GRAMBLING, La.. - Bethune-Cookman football looks to continue its hottest-ever stretch since joining the Southwestern Athletic Conference as the Wildcats seek their fourth win in a row in an afternoon contest with Grambling State on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium. 

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.



Saturday, November 8
Opponent:  Grambling State (6-3, 3-2 SWAC)
Time: 3 p.m. EST
Location: Grambling, La. | Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium
Watch: https://tv.swac.org/
Listen: 1380 WELE / Youtube.com/CatEyeNetwork / BCUAthletics.com/Radio
Live Stats: https://gsutigers.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Tickets: https://am.ticketmaster.com/grambling/football



The Wildcats took the opening kickoff of the contest to the house as Javon Ross ran it back 85 yards to open the scoring on the afternoon.
 
The Ross show continued on the very next drive, as another big return, this time from Maleek Huggins set the Wildcats up at the MVSU 40. Four plays later, Cam'Ron Ransom found Ross for a 24-yard score to make It 14-0 through under four full minutes of play.

After a three-and-out on its first drive, the Mississippi Valley State offense found its footing in their second drive fo the day, marching down the field

B-CU continued to move the ball as Ransom found Josh Evans for a spectacular one-handed catch for 38 yards to set the cats up in the redzone. B-CU marched down to the one, facing fourth-and-goal and prompting a timeout.

Out of the break, the Cats handed the ball off to Ali Scott Jr. for the score to make it 21-7.

Mississippi Valley State continued its success moving the ball, taking advantage of a B-CU penalty to convert on third down and push into B-CU territory. The Delta Devils made it 21-14 on a QB rush up the middle for a two-yard score.

The Wildcats immediately responded. Starting on their own 23, a Maleek Huggins rush for 19 yards and a Delta Devils holding penalty put the Cats in enemy territory. Lorenzo Jenkins caught a ball over the middle for 21 yards before Ransom rushed for 12 to get B-CU within the five. After a dropped pass on the one, Ransom ran it in himself to make it 28-14.

MVSU made it 28-17 on a 48-yard field goal by Marko Jovisic with just over three minutes to play in the first half.

The Delta Devils, receiving out of the half got down within the B-CU five on a 28-yard desperation heavy from Josh Brown to Mekhi Norris. The B-CU defense stood firm, holding MVSU to a field goal to make it 28-20. 
 
The Delta Devils threatened another deep drive, but the Wildcats made a critical fourth-down stop with under five to play I the third to take over at their 32-yard line. B-CU proceeded to take the ball 68 yards down the field for the score to make it a 35-20 game on a 19-yard Khamani Robinson run up the middle.

The Delta Devils refused to go away, driving all the way down from their 25 yard line on 11 plays to pull within a score again on a DePhabian Fant 12-yard touchdown that made it a 35-27 game.

After a stalled B-CU drive resulting in a punt gave MVSU the ball with a chance to tie things up, B-CU quickly put an end to the Delta Devil threat as Antwone Watts picked off Josh Brown for a pick-six to make it a 42-27 game.

The extra cushion did not last long as some more Josh Brown heroics found Cameron Nelson for a 35-yard touchdown strike to inch MVSU back in at 42-34 with still over six minutes to play.

Each team traded punts until B-CU finally brought up a fourth-and-19 with 33 seconds to play. The B-CU defense held strong, forcing a turnover on downs and allowing the Cats to kneel out the clock for the win
 



Grambling State has been something of a surprise in the SWAC West after being picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll. The Tigers sit just a game back in the loss column from West-leading Prairie View A&M at 3-2 in conference play with a 6-3 record overall on the year. 

Unfortunately for the Tigers, one of their three losses on the season came at the hands of Prairie View, 28-13 in the State Fair Classic. Grambling State also dropped contests to Texas Southern and National Title favorite Ohio State. 

Grambling enters play Saturday riding a three-game winning streak, including a 26-24 upset win over defending Celebration Bowl Champions, Jackson State at the Proctor&Gamble Las Vegas HBCU Classic back on October 25.

The Tigers do not jump out of the box score statistically, ranking near the middle of the SWAC in offense (8th) and defense (6th).

The Tigers average 24 points per game while rushing for 148 yards per game and passing for168. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they will be without the services of sophomore quarterback C'Zavian Teasett, who left the Jackson State early with injury.

Grambling will now likely turn to the services of one of two freshmsn - Hayden Beniot or A'Myne Darensbourg. Each appeared in last weekend's contest with Alabama A&M, with Benoit leading in snaps - completing 9 of 13 passes for 91 yards and a pick.

The Tigers allow an average of 26 points per game on an average of 146 rushing yards and 194 passing yards.

Grambling State ranks third in the SWAC in picks with nine as a team, led by sophomore defensive back Markel Linzer with four. Defensive end Warren Robinson ranks second in the SWAC with six sacks on the season. 



THE PATH
The possibility of a SWAC Championship game hosted at Daytona Stadium is within the realm of possibility for the first time in program history. Should B-CU win out and Jackson State, Alabama State, and Prairie View each drop a game, the path to the Celebration Bowl would run through Daytona Beach. B-CU meets Jackson State in Jackson on November 15.

PROTECTED OUR HOUSE
After Saturday's win over Mississippi Valley State the Wildcats finished the 2025 home season undefeated 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. Saturday's win marked a six-game home winning streak for the program - the longest since B-CU won seven straight at home between the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

STACKING WINS
With five wins in tow and three games to play, Bethune-Cookman could climb as high as eight wins on the year should the Cats win out against Grambling State, Jackson State, and Florida A&M. That would be the most wins in a season for B-CU since the Cats finished 9-2 in 2015 on the way to a share of its fourth-straight MEAC title.

LOCKDOWN DBs
The Wildcats had two defensive backs named Aeneas Williams Award semifinalists this week. Johnny Harris had previously been named to the Preseason Watch List, with Gabe White joining him as a semifinalist. White is tied for second in the SWAC in picks and passes defended, with Harris trail ing at third in the latter stat. Not to be left out, safety Antwone Watts was named BOXTOROW HBCU National Player of the week for his efforts in the win over MVSU.

TEAM DUB
For their performance against Mississippi Valley State, the Wildcats were named HBCU FCS National Team of the Week, According to Stats Perform.

WEEKLY WINNERS
Two Wildcats earned SWAC Weekly Honors for their efforts against Mississippi Valley State. Javon Ross was named Specialist of the Week for his 85-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff of Saturday's game, while Antwone Watts was named Defensive Player of the Week for his game-sealing pick-six and a team-high 11 tackles.

TRY TO KEEP UP
The Wildcats' offense has topped the 30-point mark in seven straight games following the first two games of the season at FIU and Miami. The team had scored 30 or more points in a game only 12 times over four seasons combined since joining the SWAC in 2021.

POUND THE ROCK
The B-CU run game features five players averaging above four yards per carry on 20+ attempts (Khamani Robinson, Rashon Brown, Marqui Johnson, Ali Scott Jrl, Cam Ransom). B-CU fielded only one rusher to top the four yards-per carry mark last season.

KILLER KHAMANI
Khamani Robinson has been incredibly efficient with the ball, ranking 11th in the country at 6.4 yards per carry on the ground.



Saturday marks the 19th meeting all-time between B-CU and Grambling State. The Tigers hold a 12-6 advantage historically, with the Cats winning the most recent meeting, 24-21 at Daytona Stadium a season ago. 


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