Bethune-Cookman Football enters 2014 at number 20 in our rankings. Check out our Top 25 Season Preview for more on the top college teams to watch this fall. Can’t find your team in the Top 25? View our full rankings to see where every team stands.
Last Season: 10-3 (7-1) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Bethune-Cookman football won their second straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title last season with a 7-1 conference record. Their lone conference-loss came at the hands of Norfolk State by three points at home, and their non-conference losses were all pretty understandable. One was at the hands of eventual FBS National Champion Florida State, the best football team in America outside of the NFL, and the other was on the road in the first round of the FCS playoffs to eventual National Quarterfinalist Coastal Carolina – the fifth-best scoring offense in the FCS.
Dearly Departed
-Alex Monroe OL – First team All-MEAC
-Rashard Brown OL – First team All-MEAC
-Eddie Poole WR – Second team All-MEAC, 39 receptions, 682 yards, 3 TDs
-Isidore Jackson RB – Second team All-MEAC, 148 carries, 852 yards, 8 TDs, 21 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TDs
-Dyron Dye DL – Second team All-MEAC, 36 tackles, 9 TFL, 6 sacks, 1 FF, 1 blocked kick
-Jarkevis Fields LB – First team All-MEAC, 105 tackles, 6 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 2 INTs, 1 FF
-Tim Burke DB – Third team All-MEAC, 28 tackles, 3 INTs
What to Watch For
Defense’s Back – Three of the four starters in the Wildcat defensive backfield will return for the 2014 season, including Bethune-Cookman’s lone FCS All-American: second-teamer Nick Addison. Addison lead the team with five interceptions last year and second team All-MEAC d-lineman LeBrandon Richardson for the second most tackles on the team (64). Both will be back as a seniors. This defensive unit allowed the fourth-fewest passing yards per game in the FCS last season (149.2), along with the second-fewest total yards (255.5), the eighth-fewest rushing yards (106.3), and the sixth-fewest points (17.8). They should be excellent once again.
Expectations
The Wildcats lost two of their biggest producers on offense: top running back Isidore Jackson and top receiver Eddie Poole. They aren’t going to be easy to replace. On defense, they lost linebacker Jarkevis Fields, whose 105 tackles led the team by a wide margin.
The Wildcats retained some talent as well though. Quarterback Quentin Williams will be back, but he lost two of his best protectors in first team All-MEAC linemen Alex Monroe and Rashard Brown. They’ll get their other first team lineman, center Andrew Edourad, back for his senior year, and a stable of backs competing to replace Jackson. The law of averages says at least one of them has to be legit, but it might take time to find which one that is. We predict the Wildcats’ defense will carry them to a third-straight MEAC title and another FCS playoff berth by extension. Beyond that, once playoffs start, anything can happen.
