HBCU football delivered a gritty November chapter as DeSean Jackson and Delaware State survived a soggy fourth quarter in Baltimore, edging Morgan State 14–12 to move to 7–3 overall and 3–0 in the MEAC. The win underscores how fast this HBCU turnaround has come: Delaware State won just two games total over the previous two seasons before Jackson’s arrival, and these seven victories are the program’s most since the 2007 MEAC title run under Al Lavan.
Delaware State punched first and then held on. On the game’s second snap, James Jones ripped a 68-yard touchdown burst to stake DSU to a 7–0 lead. The defense quickly set the tone with five sacks on the night, and short-field offense made it 14–3 early in the second quarter when Amori Francis fell on a goal-line fumble in the end zone. From there the game became about field position, punting, and pressure—classic HBCU November football in tight weather—while DeSean Jackson’s defense repeatedly answered in the red zone.
Morgan State kept clawing back with Alex Amaya field goals (37 yards in the first, 19 yards late in the third) and then seized momentum when Randall Nauden sprinted 67 yards for a touchdown just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter. The rain arrived and so did the nerves: Morgan’s two-point try failed, keeping DSU ahead 14–12. Delaware State leaned on Jones (13 carries, 115 yards) and the punt team to manage the clock, a smart, cold-weather approach that fits an HBCU program learning how to close games. And when Morgan threatened late, DeSean Jackson’s front made the final stands that mattered.
The stat sheet tells a story of toughness. Delaware State and Morgan State finished nearly even in total offense (283 to 285), but DSU won time of possession (31:59), posted those five sacks for 49 yards lost, and forced two fumbles—swing plays on a wet night. Kaiden Bennett (16-of-24, 169 yards) absorbed two interceptions yet kept the chains moving with timely throws to Maurice Clark and Ryan Pellum Taylor, while punter Dyson Roberts flipped the field with a 66-yard boot among his seven punts. This is the complementary style DeSean Jackson has been preaching—defense, special teams, and a strike or two from the run game—an HBCU template that travels in November.
Context magnifies the meaning. Delaware State is now 7–3 and 3–0 in league play after winning only two games combined in 2023 and 2024; the seven wins are the most since that 2007 MEAC championship season. That’s the kind of swing that changes expectations across HBCU football. Morgan’s late push ended with a 45-yard field goal try sailing wide as the clock hit 0:00, sealing the road win and another résumé line for DeSean Jackson’s first-year blueprint.
From the explosive start to the rain-soaked finish, Delaware State showed a hardened identity: run the ball, rush the passer, and win the last five minutes. In a league defined by razor-thin margins, that’s how HBCU contenders are made—one grimy, disciplined November victory at a time under DeSean Jackson.