NCCU regains No. 1 footing
boxtorow.com
The North Carolina Central Eagles regained their footing as the undisputed No. 1 team in HBCU football after their victory over Campbell and are No. 1 in both the BOXTOROW Coaches and Media Polls.
In the coaches poll, NCCU received 18 of the 20 first place votes. No. 2 Florida A&M received the other two first place votes, while Jackson State remained No. 3. Grambling, with its win over Prairie View A&M in the State Fair Classic, made the most significant jump rising four spots to No. 5 this week. Tennessee State dropped six spots from last week to No. 10 this week.
In the media poll, the Eagles regained the top spot after Florida A&M had held the No. 1 position the previous two weeks. FAMU received two more first place votes than the Eagles, but was outpointed by two points.
The HBCU FCS coaches and media polls are administered by BOXTOROW. The coaches poll, in its 15th year is voted on by the HBCU Football Championship Subdivision coaches and the media poll, in its 17th year, is voted on by media members around the country who cover HBCU football.
2023 BOXTOROW HBCU FCS Coaches Poll
Week 5
(Records through September 30, 2023)
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina Central (18) | 4-1 | 198 | 1 |
| 2 | Florida A&M (2) | 4-1 | 182 | 2 |
| 3 | Jackson State | 3-2 | 142 | 3 |
| 4 | Hampton | 3-1 | 131 | 6 |
| 5 | Grambling | 3-2 | 92 | T-9 |
| 6 | Howard | 2-2 | 81 | 7 |
| 7 | Alabama A&M | 3-2 | 73 | T-9 |
| 8 | Southern | 2-2 | 55 | NR |
| 9 | Alcorn State | 2-3 | 45 | NR |
| 10 | Tennessee State | 2-2 | 43 | 4 |
Others receiving votes: Prairie View A&M (2-3) 35, Norfolk State (2-3) 12, South Carolina State (1-3) 8, Alabama State (1-3) 3, North Carolina A&T (1-3) 2.
(1st place votes in parentheses)
2023 HBCU Football Media Top 10 Poll
Week 5
(Records through September 30, 2023)
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina Central (9) | 4-1 | 196 | 2 |
| 2 | Florida A&M (11) | 4-1 | 194 | 1 |
| 3 | Benedict (1) | 5-0 | 166 | 3 |
| 4 | Jackson State | 3-2 | 139 | 4 |
| 5 | Virginia State | 5-0 | 115 | 6 |
| 6 | Hampton | 3-1 | 85 | 8 |
| 7 | Virginia Union | 4-1 | 64 | 9 |
| 8 | Grambling | 3-2 | 56 | NR |
| 9 | Tuskegee | 4-1 | 35 | 5 |
| 10 | Miles | 4-1 | 25 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Southern (2-2) 20, Alabama A&M (3-2) 13, Fort Valley State (4-1) 11, Howard (2-2) 10, Prairie View A&M (2-3) 7, Morgan State (1-4) 6 , Fayetteville State (3-2) 5, Bowie State (3-2) 3, Tennessee State (2-2) 3, Johnson C. Smith (4-1) 2, West Virginia State (4-1) 2, Allen (4-1) 2, Alcorn State (2-3) 1.
(1st place votes in parentheses)
NCCU regains No. 1 footing