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Cats Challenge Defending Celebration Bowl Champs Saturday

B-CU travels to the Vet to take on JSU

Football

Cats Challenge Defending Celebration Bowl Champs Saturday

B-CU travels to the Vet to take on JSU

JACKSON , Miss.- The Wildcats round out the road season Saturday with at trip to the defending Cricket Celebration Bowl Champion Jackson State Tigers at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The game will be streamed live on HBCUGo.TV

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.

Follow the Wildcats In-Story Header

Saturday, November 15
Opponent:  Jackson State (7-2, 5-1 SWAC)
Time: 1 p.m. EST
Location: Jackson, Mississippi | Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. 
Watch: https://hbcugo.tv/
Listen: 1380 WELE / Youtube.com/CatEyeNetwork / BCUAthletics.com/Radio
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=601216
Tickets: https://gojsutigers.myimpacttickets.com/events/100942?sid=eyJpdiI6IjIyOFZDdFBxQTBpQXhXZWFUbVk2eFE9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoiT2NPVFQ2TVBwKzM1Z25OMTYrdENoTnJTa25OQTFZaEU4ZVpVbkZJMUdDSFB0eDhmbnF6eWwwU01RMkkvSHAvRjZRNEdmQjBpVkRpS21FVUg4ZDdzdVE9PSIsIm1hYyI6IjA3NzNkMDZhMzYzYTQ0MDljZTZkYjc4ZjhlZDNhMTEzZWZmNDgwZDc1ZDk0YTBkYzk2YTM0NjI1YjMxZDQ5ODAiLCJ0YWciOiIifQ%3D%3D

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Hayden Benoit's four touchdown passes helped Grambling defeat Bethune-Cookman 31-23 at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium. The loss dropped the Wildcats to 4-2 in the SWAC and snaps a three-game winning streak.

 Bethune-Cookman turned the ball over on the first play from scrimmage as Grambling's Marcellius Johnson forced a sack fumble on quarterback Cam'Ron Ransom. The fumble put the Tigers in great field position at the BCU 14-yard line, but the Wildcats' defense held strong, forcing the Tigers to settle for a field goal.

After each team exchanged punts, the Wildcats had a 3rd & 1 from their own 42 yard line, but could not convert. B-CU then decided to leave the offense on the field on 4th & 1. Once again, the Tigers made the stop as B-CU fumbled on the fourth-down rush attempt. Grambling quickly took advantage of the good field-position, scoring a 38-yard touchdown off a pass from Hayden Benoit to Andrew Frazier.

On B-CU ensuing drive, Timmy McClain replaced Ransom at quarterback. After two three-and-outs by both side, the Wildcats were able to put together a drive deep into Grambling territory. Timmy McClain completed two passes to his tight-end Myles Morales to bring B-CU inside the 10-yard line going into the second quarter. The Tigers were able to keep the Cats out of the endzone, as Juan Dominguez booted a 30-yard field-goal to make it a 10-3 game.

Defensively, the Wildcats forced another three-and-out on the Tiger's next drive. Timmy McClain was then able to guide his team down the field, eventually scoring an 11-yard touchdown on a designed run. For the drive, McClain completed three of his four attempts for 44 yards along with the rushing score.

Grambling quickly responded with a touchdown drive of their own. The Tigers began the drive with a 21-yard run by Andre Crews. Three plays later, Hayden Benoit threw his second touchdown pass, a 59-yarder to Nae'Saan Dickerson to take the lead 7-10.

The Wildcats struck back immediately, as Timmy McClain threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Maleek Huggins to tie the game on the first play of the drive.

The offensive back-and-forth continued as Grambling once again found the end zone thanks to a five-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Williams II, giving the Tigers a 24-17 lead.

B-CU was able to cut into the lead before the half on a 39-yard Juan Dominguez field-goal.

The second half began with tempers flaring on both sides as nine players were given unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on the opening kickoff.

Both sides punted on their first drives of the half. On Grambing's second drive, the Tigers were able to get to inside the Wildcats' 35-yard line, but Johnny Harris III collected his second interception on the season to eliminate the scoring threat.

With the ball and momentum on their side, the Wildcats found themselves driving into GSU territory. But Timmy McClain suffered an injury on a five-yard rushing attempt, which drew a personal foul penalty on the Tigers. Cam'Ron Ransom returned as quarterback to replace him in the fourth quarter.

Three plays later, the Tigers' Quintin Talley forced another sack fumble, with Grambling able to recover at their own 33-yard line.

B-CU's defense forced a punt on the next drive, but the punter Johnny Schifano was able to pin the Wildcats back deep inside their own 5-yard line, where they struggled to operate.

After a B-CU punt gave them great field position, the Tigers were able to put the game away thanks to a strong rushing attack. The drive was capped off by a touchdown pass to Keith Jones Jr., Hayden Benoit's fourth touchdown pass of the game, to make it 31-20 with 4:23 to go.

Following a quick field-goal drive, B-CU failed to recover the onside kick, giving Grambling the 31-23 victory. 

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Jackson State has looked every bit the part of a defending champion heading into the home stretch of the 2025 season, entering play Saturday atop the SWAC east at 7-2 overall and 5-1. After a September 6 loss at Southern Mississippi, the lone blip for the Tigers came in a shocking 26-24 defeat at the hands of Grambling State on October 25 in the Las Vegas HBCU Classic.

