By: A.D. Drew, Black College Sports Network
While the Major Division saw the top contenders take care of business, the Mid-Major Division saw a major upset, in addition to a top five battle in the CIAA. Clarity will begin to take shape in both divisions over the next two weeks. While the FCS teams try to maintain their road to Atlanta, the NCAA Division II teams will try to make their way into the regional rankings. Either way, the month of October will be fun and interesting. Will there be any surprises?
MAJOR DIVISION
In the Major Division, North Carolina Central remains in the top position after defeating Campbell of the CAA in a non-conference match-up. Florida A&M remains second after defeating Alabama State at ASU’s homecoming. Jackson State remains third after holding on to defeat Alabama A&M. With FAMU and JSU on a bye this week, this sets up a two versus three match-up next week, with the game being flexed up to ESPNU. Tennessee State returns to the top five after defeating Lindenwood. South Carolina State makes its debut in the top five, after defeating Tennessee Tech.
Grambling State was on a bye and fell to the sixth position. Hampton dropped to seventh after an overtime loss. Morgan State rose two positions to the eighth slot. Alcorn State enters the poll, for the first time, in the ninth position. Howard found their way back in the poll in the final position.
MAJOR DIVISION POLL
| RANK | SCHOOL | W/L | Points | FPV | Previous Week Rank |
| 1 | North Carolina Central | 4-2 (1-0) | 95 | 7 | 1 |
| 2 | Florida A&M | 3-2 (0-0) | 91 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Jackson State | 4-2 (2-0) | 82 | 3 | |
| 4 | Tennessee State | 4-2 (2-1) | 68 | 6 | |
| 5 | South Carolina State | 3-2 (0-0) | 56 | 7 | |
| 6 | Grambling State | 3-2 (0-1) | 51 | 5 | |
| 7 | Hampton | 3-3 (0-2) | 38 | 4 | |
| 8 | Morgan State | 3-3 (0-0) | 31 | 10 | |
| 9 | Alcorn State | 3-3 (2-0) | 24 | 1 | NR |
| 10 | Howard | 2-3 (0-0) | 6 | RV |
Receiving Votes: Alabama State (2-3, 1-1), 5 pts, LW-10; Southern (2-3, 1-0), 2 pts, LW-9
Dropped Out: Alabama State, Southern
MID-MAJOR DIVISION
Johnson C. Smith picked up every first place vote after defeating Virginia State. Virginia Union rose to second after defeating Winston-Salem State. West Virginia State continues to stay under the radar, but has risen to the third position. Clark-Atlanta was upset by Savannah State, and dropped to fourth.
Shaw maintains their position after easily defeating Bluefield State. Albany State is one of two undefeated teams in conference play in the SIAC. Tenth ranked Miles is the other team. Livingstone continues to take care of business against the teams that they are supposed to. Watch out for Fort Valley, who is hanging around, with one conference loss, waiting to rise to the top of the polls and conference standings.
MID-MAJOR DIVISION POLL
| RANK | SCHOOL | W/L | Points | FPV | Previous Week Rank |
| 1 | Johnson C. Smith | 6-0 (3-0) | 100 | 10 | 1 |
| 2 | Virginia Union | 3-2 (2-0) | 77 | 4 | |
| 3 | West Virginia State | 4-1 (3-0) | 67 | 5 | |
| 4 | Clark-Atlanta | 4-1-1 (3-1) | 61 | 2 | |
| 5 | Winston-Salem State | 4-2 (2-1) | 48 | 3 | |
| 6 | Shaw | 4-2 (2-1) | 46 | 6 | |
| 7 | Albany State | 3-2 (3-0) | 42 | 9 | |
| 8 | Livingstone | 4-2 (2-1) | 29 | 10 | |
| 9 | Fort Valley State | 3-2 (3-1) | 28 | 8 | |
| 10 | Miles | 3-2 (3-0) | 25 | RV |
Receiving Votes: Fayetteville State (3-2, 2-1), 17 pts, LW-NR; Savannah State (2-3, 2-2), 6 pts, LW-NR; Virginia State (2-3, 1-1), 7 pts, LW-7
Dropped Out: Virginia State
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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