Three HBCU football contenders are ranked in the latest AFCA FCS Coaches Poll: Florida A&M, North Carolina Central, and Jackson State. These three HBCU football contenders have had phenomenal seasons and are a few key wins away from a conference championship and a trip back to the Celebration Bowl.

For Florida A&M, ranked 18th in the latest poll, this position is familiar. They've enjoyed massive levels of success the past few years and won their first SWAC Championship and Celebration Bowl last year. Even with Willie Simmons departing the program to become running backs coach at Duke, the Rattlers haven't missed a beat. They scored narrow victories over Norfolk State and South Carolina State to start the season and started their SWAC slate of games with dominance as they were able to withstand  Alabama State's defensive intensity and leave Montgomery with a decisive victory.

In a true battle that will define the championship picture for the SWAC, the Rattlers will face off against 25th-ranked Jackson State. Jackson State is in year two under head coach T.C. Taylor and has found a system of success that works for them. They've only lost one game in the conference to Grambling State earlier this season and soundly beat Southern University and Texas Southern University.

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The Tigers escaped an offensive shootout with Alabama A&M in the Gulf Coast Classic to sit firmly behind Florida A&M as the second-ranked team in the SWAC East. Now, they look to establish separation and make it back to the SWAC Championship and the Celebration Bowl, getting what alluded them in the Deion Sanders era.

Meanwhile, North Carolina is tied for 21st in the latest poll with Abilene Christian University but is second to no one in supremacy in the MEAC. Many HBCU football fans and analysts believed that the graduation of Davius Richard from North Carolina Central may have significant repercussions. Would the Eagles halt their rapid ascension in HBCU football? Can Walker Harris produce a fraction of the game-changing offensive skill that Richard provided on a daily basis over the past few seasons?

The questions have been answered for North Carolina Central, as they've looked like a well-oiled machine. The Eagles shook off a tough 41-19 loss to Elon and rattled off four straight FCS wins, including dominant victories over rival North Carolina A&T and Campbell. As Trei Oliver and North Carolina Central prepare for homecoming and the rest of the conference games, is a trip back to Atlanta in store for them? Only time will tell.