Bowie State Football to Host Nationally Ranked Virginia Union Saturday for Blackout!

BOWIE STATE ATHLETICS – The Bowie State football team will play host to nationally ranked Virginia Union on Saturday, Oct. 15 in a nationally televised and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) division showdown. Kickoff is slated for 12 noon at Bulldog Stadium. All Bowie State fans are asked to pack to Bulldog Stadium and wear ALL BLACK for BLACKOUT!

The game will broadcast live on the CW Network brought to you by PRC Communications.

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 15 – 12 noon
WHERE: Bulldog Stadium – Bowie, MD
WATCH:BSUBulldogs.com
LIVE STATS: BSUBulldogs.com
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FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM: @BowieStateBulldogs

HOW TO WATCH: The game will be streamed via the Black College Sports Broadcasting Network via the following markets:

TICKETS
Game tickets and parking information is available here.

THE SERIES
Saturday’s game marks the 38th meeting between the two teams. Virginia Union owns a 19-17-1 all-time record against Bowie State dating back to 1979. The Bulldogs are 10-8 at home against the Panthers and 7-11-1 on the road. BSU won the last matchup against VUU, 27-7 on Oct. 23, 2021 in Richmond, Va.
The last 10 matchups between the two teams have resulted in a 7-3 record in favor of Bowie State. The Bulldogs longest win-streak against VUU was four-straight (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021). BSU defeated VUU, 27-7 last time out on Oct. 23, 2021.

LAST TIMEOUT FOR THE BULLDOGS
Bowie State (4-2, 3-1 CIAA) thumped Virginia State last weekend, spoiling the Trojans Homecoming, 41-14. The Bulldogs the Bulldogs rode an impressive 24-0 first quarter lead that steered control of the game straightway.

The Bulldogs had a total of 413 yards of total offense including 242 through the air. Bowie State’s defense held the Trojans to just 156-yards on the ground – a team that averaged 208.7 yards per game (second in the CIAA).

Graduate senior Dion “DJ” Golatt, Jr. (Largo, MD) threw 17 passes for 242 yards and three TD’s while redshirt junior Keshane Hinckley (Laurel, MD) caught five passes for 75-yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, the Bulldogs used a plethora of running backs with redshirt sophomore Corey Johnson (Upper Marlboro, MD) leading the way with 47-yards on 11 carries. Backup quarterback and redshirt junior Larry Williams (Baltimore, MD) finished with two rushing TDs on 10 carries.

Led by redshirt junior Raymond Boone’s (Landover, MD) nine tackles and two break ups, the Bulldogs defense held the Trojans to 276 yards of total offense. Redshirt junior Shaun Tolbert (Baltimore, MD) finished with eight tackles and forced fumble while both redshirt sophomores Mekhi Williams (Springdale, MD) and Sadiq Salawu (Upper Marlboro, MD) both tacked on six tackles apiece in the winning effort.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
The rushing game for Bowie State is finally starting to pick up this season led by redshirt sophomore Sam Doku (Silver Springs, MD) who has a team-high 352 yards on 78 carries and three TDs. He’s now sixth in the CIAA averaging 56.0 yards per game. Hinckley has caught 34 passes for 446 yards and three TDs, he moved up to second in the CIAA for receptions, yards and averages while redshirt junior Kwincy Hall (Washington, DC) is second in the CIAA with 28 receptions against conference opponents (311 yards).

After the win over Virginia State, Salawu moved in as the top tackler for the Bulldogs with 30 (21 solo) on the year. Boone is now second with 27 tackles, two interceptions and four breakups – he’s ninth in the league for passes defended (1.20) while the number one sacker for BSU is redshirt junior Uvel Paul, Jr. (Severn, MD) with 3.0 – that puts him eighth in the CIAA.

BULLDOGS DEFENSE
After going from one of the most dominant defenses in the nation in 2021, the Bulldogs may not lead the nation in defensive TDs this season but they’re still ranked in the nationally. BSU is 10th in total defense (246.7 yards per game). Bowie State is 13th in Division II in third down conversion percentage (.495) and moved up to seventh in DII for fourth down conversion percentage defense (.167).

STAT LINE AMONGST CIAA
Bowie State ranks third in the CIAA for scoring average (30.5 points) and have tallied 183 total points (2^nd CIAA) through six games this season. Notably the run game for BSU had struggled early on but have continued to make strides since week four and subsequently, Bowie State moved up in the CIAA rankings for total rushing yards (904) from 10th to now third with 150.7 yards per game. However, undeniably, the spark for BSU’s offense this season has been the passing game, leading the CIAA with 1175 total yards and the league’s second-most 13 touchdowns.

Defensively, the Bulldogs rank fifth amongst the CIAA in points allowed by an opponent at 19.7 points. The rushing defense has allowed 630 yards after six games (3rd in CIAA) and 860 yards passing (2nd in the CIAA) as the Bulldogs have allowed six touchdowns (2nd in CIAA).

THE POLLS
This week, the Bulldogs have moved up No. 5 in the DII HBCU Coaches Poll and No. 8 in the HBCU Football Media Poll.

SCOUTING #11 VIRGINIA UNION
VUU is the No. 11th ranked DII team in the nation according to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The Panthers enter Saturday’s game with a perfect 6-0 record and 4-0 mark against CIAA opponents after defeating Elizabeth City State, 49-0 for their homecoming last weekend.
VUU got on the media’s radar when the Panthers traveled to Valdosta State on Sept. 10 and defeated the DII runner-up champions Blazers 45-40 – igniting the talk that VUU could be a problem this season. The win over Valdosta State, a team that was ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time was the highest ranked team VUU had ever defeated in program history as the Blazer had not lost a regular season game at home since 2017.
Jada Byers who leads the nation in rushing yards (1,096) on 145 rushes, 13 TDs through six games, have led the Panthers. He has been named the CIAA’s Offensive Back of the Week for six weeks consecutively and National Player of the Week (Sept. 14). Byers leads the CIAA in scoring and scoring TDs – averaging 15.0 points per game. VUU’s Jahkari Grant has been the number one QB for the Panthers this season with 917 yards on 60 completions, 11 TDs and four interceptions, he currently ranks sixth in the CIAA in averages per game (152.8). John Jiles has caught 14 receptions for 249 yards and four TDs to lead the receiving unit – he is currently 13th in the CIAA for reception yards. The Panthers rank first in the league in kicking with 38 PAT’s made on 39 attempts led by Brady Myers. He has kicked 2-of-3 field goals made this season.

Defensively, Shamar Graham has a team-high 40 tackles while Isaac Anderson leads the league in tackle for losses (46 yards) with an average of 1.67 per outing. Armani Burden has five sacks – the second most in the CIAA. Collectively as a team, VUU’s averages rank atop in the CIAA for sacks against (10), sacks by (25), scoring defense (12.3), scoring (52.2), rushing (258.7), rushing defense (58.3), kickoffs (23.2) and punts (12.1)

NEXT ON TAP
Bowie State will Chowan on Saturday, Oct. 22 for Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Fans unable to make the game can catch all the action live on the Bulldog Sports Network. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium.

For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State University Athletics and its 13 varsity sports teams, please visit www.bsubulldogs.com.