BOWIE STATE ATHELETICS:
BOWIE, MD — Looking to snap a three game losing skid, Bowie State football will travel to Bluefield, WV to face Bluefield State on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The game will broadcast live on the CIAA Sports Network.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday’s game will mark the first meeting between Bluefield State and Bowie State in program history. The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s game on a three game losing skid, falling to Livingstone (31-18) on Sept. 30, Virginia State (44-16) on homecoming (Oct. 7) and most recently a 52-3 setback at Virginia Union last weekend. Meanwhile, the Big Blue’s are still in search of its first conference win on the 2023 season. B-State has lost its last six outings entering Saturday’s tilt with the Bulldogs. Both teams are winless in the Northern Division.
RECAPPING LAST TIMEOUT
The Bulldogs (3-4, 2-3 CIAA, 0-2 North) were held to a season low three points against the Virginia Union Panthers on Saturday, Oct. 21. BSU’s score came from a 48-yard field goal from Justin Zavala in the second quarter. Unfortunately, Bowie State was limited 138 yards of total offense including 62 passing and 76 rushing. The Bulldogs were 2-of-15 in third downs, 0-2 in fourth down situations and accounted for just 13 first downs against the Panthers.Corey Johnson led all Bulldogs rushers with 80 yards in the contest. Keshane Hinckley also added eight yards on the ground. The most prolific target for Bowie State quarterbacks was James McNeill, III who caught two passes for 23 yards. Mychale Salahuddin led the Bowie State defensive effort, totaling one interception while Tyshawn Blow added 1.0 TFL and one sack. Defensively, Bowie State held up fairly well against the Virginia Union passing attack, holding the Panthers to 159 yards through the air.
OFFENSIVE WOES
Offensively, the Bulldogs are scoring 15.57 points per outing after Saturday’s loss. As a team, BSU has combined for 131 first downs through seven games this season and 1827 yards of total offense which ranks eighth in the CIAA. Bowie State has used five different quarterback this year led by Jenkins who has competed in six games with 1099 passing yards, five touchdowns on 104 pass completions but he has thrown eight interceptions including four at Davenport. As of recent, both Khalif Welch and Jordan Morse has seen action in the last two games. Welch has thrown 13-of-23 passes for 124 yards while Morse has thrown for 16 yards on two completions and an interception. The Bulldogs rushing game has also struggled this season, BSU has just 474 yards in rushing yardage (67.7) compared to its opponents (1187) and 169.6 average. Johnson owns the team’s highest net in rushing yards at 238 on 71 carries while Carleton Stewart has 60 carries for 235 yards and a TD. The offensive line unit has rotated 14 players led by two lineman who have competed in all seven games.
BULLDOGS DEFENSE RANKED IN NATION
Bowie State’s defense rank 10th in Division II for third down conversion percentage (defense) at .258 and dropped to 19th in red zone defense (.636) after being 10th a week ago. BSU dropped out of the rankings for total defense this week and moved down to No. 30 in tackle for loss (7.6) from 14th with the loss to Virginia Union. The Bulldogs are top-25 in team passing efficiency defense (104.99) at No. 24 in the nation.
THE JACKSON ERA
The 2023 season will embark the first official season for first-year head coach Kyle Jackson. Jackson was officially named the 10th head football coach in Bulldog history on Jan. 23, 2023. The decision followed Jackson after serving in the role as interim in the 2022 season, where he led the team to a 6-4 record and eight players earned CIAA All-Conference honors, with Joshua Pryor being named the 2021 CIAA Defensive Player of the Year and five First Team All-CIAA selections. Additionally, Pryor and Jordan Griffin were both selected First Team and Second Team All Super Region Two honorees. Jackson also had five Bulldogs participate in the second Annual Black College Football HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans.
