Week 1 HBCU Football Scoreboard — 704 Yards Changed the Weekend
Jackson State supplied the loudest number of the week, Alabama State stayed perfect with a shutout, Grambling kept rolling on the ground, and two Sunday classics still have the final word.
By MFNGraphics • September 6, 2026 • Week 1 live edition
Jared Lockhart threw for 388 yards and four touchdowns in Jackson State’s 66–14 win over Edward Waters. Photo: Jackson State University Athletics.
Jackson State total yards
Grambling total yards
confirmed 2–0 starts
Sunday classics still open
Week 0 gave us clues. Week 1 gave us separation.
Some HBCU teams stepped into FBS mismatches and took the expected bruises. Others handled the games they were supposed to win. Three programs are already 2–0 before the Sunday slate is complete, and Jackson State produced the weekend’s loudest box score.
The point of this series is not to treat every final the same. The score wall makes every result easy to find; the rest of the story is about which numbers actually changed the conversation.
Week 1 score wall
Completed games through Sunday morning. The Labor Day Classic and Orange Blossom Classic stay marked as pending until they go final.
MEAC
Elizabeth City State27–6
Richmond21–28
William & Mary15–22
Old Dominion10–31
Arizona State7–70
SWAC
Missouri14–54
UCF6–73
Southern Miss3–49
Lane34–0
Miles38–23
Kentucky State34–15
Edward Waters66–14
Central State48–26
Sacramento State0–52
OTHER DIVISION I HBCU PROGRAMS
Maryland0–62
Georgia State10–59
Georgia3–63
Jackson State turned the home opener into an efficiency clinic
Jared Lockhart threw for career highs of 388 yards and four touchdowns. The Tigers added 316 rushing yards, averaged nine yards per play, converted nine of 11 third downs and scored on all eight red-zone trips.
JSU led 38–0 at halftime and scored on nine of 10 possessions during the stretch that decided the game. After surviving Tennessee State in Week 0, the Tigers are 2–0 with two completely different kinds of wins.
Grambling’s 2–0 start already has a rushing identity
Grambling beat Central State 48–26 while rushing for 361 yards at nine yards per carry. Six different Tigers scored rushing touchdowns, and the offense converted nine of 12 third downs.
The next test is dramatically different: TCU. But through two weeks, Grambling has shown it can overwhelm lower-division opponents with depth instead of leaning on one star.
Two teams that handled business
Alabama State: 2–0, and the defense finally got its zero
Alabama State beat Lane 34–0 for its first shutout since 2019 and extended its streak of scoring at least 30 points to 15 straight games. The Hornets have now paired a Week 0 win over Southern with a clean home result.
Photo: Alabama State University Athletics
Alabama A&M: the ground game answered the Week 0 loss
Troy Bruce rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries as Alabama A&M beat Miles 38–23. The Bulldogs finished with 279 rushing yards and 471 total yards to get to 1–1.
Photo: Alabama A&M Athletics
NCCU got right; Howard made Richmond finish it
North Carolina Central produced the MEAC’s only completed win Saturday, holding Elizabeth City State to 145 total yards in a 27–6 response to its Week 0 loss.
Howard’s 28–21 loss at No. 23 Richmond was more competitive than the early scoreboard suggested. The Bison fell behind 20–0 and turned the second half into a one-score game. Delaware State also scored 15 fourth-quarter points at William & Mary before falling 22–15.
Norfolk State’s crosstown trip to Old Dominion ended 31–10, while Morgan State drew the weekend’s toughest MEAC assignment and lost 70–7 at Arizona State.
Two classics can still reshape Week 1
Texas Southern vs. Prairie View A&M
Noon ET • ESPN2
Texas Southern can reach 2–0 after its Week 0 comeback over NCCU. Prairie View is looking for its first win.
South Carolina State vs. Florida A&M
3 PM ET • ESPN
Both teams are 1–0. The defending HBCU national champion meets a FAMU team trying to turn Quinn Gray’s opening win into early momentum.
The scoreboard matters most when the numbers have context.
Jackson State’s 66 points get attention. The 704 yards explain why. Alabama State’s 34 points look routine until the zero on the other side turns it into the program’s first shutout since 2019. Grambling’s 48 is more meaningful when six different runners scored.
That is the point of this weekly series: make every Division I HBCU score easy to find, then spend the rest of the story on the results that actually tell us something.
We will close this Week 1 edition after the Labor Day Classic and Orange Blossom Classic go final.
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