# 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.

## 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.
| 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.

## Schedule

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

## 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 |