2018 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team

The 2018 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team represented Bethune–Cookman University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Terry Sims and played their home games at the newly renamed Daytona Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They finished the season 7–5, 5–2 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for second place.

2018 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
2018 record	7–5 (5–2 MEAC)
Head coach	Terry Sims (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Allen Suber (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Charles Jones
Home stadium	Daytona Stadium (Capacity: 9,601)

2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 North Carolina A&T $		6	–	1					9	–	2
Bethune–Cookman		5	–	2					7	–	5
Florida A&M		5	–	2					6	–	5
South Carolina State		4	–	3					5	–	6
Howard		4	–	3					4	–	6
North Carolina Central		3	–	4					5	–	6
Morgan State		3	–	4					4	–	7
Norfolk State		2	–	5					4	–	7
Delaware State		2	–	5					3	–	8
Savannah State		1	–	6					2	–	8
$ – Conference champion Rankings from STATS Poll

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2017 season 7–4, 6–2 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for second place.

Preseason

MEAC preseason poll

In a vote of the MEAC head coaches and sports information directors, the Wildcats were picked to finish in fourth place.[1]

Predicted finish	Team
1	North Carolina A&T
2	Howard
3	North Carolina Central
4	Bethune–Cookman
5	Florida A&M
6	Norfolk State
7	South Carolina State
8	Savannah State
9	Morgan State
10	Delaware State

Preseason All-MEAC Teams

The Wildcats had five players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.[2]

Offense 1st team Dwayne Brown – OL 3rd team Tupac Isme – RB

Defense 2nd team Todney Evans – DL 3rd team Kevin Thompson – DL

Special teams 1st team Uriel Hernandez – K

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 p.m.	at Tennessee State*	Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN (John Merritt Classic)	ESPN+	L 3–34	14,069
September 8	4:00 p.m.	Virginia–Lynchburg*	Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, FL	ESPN3	W 79–16	4,662
September 15	6:00 p.m.	at Florida Atlantic*	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL	Stadium	L 28–49	19,017
September 22	4:30 p.m.	vs. Howard	Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, IN (Circle City Classic)	ESPN3	L 35–41	19,172
September 29	6:00 p.m.	at Savannah State	Ted Wright Stadium Savannah, GA	ESPN3	W 35–20	5,018
October 6	4:00 p.m.	Mississippi Valley State*	Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, FL	ESPN3	W 41–27	10,278
October 13	2:00 p.m.	at South Carolina State	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC		W 28–26	12,213
October 20	4:00 p.m.	No. 19 North Carolina A&T	Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, FL		L 10–35	6,225
October 27[lower-alpha 1]	12:00 p.m.	at Nebraska*	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	BTN	L 9–45	88,735
November 3	4:00 p.m.	at Morgan State	Hughes Stadium Baltimore, MD		W 30–28	2,008
November 8	7:00 p.m.	North Carolina Central	Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, FL	ESPNU	W 28–25 ^2OT	3,145
November 17	2:00 p.m.	vs. Florida A&M	Camping World Stadium Orlando, FL (Florida Classic)	ESPN Classic	W 33–19	52,142
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Source: Schedule

1. Nebraska finalized an agreement to play Bethune–Cookman on October 27 at Memorial Stadium to fill an opening on their schedule and will replace the Cornhuskers’ September 1 game against Akron.[3]

Game summaries

at Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	3	0	0	3
Tigers	14	7	3	10	34

Virginia–Lynchburg

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dragons	0	9	7	0	16
Wildcats	30	28	21	0	79

at Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	14	7	7	28
Owls	29	7	7	6	49

vs Howard

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bison	14	14	13	0	41
Wildcats	14	14	0	7	35

at Savannah State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	14	14	0	35
Tigers	7	7	0	6	20

Mississippi Valley State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Delta Devils	7	7	6	7	27
Wildcats	0	28	6	7	41

at South Carolina State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	10	15	0	3	28
Bulldogs	0	13	7	6	26

North Carolina A&T

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 19 Aggies	13	13	2	7	35
Wildcats	3	0	7	0	10

at Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	3	0	0	6	9
Cornhuskers	28	10	0	7	45

at Morgan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	9	7	7	7	30
Bears	0	8	7	13	28

North Carolina Central

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Eagles	6	10	0	6	3	0	25
Wildcats	2	6	7	7	3	3	28

vs Florida A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	12	14	33
Rattlers	3	10	6	0	19

References

1. "North Carolina A&T State Picked To Win 2018 MEAC Championship". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. July 27, 2018.
2. "NCAT's Raynard, NCCU's Reynolds Headline 2018 All-MEAC Preseason Football Team". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. July 25, 2018.
3. "Nebraska Announces Addition to 2018 Football Schedule". Nebraska Athletics Official Website. Retrieved September 20, 2018.