On a day honoring legendary coach Eddie McGirt, Johnson C. Smith football delivered the kind of win that would have made him proud — a 28-16 upset of perennial Division II power Valdosta State.
The Golden Bulls rallied from a 10-point deficit to improve to 2-0 on the young season. Saturday’s result – and its significance in the HBCU and D2 football landscape – makes JCSU the obvious choice for our North Carolina College Team of the Week.
McGirt coached at Johnson C. Smith in the 1960s and 1970s, posting some of the best years in the history of the Bulls’ program. But since those days, which included the school’s lone CIAA football championship in 1969, times have been lean on the gridiron for Charlotte’s premier HBCU.
Lean as in averaging fewer than three wins a game over a 45-year period. Lean as in going through a gauntlet of nearly a dozen head coaches trying to recapture McGirt’s magic.
Then Maurice Flowers arrived to coach his alma mater in 2022, and the climb out of the cellar began in earnest. Flowers had a plan: to build around Charlotte area recruits (high school and transfers), to convince the school to fully fund available scholarships and to charge JCSU leaders to go all-in on football.
The result has seen Johnson C. Smith climb from three wins in 2022 to seven in 2023 and a history-making 8-2 mark last season.
Which brings us to Saturday.
In my 9 years of covering the conference would I never have thought I would say this.
Johnson C Smith takes the lead over Valdosta State in the third quarter. — Kris (@d2kferg) September 6, 2025
Despite all the positive buzz generated by the 2024 campaign, the Golden Bulls felt like they left something on the table last fall.
Stumbles down the stretch to rivals Fayetteville State and Livingstone kept them out of the CIAA championship game (won by Virginia Union, a team JCSU had beaten in September). It also left them on the outside looking in at the D2 playoff brackets (VUU went on to beat Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne before falling to Valdosta in the quarterfinals).
But what left JCSU bitter only provided fuel for this season. And so far, the Golden Bulls have answered the bell. They mauled Morehouse in the opener over Labor Day weekend in Massachusetts. They answered Valdosta’s early punches Saturday and delivered a knockout of their own in the fourth quarter.
New quarterback Kelvin Durham accounted for four touchdowns, three on the ground and one through the air. The JCSU defense held Valdosta to 268 yards, while picking off a pass and scooping up a fumble.
The win should put Johnson C. Smith back into the national rankings this week. But there is still a lot of football left to be played, and the Golden Bulls will be tasked with building on yet another great start, this time without stalling out before the end.
The next test: a road trip to Elizabeth City State as CIAA play gets underway this Saturday.
Team of the Week: Honorable Mention
- North Carolina Wesleyan: Blitzed Averett with 64 points in Thursday’s opener, the “high score” for a North Carolina college team so far this season
- NC State: Defense came up big for the second week in a row in the final minute, securing a win over Virginia.
- Elon: Two-hour lightning delay did not take the sizzle out of the Phoenix offense (55 points, including 41 before halftime) or defense.
- Elizabeth City State: Yes, the Vikes lost to Hampton, but they pushed the FCS Pirates from the CAA to the buzzer, coming up inches shy of what would have been a game-tying TD. That’s worth a salute.
- Greensboro: Ended an eight-game hex, dating back to 2012, against city rival Guilford – using solid defense and a back-up QB to win back the Soup Bowl trophy.
Check out our NC College Football Awards Hub to see past North Carolina Team of the Week winners as well as our weekly player awards.
