two. Ali Scott Jr. used a push from his offensive line to cross the goal line and make it 28-7.

With five minutes remaining in the third, Southern went for a 4^th-and-six at their own 29, but a misty rain led to a Jaguars fumble that gave B-CU the ball at Southern's 16. The Wildcats grabbed one first down, but Southern's defense held the Cats to a field goal as Dominguez was true from 32 yards out to make it 31-7.

The domination continued as Bethune-Cookman capped off the third quarter on a brilliant throw and catch from Ransom to Lorenzo Jenkins – a 33-yard strike to make it 38-7.

Southern finally found the endzone again after the start of the fourth as they turned to backup quarterback Ashton Strother. He would connect with Kobe Brown for a 14-yard score to make it a 38-14 game.

With the lead in tow, Timmy McClain took over at the quarterback spot for the Wildcats, who continued to move the ball against the Southern defense. Juan Rodriguez scored the sixth B-CU touchdown of the game, and the first of his collegiate career – on a 19-yard run to produce the final 45-14 score line.
 
The Jaguars were led by Trey Holly with 71 yards rushing on 14 carries. Strother finished with a touchdown passing off the bench with a 9-for-13 touch through the air for 101 yards. Defensively, Elijah West finished with a game-high 12 tackles (eight solo) and a pass deflection.
 
For Bethune-Cookman, it was Brown ending with 65 yards and a touchdown on the ground through nine carries. Scott also added 49 yards and a score on the ground and a touchdown. Huggins had eight receptions for 92 yards, as Shaw and Jenkins had a touchdown receiving each.
 
On defense, the Maroon and Gold were paced by Stephen Sparrow with six tackles (three solo). Jaylen Lewis had four tackles (three assisted).
 



Under second-year head coach Alonzo Hampton, Arkansas - Pine Bluff sits at 3-4 on the season, with a 1-2 start in SWAC play. Two of three wins for the Golden Lions have come against non-Division I programs, including a 79-10 homecoming win over Westgate Christian, a school that belongs to neither the NCAA or NAIA, but rather the New South Athletic Conference - an independent collegiate conference featuring primarily christian schools. Their lone DI win came against Alcorn State, 24-20, in the 36th Annual Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis, Tenn.

The Golden Lions enter play Saturday off a 20-16 loss to Grambling State at home a week ago, with the Tigers taking a late lead on an 11-play, 65-yard touchdown drive with under two minutes to play. 

UAPB sits sixth in offense and seventh in defense in the SWAC rankings at 26.3 points scored per game to 31 allowed. Eliminate UAPB's wins against Lincoln (CA) and Westgate Christian, and the Golden Lions average 13 points scored per game, allowing 39. 

The Golden Lions rank near the middle of the SWAC in both rushing and passing offense, rushing for 161 yards per game while passing for 211 with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. Graduate quarterback Christian Peters has completed 53 percent of his passes with eight picks; Junior running back Jaylen Jennings averages 70 yards per game with seven touchdowns on the year. 

UAPB fields the worst rushing defense in the conference, allowing over 210 yards per game on the ground with 13 scores. They have been more formidable against the pass, sitting fourth in the league allowing under 200 yards in the air per game with a SWAC-high nine picks as a team. No Golden Lion has more than one interception on the year. Junior linebacker Danarius Hilliard leads UAPB with 41 tackles, three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and two pass breakups. 



DEFEND OUR TURF
With three straight wins at Daytona Stadium to start the 2025 season, the Wildcats have a chance to finish the year undefeated at home for the first time since the team finished a perfect 4-0 in 2017. B-CU has not gone undefeated at home in a five-game home season since 2015. A win Saturday would mark a five-game home winning streak for the program - the longest since B-CU won seven straight at home between the 2016 and 2017 seasons. 

HOME SWEET DAYTONA STADIUM
Saturday's game against UAPB marks the second of three straight home games for the Wildcats, who will not return to the road again until Nov. 8. It is the fourth home game in a stretch that sees B-CU play five of six games at Daytona Stadium. 

SOMEONE'S STARTING FAST
In three straight weeks, a B-CU football game has featured a touchdown from the first play of scrimmage. In the September 27th win over Alabama A&M, Cam Ransom found Javon Ross for 79-yard score. The very next week, in the October 4 loss at Alabama State, Ransom hit Maleek Huggins with an 85-yard bomb to open the scoring. Most recently, it was Southern who struck first with a first-play 71-yard touchdown pass on its first play. 

OFFENSIVE ADVANCEMENT
Under new playcaller Donte Pimpleton, the Wildcats have made tremendous strides offensively in the national FCS rankings over prior seasons. Their rankings are as follow: 

Total Offense
2023: 117
2024: 112
2025: 22

Rushing Offense
2023: 82
2024: 107
2025: 28

Passing Offense 
2023: 116
2024: 85
2025: 27

Passing Efficiency
2023: 117
2024: 74
2025: 29

3rd Down
2023: 106
2024: 109
2025: 28 

DBU?
Cornerback Gabe White is the latest in a recent line of B-CU DBs to see tremendous success in the Maroon and Gold. He leads the SWAC in interceptions (2), and Pass Breakups (6).

NEW CHALLENGER
Saturday's meeting with UAPB is B-CU's first against the Golden Lions as conference-mates (the two teams last met in 2005). Prior to Saturday, Arkansas - Pine Bluff was the only SWAC team that B-CU had yet to face in a conference game.

A WIN OVER UAPB WOULD...
• Mark the fourth win of the season for the Wildcats, setting a program-high since joining the SWAC and under the tenure of Coach Woodie.
•  Be the third win all-time for B-CU over UAPB. B-CU has never lost to UAPB in two previous meetings. 
•  Guarantee the Wildcats sit at worst third in the SWAC East, with the potential to jump all the way up to a tie for first pending results from Jackson State and Alabama State.
• Be the fifth straight home win for B-CU - the longest streak since the 2017-18 seasons.
•  Mark B-CU's thirteenth win since joining the SWAC in 2021. 
• Set a program-high in SWAC wins in a season (3)
• Notch win number nine in the career of Head Coach Raymond Woodie.



Saturday marks the third meeting all-time between B-CU and UAPB. The Wildcats are 2-0 in the all-time series, having won in back-to-back seasons in 2004-2005. The two teams have never met as conference-mates.


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