The two games since for the Tigers have been back to the norm, with JSU demolishing Florida A&M and Mississippi Valley State, 41-16 and 42-3, respectively.

Jackson State is the only team in the SWAC to rank within the top two in both offense and defense averaging over 35 points per game to only 18.7 allowed to opponents per game. 

The Tigers own the SWAC's best rushing offense by a wide margin, averaging 268 yards per game on nearly six yards per carry for a total of 2414 yards as a team. Redshirt Sophomore Ahmad Miller ranks third in the SWAC with 804 rushing yards on almost seven yards per carry with four touchdowns. 

Jackson State ranks in the middle of the pack in the conference in passing yards at nearly 220 per game with 16 touchdowns to only four picks. Graduate quarterback JaCobian Morgan is responsible for the majority of that output, but it is unclear if he will start Saturday after dealing with injury in recent weeks. In six games this season, he has completed 61% of his passes for 1183 yards and 11 touchdowns to only two picks. 

Jackson State has the SWAC's best rushing defense, allowing just under 110 yards per game on the ground and only eight touchdowns. They have been a bit more susceptible in the pass game, allowing over 200 yards in the air and 11 touchdowns with five picks. 

Senior defensive lineman Quincy Ivory leads the SWAC in sacks with six on the year ant 12 total tackles for loss. He also has an interception, five hurries, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. 

Notes & Stats In-Story Header

TAKING STEPS
With two games remaining on the season, the Wildcats will look to escape the 2025 season with a winning record for the first time since the Cats finished the 2019 season 7-4 and 5-3 in conference play. B-CU has clinched at worst a .500 conference record, but would need to win out to secure a winning record overall.

RANKED WINS
The Wildcats challenge Jackson State this weekend with the Tigers currently sitting at the No. 22 spot nationally according to the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. The last time the Wildcats defeated a ranked FCS opponent was 2019, when B-CU defeated No. 13 Florida A&m, 21-27 at the Florida Blue Florida Classic.

PLAYING IT SAFE
Despite a QB rotation of both Cam Ransom and Timmy McClain, the B-CU passing attack quietly ranks 12th in all of the FCS in completion percentage at 68%. Only Alabama State (69%) has completed passes at a higher clip.

BIG HUG
With two games left to play, Maleek Huggins has already surpassed his own high-mark in receiving yards and touch downs from a year ago with 777 yards and seven scores on the year - more than any B-CU pass catcher since 2021, and the most by a Wide Receiver since Jawill Davis finished the 11-game 2015 season with 788 yards and six scores. Davis went on to sign with the New York Giants following the 2018 NFL draft.

TRY TO KEEP UP
Saturday's game at Grambling State broke a streak of seven straight games with B-CU scor ing 30+ points. The team had scored 30 or more points in a game only 12 times over four seasons combined since joining the SWAC in 2021.

LET IT FLY
With two games remaining on the year, the B-CU offense has compiled 2385 yards passing. That is the most by a B-CU offense since 2022, when the Wildcats finished the year with 2535 yards receiving as a team.

RECORD WITHIN REACH
With two games remaining on the season, kicker Juan Domin guez sits just four points shy of the all-time single-season B-CU record in points scored by a kicker in a season at 69, set by Jesus Cortez in 2005.


A WIN OVER JACKSON STATE WOULD...
• Mark the sixth win of the season for the Wildcats, setting a program-high since joining the SWAC and under the tenure of Coach Woodie.
• Be the fourth win all-time for B-CU over the Tigers in 12 meetings - the first win over JSU as conference-mates.
• Mark B-CU's fifteenth win since joining the SWAC in 2021.
• Set a program-high in SWAC wins in a season (5)
• Notch win number 12 in the career of Head Coach Raymond Woodie.
• Mark the first road win of the season for the Wildcats.

History In-Story Header

Saturday marks the 12th meeting all-time between JSU and B-CU, with Jackson State owning an 8-3 advantage in the series. The Wildcats have lost four straight against the Tigers, never winning consecutive games in the series.


Follow Bethune-Cookman Football on Twitter and Instagram (@BCUGridiron) for all of the latest news and updates. For all Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@BCUathletics), Instagram (@BCUathletics) and www.bcuathletics.com.
--#HailWildcats—
 
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Players Mentioned

Johnny Harris III

#8 Johnny Harris III

CB
6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
Maleek Huggins

#9 Maleek Huggins

WR
5' 11"
Junior
Cam

#1 Cam'Ron Ransom

QB
6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
Juan Dominguez

#34 Juan Dominguez

K
5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
Timmy McClain

#7 Timmy McClain

QB
6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
Myles Morales

#18 Myles Morales

TE
6' 4"
Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

Johnny Harris III

#8 Johnny Harris III

6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
CB
Maleek Huggins

#9 Maleek Huggins

5' 11"
Junior
WR
Cam

#1 Cam'Ron Ransom

6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
QB
Juan Dominguez

#34 Juan Dominguez

5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
K
Timmy McClain

#7 Timmy McClain

6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
QB
Myles Morales

#18 Myles Morales

6' 4"
Redshirt Senior
TE
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