By: A.D. Drew, Black College Sports Network
We have completed week one for the FCS HBCUs but only week zero for the NCAA Division II HBCUs, and the HBCU NAIA are yet to play. Despite the early season crazyness of the schedule in 2024, some teams have performed as expected, some teams have shown their dominance, some teams have been overmatched, while others have surprised us.
In the Major Division, Florida A&M, the defending Black National Champions captured their second come-from-behind victory of the young season this past Saturday. North Carolina Central jumped out to an early lead against Alabama State, and held on for victory. Morgan State pounded and grounded the ball and narrowly defeated Hampton. Tennessee State dominated the SWAC’s Mississippi Valley State. Texas Southern surprised everyone by snapping a nine-game losing streak in the Labor Day Classic in Chris Dishman’s coaching debut. Delaware State shocked the world by defeating Sacred Heart. Delaware state has not committed a turnover in two games this season.
MAJOR DIVISION POLL
| RANK | SCHOOL | W/L | Points | FPV | Previous Week Rank |
| 1 | Florida A&M | 2-0 | 96 | 7 | 1 |
| 2 | North Carolina Central | 1-0 | 82 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Morgan State | 1-0 | 73 | 6 | |
| 4 | Tennessee State | 1-0 | 67 | 9 | |
| 5 | Texas Southern | 1-0 | 60 | NR | |
| 6 | Delaware State | 1-1 | 38 | NR | |
| 7 | Jackson State | 0-1 | 35 | 6 | |
| 8 | Alabama State | 0-1 | 25 | 3 | |
| 9 | Howard | 0-1 | 22 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | South Carolina State | 0-1 | 10 | RV |
Receiving Votes: Grambling State (0-1), 7 pts, LW-NR; Alabama A&M (0-1), 7 pts, LW-NR
Dropped Out: Alabama State, Prairie View A&M
After giving up the first touchdown of the season, Virginia Union proceeded to score 69 unanswered points. Virginia State conveniently handled Benedict of the SIAC. Clark-Atlanta won a shootout with Fort Valley State. Coach Maurice Flowers owns the Red Tails Classic as he won another appearance in the classic, this time with Johnson C. Smith. Edward Waters used five Morehouse interceptions to gather a victory in their first game. Winston-Salem won their season opener for the first time since 2018. Shaw won a close game against fellow CIAA foe Elizabeth City State.
MID-MAJOR DIVISION POLL
| RANK | SCHOOL | W/L | Points | FPV | Previous Week Rank |
| 1 | Virginia Union | 1-0 | 99 | 9 | 1 |
| 2 | Virginia State | 1-0 | 91 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Clark-Atlanta | 1-0 | 73 | NR | |
| 4 | Johnson C. Smith | 1-0 | 58 | RV | |
| 5 | Edward Waters | 1-0 | 56 | 9 | |
| 6 | Winston-Salem State | 1-0 | 54 | NR | |
| 7 | Fayetteville State | 0-0 | 34 | 4 | |
| 8 | Shaw | 1-0 | 31 | NR | |
| T-9 | Fort Valley State | 0-1 | 12 | 3 | |
| T-9 | Miles | 0-1 | 12 | 7 |
Receiving Votes: Benedict (0-1), 6 pts, LW-8; Bowie State (0-1), 5 pts, LW-10; Tuskegee (0-1), 5 pts, LW-6
Dropped Out: Albany State, Benedict, Bowie State, Tuskegee
ABOUT THE POLL
The poll is made up of the members of the HBCU-Pro Sports Media Association. The voters make up a cross-section of media members who cover all four HBCU conferences and the independent institutions. The members who make up the sample of voters reside in eight different states.
ABOUT HBCU-PSMA
Established in 2021, the HBCU-Pro Sports Media Association is an organization of professionals providing multimedia coverage of Historically Black College and University sports, as well as professional sports.
The purpose of the association is to transform and empower the culture of media by providing informative broadcast stories, rich contextual reporting and inspirational photography of the marginalized by educating, inspiring, and informing a global community.
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