# 2019 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team

The 2019 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team represented Bethune–Cookman University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Terry Sims and played their home games at Daytona Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They finished the season 7–4, 5–3 in MEAC play to finish in fourth place.

## Preseason
### MEAC poll

In the MEAC preseason poll released on July 26, 2019, the Wildcats were predicted to finish in second place.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | North Carolina A&T | 304 (12) |
| 2 | Bethune–Cookman | 237 (1) |
| 3 | Florida A&M | 204 (2) |
| 4 | Howard | 166 |
| 5 | North Carolina Central | 161 (1) |
| 6 | South Carolina State | 152 |
| 7 | Norfolk State | 119 (1) |
| 8 | Morgan State | 87 (1) |
| 9 | Delaware State | 46 |

### Preseason All–MEAC teams

The Wildcats had eleven players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 3:00 p.m. | vs. Jackson State* | Georgia State StadiumAtlanta, GA (MEAC/SWAC Challenge) | ESPN2 | W 36–15 | 23,333 |
| September 7 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 23 Southeastern Louisiana* | Daytona StadiumDaytona Beach, FL | | Cancelled | |
| September 14 | 4:00 p.m. | at Miami (FL)* | Hard Rock StadiumMiami Gardens, FL | ACCN | L 0–63 | 52,036 |
| September 21 | 7:00 p.m. | at Mississippi Valley State* | Rice–Totten StadiumItta Bena, MS | Youtube | W 22–6 | 6,487 |
| September 28 | 1:00 p.m. | at Howard | William H. Greene StadiumWashington, D.C. | ESPN3 | W 37–29 | 5,700 |
| October 5 | 4:00 p.m. | Morgan State | Daytona StadiumDaytona Beach, FL | ESPN3 | W 31–20 | 5,642 |
| October 10 | 6:00 p.m. | at North Carolina Central | O'Kelly–Riddick StadiumDurham, NC | ESPNU | W 27–13 | 5,261 |
| October 19 | 4:00 p.m. | Norfolk State | Daytona StadiumDaytona Beach, FL | ESPN3 | W 35–22 | 2,135 |
| October 26 | 4:00 p.m. | South Carolina State | Daytona StadiumDaytona Beach, FL | ESPN3 | L 19–27 | 12,204 |
| November 9 | 2:00 p.m. | at Delaware State | Alumni StadiumDover, DE | ESPN3 | L 13–16 | 879 |
| November 16 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 25 North Carolina A&T | BB&T StadiumGreensboro, NC | ESPN3 | L 17–47 | 10,355 |
| November 23 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. No. 12 Florida A&M | Camping World StadiumOrlando, FL (Florida Classic) | ESPNews | W 31–27 | 55,730 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
* ↑ The game against Southeastern Louisiana was cancelled due to the expected impact of Hurricane Dorian on the Daytona Beach, Florida area.

## Game summaries
### Vs. Jackson State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 22 | 14 | 36 |
| Tigers | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 15 |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | COOK | JSU |
| 1 | 12:35 | 6 | 60 | 2:25 | JSU | 25-yard field goal by Adrian Salazar | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | 10:10 | 6 | 60 | 3:12 | JSU | Jordan Johnson 8-yard touchdown run, Adrian Salazar kick blocked | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | 7:18 | | | | COOK | Interception returned 50 yards for touchdown by Trevor Merritt, Xavier McDonald kick good | 7 | 9 |
| 3 | 5:34 | 3 | 60 | 1:44 | JSU | Warren Newman 34-yard touchdown reception from Jalon Jones, Adrian Salazar kick missed | 7 | 12 |
| 3 | 4:09 | 5 | 57 | 1:25 | COOK | Akevious Williams 20-yard touchdown run, Xavier McDonald kick good | 14 | 15 |
| 3 | 2:33 | 3 | 9 | 0:59 | COOK | Taron Mallard 1-yard touchdown reception from Akevious Williams, 2-point pass good | 22 | 15 |
| 4 | 11:16 | 5 | 47 | 1:34 | COOK | LaDerrien Wilson 5-yard touchdown run, Xavier McDonald kick good | 29 | 15 |
| 4 | 9:01 | | | | COOK | Fumble recovery returned 96 yards for touchdown by Sam Marc, Xavier McDonald kick good | 36 | 15 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 36 | 15 |

### At Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hurricanes | 7 | 21 | 14 | 21 | 63 |

### At Mississippi Valley State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 2 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 22 |
| Delta Devils | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### At Howard

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 21 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 37 |
| Bison | 7 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 29 |

### Morgan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 20 |
| Wildcats | 3 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 31 |

### At North Carolina Central

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| Eagles | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 13 |

### Norfolk State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 22 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 19 | 6 | 10 | 35 |

### South Carolina State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 19 |

### At Delaware State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Hornets | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 16 |

### At North Carolina A&T

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 25 Aggies | 14 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 47 |

### Vs. Florida A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Rattlers | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
| Wildcats | 7 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 31 |