Elijah Odom's three-touchdown day wasn't enough as Benedict hit a field goal as time ran out to defeat Clark Atlanta 24-21 Saturday at CAU Panther Stadium.

On a chilly, drizzly Homecoming day, Odom threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, including a 33-yard, fourth quarter TD pass to Drakar Jerry that tied the game 21-21 early in fourth quarter.

But in six plays that amounted to zero yards on their next two drives, the CAU offense sputtered after that.  Benedict (4-5, 1-4 SIAC) didn't fare much better with two fourth-quarter drives resulting in punts.  But their final drive with 1:29 remaining saw Tigers quarterback Eric Phoenix move Benedict 51 yards in ten plays.

The final play was a 17-yard field goal by Rigoberto Tinoco that split the uprights as time ran out, giving Benedict the win.  The last time Benedict played CAU at Panther Stadium was a Homecoming day in 2018 when the Tigers also defeated Clark Atlanta by three points, 27-24.

Odom finished 11-of-23 for 143 yards with touchdown passes to Jerry and Kindell Wimberly.  Odom score on 3-yard touchdown run. 

Jerry caught four passes for 73 yards and a touchdown, while Wimberly hauled in three passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.  Daquon Kincey rushed five times for 43 yards and Jeremiah Gibbs ran eight times for 22 yards.

Defensively, Travis Taylor led CAU with nine tackles, eight of them solo.  Frankie Cullum also had nien tackles, six of them solo. Rodney Lewis finished with six stops – all of them solo – along with three tackles for losses. Charles Crawford, Timothy Jones, and Aderrius Barron each had five tackles.

Phoenix led Benedict with 280 yards passing, completing 27-of-32 throws, three of them for touchdowns. Omari Coleman rushed 19 times for 108 yards.

Next Saturday, the Clark Atlanta closes out the season when they host this year's football Battle of the Atlanta University Center against Morehouse at CAU Panther Stadium at 2 p.m.