DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - After a home-opening win over Edward Waters, the Wildcats will look to carry the momentum forward in the 2025 SWAC Opener against Alabama A&M, Saturday, September 27 at 3p.m. at Daytona Stadium.

Fans attending the game can view expectations, regulations, and best gameday practices at the official B-CU Gameday Central.  

Saturday Is Friends & Family Day at Daytona Stadium.

The game will be streamed live on SWACTV online . 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, September 27
Opponent:  Alabama A&M (3-1, 0-0 SWAC)
Time: 3 p.m. EST
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla. | Daytona Municipal Stadium
Watch: https://tv.swac.org/
Listen: 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 172 yards and three touchdowns Saturday afternoon as Bethune-Cookman Football captured a home-opening 35-9 win over Edward Waters at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida.
 
With Bethune-Cookman (1-3) up 14-6 at the half, the Wildcats scored 21 unanswered in the third quarter to open up a 35-6 advantage over the Division II Tigers from Jacksonville.
 
A three-play, 84-yard drive in the third quarter saw Khamani Robinson escape from the Edward Waters (3-1) defense and scampered 75 yards for his first touchdown of the season. The extra point from Juan Dominguez was good, and the Cats led 21-6 with 9:21 left in the third quarter.
 
Redshirt senior quarterback Cam'Ron Ransom then engineered a five-play, 92-yard drive to increase the Wildcats lead.
 
After four Scott runs, Ransom connected with Huggins on a short pass to the sideline at the Wildcats 28 yard line, allowing the speedy Maleek Huggins to race down the sideline 82 yards for the longest scoring play of the campaign for the Maroon and Gold.
 
Three plays later, Edward Waters quarterback and former Southern (La.) quarterback Noah Bodden was picked off at the Naim Lassiter at the EWU 40 yard line and returned to the end zone for the third score of the period. It is the second time in as many games the Wildcats have scored 21 or more points in a quarter, after posting 28 a week ago in the fourth away to South Carolina State.
 
With the Cats up 35-6, EWU added a 41-yard field goal from Ryan Gagne after the Tigers embarked upon a drive that spanned 67 yards on 17 plays and took just over nine minutes off the clock stemming from the end of the third quarter. That allowed the visitors to produce the final 35-9 score line.
 
The Wildcats opened the scoring in the first quarter following a punt of just 13 yards from Gagne. Bethune-Cookman then used just five yards to score the game's opening touchdown with Ransom linking up with Huggins for a 20-yard strike and score.
 
In the second quarter, B-CU made it 14-0 with a three-play, 45-yard drive finishing with Ransom connecting with Alihaja Scott Jr. for a nine-yard score through the air.
 
EWU scored its opening touchdown in the second when the Tigers used a long eight-play, 75-yard drive that took just two minutes off the clock as Bodden hit Makai Lovett for a 23-yard score. The extra point was missed to make it 14-6.
 
Edward Waters was led on the day by Bodden with an 18-for-38 passing performance for 167 yards and a touchdown. The defense was sparked by Jaylen Brown with 10 tackles, including two quarterback sacks.
 
The Cats offense was paced by Huggins with 177 yards receiving, while Ransom finished with 172 yards passing on 10 of 20 and three touchdowns. Robinson added a game-high 114 yards rushing and a score via the ground. The defense was headlined by Cornellious Bass with nine tackles and a sack. Lassiter had one pick as did teammates Matthew McKenzie and Johnny Harris III.



Fresh off a coaching change in the offseason, new head man Sam Shade - joining the Bulldogs out of the SIAC's Miles College - has engineered a hairpin turnaround for the Bulldogs in the early goings. The Bulldogs sit atop the SWAC East at 3-1 through nonconference play - their only loss a 52-7 game at Arkansas in the season opener. In three games since, the Bulldogs took down Alcorn State, Tennessee State, and Lane College. 

The Bulldogs rank in the SWAC's top four both offensively and defensively, averaging 30 points per game and allowing 27. The passing game has been the biggest strength for the Bulldogs under UT-Martin transfer quarterback Cornelious Brown IV. Brown ranks second in the SWAC in passing yards (719 and touchdowns (5). He ahs yet to throw an interception this year. 

The Bulldogs also boast one of the SWAC's best running backs in junior Maurice Edwards IV, who is averaging over 100 yards per game on the ground with four scores.

Defensively, AAMU leads the conference in sacks with nine on the year - three by junior linebacker Wyatt Wright. They also have three picks on the year as a team.




BIG FIFTY
Saturday's contest with Alabama A&M marks the fiftieth game for Bethune-Cook man football since joining the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2021. The Cats are 10-39 in their first 49 since joining from the MEAC.

HOME SWEET DAYTONA STADIUM
After last week's home-opening win at Edward Waters the Wildcats can get comfortable. Four of their next five games will be played in the friendly confines of Daytona Stadium. Between now and November 8, the Wildcats have only one game on the road - an October 4 contest at Alabama State

WEEK OF THE WILDCATS
For their efforts in last week's con test against Edward Waters, a trio of Wildcats were named SWAC Players of the Week. WR Maleek Huggins took home Offensive Player of the Week honors, with Punter Max Tulen named Specialist of the Week and RB Khamani Robinson named Newcomer of the Week. It is the first time in B-CU program history that three Wildcats received weekly honors since joining the SWAC.

PICK ME
After zero interceptions as a team through the first three weeks of the sea son, the Wildcats snagged four against Edward Waters on Saturday. This jolted the Cats to first in the SWAC in the stat, as well as 14th in the nation at the FCS level in total interceptions as a team. It marked the first four-interception game for the Wildcats as a team since B-CU grabbed four in a 41-27 win against Mississippi Valley State on October 6, 2018. It is B-CU's first four-pick game since joining the SWAC.

BIG HUG
Maleek Huggins enjoyed a career day against Edward Waters in the home opener, setting a career-high in receiving yards (177) and career-long reception (82). After zero muti-score games in 2024, he has two already this season in back-to-back games. Huggins has already surpassed his season touchdown total from a season ago (3).

ALL CAM
Saturday's home opener against EWU saw the Wildcats biggest commitment to a single quarterback thus far this season. Cam'Ron Ransom played all but three snaps in the game after previously coming in in relief or exiting in favor of Timmy McClain in all three games prior.

A WIN OVER ALABAMA A&M WOULD...
• Mark the second win of the season for the Wildcats.
• Be the 13th win for B-CU over Alabama A&M in 20 games.
• Mark the earliest B-CU has notched two wins in a season since they started the 2019 2-1.
• Make it three straight wins at home for the first time since the Wild cats closed out the 2018 season with a win over North Carolina Central before opening the 2019 season with wins over Morgan State and Norfolk State.
• Mark B-CU's eleventh win since joining the SWAC in 2021. • Notch win number seven in the career of Head Coach Raymond Woodie.




Saturday marks the 21st meeting all-time between Bethune-Cookman and Alabama A&M. B-CU leads the all-time series, 12-7-1, having won seven of the last ten games at home in the series. The Bulldogs took the most recent entry in the series, 56-12, a season ago in Huntsville.


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