BOWIE, Md. – The No. 14 Bowie State football team (6-1, 4-0 CIAA) travels to Richmond, Va., this weekend to face Virginia Union (4-3, 3-1 CIAA) on Saturday, Oct. 23, at Hovey Field with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
The game will broadcast live on the CIAA Sports Network. Live stats can be found here. Ticket information for Saturday's game between Bowie State and Virginia Union can be found here.
Last Time Out
The Bulldogs are coming off a 51-44 win over Virginia State at Bulldogs Stadium last weekend in a nationally televised game on AspireTV. BSU owned a 21-3 lead at halftime but the Trojans came back outscoring Bowie State 20-16 in the third quarter and 21-14 in the fourth. However, a game winning touchdown led by senior quarterback Ja'rome Johnson (Washington, D.C.) who connected with redshirt sophomore receiver Darious Bowman (Fort Washington, MD) for a 24-yard scamper that gave BSU a 51-44 lead after being tied at 44-all with 9:36 left in the contest.
In the Rankings
Bowie State was voted a season-high No. 14 in this week's edition of the AFCA Top 25 DII Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs are No. 10 in the D2 Football Top-25 poll and No. 6 in the BOXTOROW HBCU football media poll. BSU has been included in the AFCA and D2 Football Top-25 poll in each week of the 2021 season.
Johnson Receives Two Weekly Honors
Johnson was named the CIAA Food Lion Quarterback of the Week (second time this season) and the DC Touchdown Club Washington Metro College Football Player of the Week – first time this season after his performance against the Virginia State Trojans. The Eastern High School alum, completed 14-of-25 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns and rushed 13 times for 51 yards and two more scores as the Bulldogs won their sixth consecutive game.
The Series
Saturday's game marks the 37th meeting Bowie State and Virginia Union, with the series dating back to 1979. The 2021 season would have marked the 31st consecutive year the teams have met but due to COVID-19, the two squads did not face each other in 2020. BSU trails 16-19-1 all-time against the Panthers, including a 6-11-1 record at Hovey Field. The Bulldogs have won the seven of the past 10 matchups, as well as the last three outings with two of them being at Bulldogs Stadium. Coach Damon Wilson is 7-4 in his career against VUU.
#14 Bowie State from a Distance
No. 14 Bowie State has established itself as a top-tier program in the nation in recent history, the Bulldogs leads DII in defensive touchdowns (6) and team tackles for loss (10.3), while top-10 in the fumbles recovered (10) and total defense (219.0). Amongst the CIAA, BSU has the top defense in passing yards (105.9) and defensive efficiency (81.3). The Bulldogs slipped to third this week, allowing their opponents 16.9 points per game including 104 rushing yards per outing.
Junior defensive lineman Joshua Pryor (Baltimore, MD) as well as redshirt sophomore Jonathan Ross (Waldorf, MD) have anchored the Bulldogs defense, as both Pryor and Ross have combined for 81 total tackles. Through seven games, Pryor has registered 12.5 tackle for losses (55-yards), four sacks (32-yards), six pressures, two fumble recoveries a blocked kick and a forced fumble. Meanwhile Ross has a team-best 13.5 tackles for losses (44-yards), four sacks (17-yards), seven quarterback pressures, four forced fumbles and a pass breakup.
Senior running back Calil Wilkins (Temple Hills, MD) is third in the league with 562 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 127 carries – he averages 80.3 yards per game. Johnson has completed 93-of-159 passes for 1,393 yards and 17 touchdowns (second in CIAA) through seven games. He averages 199.0 yards per outing and posts a efficiency of 159.8 as the play caller for the Bulldogs.
Scouting Virginia Union
The Panthers are coming off a 38-31 win over Chowan last weekend. VUU averages 29 points while allowing their opponents to score 24 points per outing. The Panthers have a very strong run game led by Jada Byers who has 654 rushing yards on 112 carries and seven touchdowns. He recorded 213-yards and scored twice on 33 carries against the Hawks.
VUU has had a couple of quarterbacks in rotation this season but Khalid Morris has carried the load posting 1,182 yards on 70-of-156 pass completions and nine touchdowns. Against Chowan, Morris was 4-of-5 for 50-yards while E'mond Caldwell recorded 149 yards on 14 completions and a touchdown in the Panthers last outing.
The Panthers receiving unit combined for 199 reception yards on a total of 12 catches and a touchdown against the Hawks. Defensively, Tovias Parker is the team's best tackler with 42 total tackles, including 32 solo. Marquis Hamilton led the defensive unit against CU with a team-high seven tackles last weekend.
For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State University Athletics and its 13 varsity sports teams, please visit www.bsubulldogs.com.
