The Unbiased Hurt
- Fred Galloway
- Nov 21, 2020
- 3 min read
The Alcornite in me is pissed at my next statement but I must call a spade when I see one. I'm kind of excited and supporting North Carolina A&T as they make their run at the FCS playoff with the automatic bid and National Championship hopes this Spring.
Yes, I know, I know, how dare I right? Well, let us put the bias aside and talk football with facts. Since the inaugural HBCU National Championship AKA the Celebration Bowl played by winners of the SWAC and the MEAC, NCAT has been nothing but a force in HBCU football (Deion should be scheduling them but that is another blog).
2015, the Aggies would go 10-2 beating D-1AA Colonial Athletic Conference program Elon as well as beating my Alcorn State Braves in the HBCU National Championship. 2016, 9-3, with a win over FBS Kent State. The Aggies would lose their final conference game to North Carolina Central University who would lose their National title game against 11-1, Grambling St. but would accept a bid to represent the conference in the FCS National Playoff but would suffer a first round exit at the hands of Richmond University. 2017, NCAT set history as the first HBCU to go UNDEFEATED; a perfect 12-0! With wins against D-1AA programs Charlotte and Gardner-Webb and capped off with yet another HBCU National title against the defending HBCU National Champion Grambling St. Tigers who came into the game 11-1. 2018, 10-2 with a resounding win knocking off Nationally ranked FCS power Jacksonville St, FBS opponent East Carolina and again beating Gardner-Webb with the bonus of finishing the season with ANOTHER HBCU natty against my Braves. 2019, the Aggies found themselves 9-3, beating Elon and Charleston Southern and an HBCU Natty against - well you know the rest. (FAMU would actually win the conference but had to forfeit the title and post season play due to NCAA sanctions).
Okay, so now that you have the numbers and notable wins to prove this isn't your ordinary HBCU, the topic of the chance to actually being a competitor for a Nation Championship for this upcoming spring season.
It's no secret that the MEAC is withering away as teams prepare to depart to new conferences (FAMU, Bethune-Cookman & NCAT) but the conference will still hold some competition with teams like South Carolina St. who actually beat an FCS playoff team in Wofford and rival North Carolina Central University. Which makes for a perfect scenario where the Aggies can go undefeated, win the conference and accept the automatic bid into the playoff. With the playoff being cut from 24 to 16 teams (11 auto-bids and 5 at large teams), and a lot of team opting out to not play in the spring, this posses a real opportunity to test the Aggie's and where they stand as a national power beyond the HBCU ranks. Besides if we look at the 2018 playoff, its no way NCAT doesn't make a solid run at the championship. In 2018 teams were making the playoff with 6 wins! Incarnate Word, Elon and UNI all accepted bids with 6-5 records and 6 teams with 7-4 records and even the 8-3 Jacksonville St. team the Aggies beat earlier in the season. Leading to the Celebration Bowl, the Aggies were 9-2.
Do I expect the Aggies to win or make it to the FCS National Championship? No. Do I expect them to be a semifinal team? It's Plausible. But they are the 4x HBCU National Champions beating my Alcorn State Braves 3x and and a damn good Grambling State Tiger team that was on it's Eddie Rob (do your research on Eddie Robinson). I mean I can make cases for all 3 teams to be in the playoff but Alcorn can't get over this FCS hump for some strange reason and Grambling can't consistently find QBs at the rate of my Braves or remotely close to Devante Kinkaid level.
NCAT has a lot to hang their hats on and can go into the playoff knowing they can shake things up. This also gives the Aggies a solid look as to where they stand in the FCS ranks. Keep a close eye on NCAT and how they do as they plan on make noise in the Big South Conference in the Fall of 2021. A conference that has 2 teams that make solid runs in the playoff such as the conference champion Monmouth University Hawks (11-3) and the runner up Kennesaw St Owls (11-3) and also 3 teams the Aggies have beaten in Hampton, Charleston Southern and Gardner-Webb.
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