By james art The Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls hope to keep their undefeated record intact when they take on the Winston-Salem State Rams.
Johnson C. Smith, the last remaining undefeated team in black college football, needs a win to move one step closer to its first CIAA championship appearance since 1972.
The Golden Bulls hold a 4-0 record against the CIAA, tied with Virginia Union for best in the conference. A loss would put them a half-game behind WSSU, who are off next weekend.
Although JCSU holds the tiebreaker over Virginia Union, a win over Winston-Salem State would shorten the Golden Bulls’ margin for error with two games remaining after this weekend.
Meanwhile, it’s win or go home for Winston-Salem State, which already has a loss to Virginia Union on its resume.
Having already lost to Virginia Union, a loss would drop WSSU’s conference record to 4-2 with just one game remaining in the season after this weekend.
Johnson K. Smith The Keys to Victory
The strength of the Johnson C. Smith football team is their defense, which leads the CIAA allowing 11.7 points per game (12.0 points per game against conference opponents).
Despite ranking at the bottom of the conference in forced fumbles, they have had success taking the opposing offense off the field, leading in total first downs allowed (84) and third downs defensively (24.1%).
The leading defensive unit of the Golden Bulls is the defense duo of Benary Black and Jack Smith. They are the only duo in the CIAA with at least 50 total rebounds, including a CIAA-leading 79 for Black.
On offense, quarterback Darius Ocean leads the charge as the number one passer in the CIAA. He is averaging 243.3 yards passing per game and has scored 14 touchdowns with just one interception.
Ocean will face a tough challenge in a Winston-Salem State defense that has recorded the second-most interceptions in the CIAA (11).
His leading receiver, Brevin Caldwell, is the only player in the CIAA with over 500 receiving yards (849), accounting for more than half of the team’s yardage through the air.
Winston-Salem State Keys to Victory
Since suffering their first conference loss to Virginia Union, Winston-Salem State’s offense has been on fire, putting up back-to-back 30-point games (they had just one in their first six games).
Running back Trevon Hester’s play was a particular highlight. He is averaging 6.7 yards per carry in his last two games, including two rushing touchdowns.
Hester has also been a presence in the passing game, recording three receptions for 45 yards in the last two games (he had two receptions for three yards in their first six games).
If the Rams want to win this game, their running back needs to have a big day against the number one defense in the CIAA.
Defensively, the defensive backfield will need another big performance to beat the undefeated Golden Bulls. The Rams’ secondary accounted for eight of their 11 interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns.
They’ve also gotten better in defense of the run, allowing 76.5 rushing yards per game in their last two contests after previously giving up three straight 100-yard rushing games.