Central State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Central State (1‑2) travels to Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1‑2). No market line yet; the model gives Arkansas-Pine Bluff a 93% shot.
How they got here
Last three games
Central State · 1-2
Picked #389 in the preseason · now #383 — about right.
1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
W 49–21 @ Morehouse #423 of 669
L 26–48 @ Grambling #203 of 669
L 14–41 vs Kentucky State #290 of 669
Last three games
Arkansas-Pine Bluff · 1-2
Picked #248 in the preseason · now #236 — better than expected.
1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
L 51–53 @ Alcorn State #171 of 669
lost by 2 as a 8.5-point underdog
L 14–54 @ MissouriTop 25 #42 of 669
lost by 40 as a 55.5-point underdog
W 35–15 vs Morehouse #407 of 669
What’s at stake
Central State
- Central State is 1 game back in SIAC with 6 left to make it up.
- Central State is coming off a 28-point win.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff needs 5 more wins in the final 7 to reach bowl eligibility.
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff football is a historically black university program rebuilding under head coach Alonzo Hampton, who enters his fourth season in 2026 carrying a 9-26 record from his first three (2023-2025). The Golden Lions' high-water mark remains 2012 -- a 10-2 season under Monte Coleman, a three-time Super Bowl champion linebacker turned head coach, that produced a SWAC championship and a share of the HBCU national title. Today the program's biggest annual stage is the Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis against Alcorn State, a booking it inherited in 2023.
The series
Central State leads the series 1-0
1 meeting since 2017 · Central State won the last meeting
- 2017Central State 40–35
Conditions
99°F · 5 mph wind
Arkansas-Pine Bluff is worth +52.1 points (±8.0) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top tenth of FBS, 100th percentile.
100% at home, 0% on the road against FBS opponents (4–0 home, 0–7 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3.
The visitors travel about 583 miles to get here.
Recent games
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
- Wk 1Wvs Morehouse35-15
- Wk 1Lat Missouri14-54
- Wk 2Lat Alcorn State51-53
Central State
- Wk 1Lvs Kentucky State14-41
- Wk 1Lat Grambling26-48
- Wk 2Wat Morehouse49-21