2018 Alcorn State Braves football team

2018 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
	East Division
	West Division
	Championship: Alcorn State 37, Southern 28
	$ – Conference champion; x – Division champion/co-champions; y – Championship game participant; Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

Alcorn State Braves football
2018 Alcorn State Braves football
SWAC East Division champion; SWAC champion
SWAC Championship Game, ; W 37–28 vs. Southern
Celebration Bowl, L 22–24 vs. NC A&T
Conference	Southwestern Athletic Conference
	East Division
2018 record	9–4 (6–1 SWAC)
Head coach	Fred McNair (3rd season);
Offensive coordinator	Ryan Stanchek (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Cedric Thornton (1st as DC; 3rd overall season)
Home stadium	Jack Spinks Stadium; (Capacity: 22,500)

The 2018 Alcorn State Braves football team represented Alcorn State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Braves were led by third-year head coach Fred McNair and played their home games at Jack Spinks Stadium. They were members of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

Previous season

The Braves finished the 2017 season 7–5, 5–2 in SWAC play to win the East Division. They lost the SWAC Championship Game to Grambling State.

Preseason

SWAC football media day

During the SWAC football media day held in Birmingham, Alabama on July 13, 2018, the Braves were predicted to win the East Division.[1]

Media poll

Predicted finish	team	Votes
East Division
1	Alcorn State	95
2	Alabama State	72
3	Jackson State	55
4	Alabama A&M	51
5	Mississippi Valley State	27

Presason All-SWAC Team

The Braves had 10 players at 11 positions selected to Preseason All-SWAC Teams which was the second most behind Grambling State's 15. Running back P.J. Simmons was also selected as the preseason offensive player of the year.

Offense

1st team

Noah Johnson – Jr. QB

P.J. Simmons – Sr. RB

Mustaffa Ibrahim – Jr. OL

2nd team

Deonte Brooks – Jr. OL

Kevin Hall – Jr. OL

Defense

1st team

Trae Ferrell – Sr. LB

2nd team

Sterling Shippy – Sr. DL

Solomon Muhammad – Jr. LB

Brady Smith – Sr. DB

Special teams

Corey McCullough – Jr. K/P, selected for both positions

Award watch lists

Award	Player	Position	Year
Walter Payton Award[2]	P.J. Simmons	RB	SR

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	11:30 a.m.	at Georgia Tech*	Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA	ACCRSN	L 0–41	39,719
September 8	6:00 p.m.	Louisiana College*	Jack Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS		W 78–0	4,521
September 15	6:00 p.m.	Texas Southern*	Jack Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS		W 27–15	14,563
September 22	6:00 p.m.	at Mississippi Valley State	Rice–Totten Stadium Itta Bena, MS		W 56–20	N/A
September 29	6:00 p.m.	at Southern	Ace W. Mumford Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 20–3	19,412
October 6	2:00 p.m.	Alabama State	Jack Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS		L 25–28 ^5OT	19,445
October 13	2:00 p.m.	at Alabama A&M	Louis Crews Stadium Huntsville, AL		W 35–26	19,126
October 20	2:00 p.m.	Grambling State	Jack Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS	ESPN3	W 33–26	10,610
October 27	2:00 p.m.	at Prairie View A&M	Panther Stadium at Blackshear Field Prairie View, TX		W 27–13	14,250
November 3	3:00 p.m.	at New Mexico State*	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM		L 42–52	11,897
November 17	2:00 p.m.	Jackson State	Jack Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS		W 24–3	21,312
December 1	3:30 p.m.	Southern	Jack Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS (SWAC Championship Game)	ESPNU	W 37–28	20,652
December 15	11:00 a.m.	vs. No. 11 North Carolina A&T*	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, GA (Celebration Bowl)	ABC	L 22–24	31,672
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Source: Schedule

Despite also being a member of the SWAC, the game vs Texas Southern will be considered a non conference game and will have no effect on the SWAC standings.

Game summaries

at Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Braves	0	0	0	0	0
Yellow Jackets	7	13	21	0	41

Louisiana College

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	0	0	0
Braves	27	24	14	13	78

Texas Southern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	0	7	8	15
Braves	14	13	0	0	27

at Mississippi Valley State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Braves	10	17	14	15	56
Delta Devils	7	0	7	6	20

at Southern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Braves	0	3	14	3	20
Jaguars	0	0	3	0	3

Alabama State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Hornets	14	0	0	0	14	28
Braves	7	0	0	7	11	25

at Alabama A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Braves	3	7	22	3	35
Bulldogs	3	7	8	8	26

Grambling State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	13	0	10	3	26
Braves	7	16	0	10	33

at Prairie View A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Braves	10	10	0	7	27
Panthers	10	0	0	3	13

at New Mexico State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Braves	7	7	7	21	42
Aggies	14	21	3	14	52

Jackson State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers					0
Braves					0

References

http://www.swac.org/news/2018/7/11/swac-football-all-conference-preseason-teams-released.aspx
"FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list". August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] ttp://www.swac.org/news/2018/7/11/swac-football-all-conference-preseason-teams-released.aspx

[2] "FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list". August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.

Alcorn State Braves football
Venues	Henderson Stadium (1925–1991) Jack Spinks Stadium (1992–present)
Bowls & rivalries	1951 Tropical Bowl 1952 Lion's Bowl 1968 Orange Blossom Classic 2015 Celebration Bowl 2018 Celebration Bowl
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
National championship seasons in bold