Johnson C. Smith College (JCSU) has formally crashed the nationwide dialog. Days after knocking off Valdosta State, the Golden Bulls broke into the D2Football.com High 25 Ballot, checking in at No. 23. The win not solely turned heads throughout Division II but in addition reshaped the polls, with the HBCU rising as a official contender on the nationwide stage.
Golden Bulls Make Their Case
When the mud settled in Charlotte, JCSU’s 28-16 win over Valdosta wasn’t only a one-off upset. It was an entire efficiency. Quarterback Kelvin Durham led the best way, finishing 16 of 24 passes for 207 yards and a landing whereas including two dashing touchdowns. His dual-threat skill stored the Blazers’ protection off steadiness, and his calm management of the offense gave JCSU an id it has lengthy sought.
Working again Bobby Smith chipped in 98 yards on 19 carries, together with a 58-yard burst that flipped discipline place. Wideout Deandre Proctor hauled in six catches for 94 yards, persistently transferring the chains.
Protection Bends, By no means Breaks
The JCSU protection was equally spectacular. Dealing with a Valdosta offense identified for fast strikes, the Golden Bulls pressured lengthy drives and capitalized on errors. They held the Blazers to only 2-of-12 on third down and dominated time of possession, controlling the ball for over 40 minutes.
Linebacker Cadricus Stanley set the tone with a sack and deal with for loss, whereas veteran defender Quavaris Crouch added one other cease behind the road. Clinton Riley’s pressured fumble sealed the hassle from a unit that pissed off Valdosta all evening.
Ballot Shakeup
The ripple results had been quick. JCSU entered the D2Football.com ballot at No. 23, whereas Valdosta dropped from No. 14 all the best way out. Over within the AFCA ballot, the Golden Bulls didn’t fairly make the lower however earned 83 votes, the very best whole of any unranked workforce. Valdosta, in the meantime, plummeted from No. 11 to No. 22, a testomony to how a lot weight the loss carried.
It’s a uncommon state of affairs the place one recreation shifted the notion of each packages. For JCSU, the respect is lengthy overdue; for Valdosta, the stumble was pricey however not deadly.
JCSU shouldn’t be the one HBCU program making nationwide noise in Division II. Virginia Union, a fellow CIAA contender, is ranked No. 15 within the D2Football.com ballot and No. 19 within the AFCA High 25 and continues to construct its nationwide profile after a historic playoff run in 2024.
Brick x Brick Connection
The Golden Bulls’ rise is tracked in actual time by way of HBCU Gameday’s Brick x Brick docuseries. Final season, an episode titled “Refuse to Lose” captured JCSU’s emotional win over Virginia Union in Charlotte. That matchup looms once more this 12 months—on September 20 in Richmond—and with each groups now ranked, season 3 of the sequence will comply with what may very well be one of many CIAA’s greatest video games of 2025.
For HBCU soccer, JCSU’s rise to the High 25 represents one other breakthrough second in 2025. After years of preventing for respect exterior the CIAA, the Golden Bulls now show they belong within the nationwide DII highlight. Their mixture of explosive offense, disciplined protection, and fearless scheduling sends a message that HBCU packages can—and can—punch above their weight.
Head coach Maurice Flowers has lengthy mentioned he wished to vary the narrative round JCSU soccer. That imaginative and prescient is changing into actuality with Kelvin Durham main the offense and the protection flexing its would possibly beneath defensive Coordinator Barry Tripp.
