If chalk holds the rest of the regular season, the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta could feature a pair of Top 10 FCS teams.
North Carolina Central, which leads the MEAC with a 3-0 league record and 8-1 overall mark, climbed to No. 7 in the latest FCS national rankings this week (AFCA coaches poll and Stats Perform media poll). The Eagles have never been ranked this high since reclassifying to Division I FCS. NCCU was ninth a week ago.
Meanwhile, Florida A&M continues to dominate the SWAC with a 7-0 league record, 8-1 overall. The Rattlers, who have won 14 straight SWAC games, moved up to No. 9 in the latest coaches poll and are tied for 13th in the media poll.
NC Central and Florida A&M remain ranked 1-2, respectively, in the latest HBCU power rankings.
The MEAC champion meets the SWAC champ in the Celebration Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 16 at noon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. NC Central beat Jackson State in overtime in last year’s Celebration Bowl, giving the program the mantle of “HBCU National Champions.”
The Eagles’ lone blemish this fall came at UCLA in week three. NCCU beat Elon (5-4) when the Phoenix were ranked No. 25 in FCS. Central, 3-0 against Elon’s conference (the CAA), and is ranked higher than any CAA team this week.
Of course, coach Trei Oliver’s team still has to win the MEAC to get to Atlanta. The Eagles have bagged wins over Morgan State (16-10), South Carolina State (62-28) and Norfolk State (38-24) thus far in conference action. NC Central visits Howard (4-5) this weekend and then will close the regular season at home against Delaware State (1-8).
South Carolina State, Howard and Morgan State all have 2-1 MEAC records. The Eagles, of course, have tie-breakers with SC State and Morgan. A stumble against Howard could seriously complicate things.
Florida A&M has games remaining against Lincoln University (Calif.) and Bethune-Cookman the next two weekends. The Rattlers can’t be caught in the SWAC East standings and will play in the conference title game on Dec. 2.
A&M’s lone loss this season also came to an FBS team, 38-24 to South Florida. Alcorn State (6-3, 5-1) leads the SWAC West standings.
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NC Central 2023 Football Results
| Sept. 2 | WINSTON-SALEM STATE | W, 47-21 | 1-0, 0-0 |
| Sept. 9 | at NC A&T | W, 30-16 | 2-0, 0-0 |
| Sept. 16 | at UCLA | L, 7-59 | 2-1, 0-0 |
| Sept. 23 | vs. Mississippi Valley State# | W, 45-3 | 3-1, 0-0 |
| Sept. 30 | CAMPBELL | W, 49-48 OT | 4-1, 0-0 |
| Oct. 7 | at Elon | W, 34-23 | 5-1, 0-0 |
| Oct. 19 | at Morgan State* | W, 16-10 | 6-1, 1-0 |
| Oct. 26 | SOUTH CAROLINA STATE* | W, 62-28 | 7-1, 2-0 |
| Nov. 4 | NORFOLK STATE* | W, 38-24 | 8-1, 3-0 |
| Nov. 11 | at Howard* | 3:30 p.m. | |
| Nov. 18 | DELAWARE STATE* | 2 p.m. | ESPN+ |
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