Complete Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
South Carolina State Univ. “Bulldogs” vs. North Carolina Central University “Eagles”
THE KICKOFF
Saturday, October 6, 2012 – Kickoff at 2:30 p.m.
THE SITE
Lucas Oil Stadium (62,421 capacity/FieldTurf) - Indianapolis, Ind. (Home of NFL's Indianapolis Colts)
THE RECORDS
South Carolina State (2-3 overall; 1-1 MEAC); N.C. Central (2-2 overall, 1-0 MEAC)
MEDIA COVERAGE
Radio: WNCU 90.7 FM (Durham, N.C.); “GameCentral” at NCCUEaglePride.com (audio internet stream). Starts at 2:00 p.m. (Chris Hooks, play-by-play; Joe Simmons, color analyst)
QUICK HITS
• This week’s game is part of the 29th annual Circle City Classic.
• Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, served as the host of the most recent Super Bowl.
• Lucas Oil Stadium will be the sixth NFL venue NCCU has played in since 2000. The Eagles boast a 4-1 record in those contests.
• This is the fourth of five straight road games for NCCU.
• NCCU and SCSU combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense in last season’s meeting. (SCSU 528 + NCCU 474 = 1,002)
THE SERIES
This will be the 20th football meeting between South Carolina State and NCCU since the two schools first played on Oct. 15, 1927. SCSU leads the series 11-8. The Bulldogs have won the last seven match-ups dating back to 1976. NCCU’s last victory over SCSU was on Nov. 1, 1975, in Durham, N.C., by a score of 6-3.
Oct. 8, 2011 - SCSU 49, NCCU 38 (Orangeburg, S.C.)
Oct. 23, 1993 - SCSU 42, NCCU 13 (Orangeburg, S.C.)
Oct. 24, 1992 - SCSU 69, NCCU 0 (Orangeburg, S.C.)
Oct. 27, 1979 - SCSU 26, NCCU 6 (Charleston, S.C.)
Oct. 28, 1978 - SCSU 17, NCCU 15 (Orangeburg, S.C.)
Oct. 29, 1977 - SCSU 45, NCCU 12 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 30, 1976 - SCSU 30, NCCU 0 (Orangeburg, S.C.)
Nov. 1, 1975 - NCCU 6, SCSU 3 (Durham, N.C.)
Nov. 2, 1974 - SCSU 21, NCCU 3 (Orangeburg, S.C.)
Oct. 27, 1973 - SCSU 24, NCCU 3 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 28, 1972 - NCCU 43, SCSU 0 (Orangeburg, S.C.)
Oct. 30, 1971 - NCCU 21, SCSU 12 (Durham, N.C.)
Nov. 3, 1956 - SCSU 26, NCCU 12 (Orangeburg, S.C.)
Nov. 5, 1955 - NCCU 26, SCSU 7 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 1, 1949 - NCCU 7, SCSU 6 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 2, 1948 - NCCU 19, SCSU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
Sept. 26, 1941 - NCCU 19, SCSU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 20, 1928 - NCCU 6, SCSU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 15, 1927 - SCSU 10, NCCU 6 (Orangeburg, S.C.)
THE LAST MEETING
(Oct. 8, 2011 - South Carolina State 49, NCCU 38) North Carolina Central University amassed 474 yards of total offense, but a pair of fumbles in the second half resulted in go-ahead touchdowns for South Carolina State University as the Bulldogs celebrated homecoming with a 49-38 victory in front of 22,181 fans inside Oliver C. Dawson Bulldog Stadium. The two teams combined for more than 1,000 total yards, as SC State posted 528 yards, including a dominating 357 rushing yards. Bulldogs junior running back Asheton Jordan ran for 226 yards, averaging 10.3 yards per carry, and found the end zone twice to lead SCSU. As a team, SC State threw only six passes in the second half, including just two in the fourth quarter, both coming in the opening drive of the final stanza. NCCU quarterback Michael Johnson dives into the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown. NCCU was sparked by the Durham duo of senior quarterback Michael Johnson and junior receiver Geovonie Irvine. Johnson threw for 315 yards for the second straight game, matching a career-high, while completing a career-best 29 passes on 47 pass attempts with two touchdown tosses. He also rushed for a team-high 50 yards and a score. Irvine equaled a career-high with a season-best nine receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles defense was paced by senior linebacker Brandon Outlaw with 11 tackles (seven solo), a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. NCCU held a 24-21 halftime lead, but SCSU returned a fumble 28 yards for a touchdown in the opening minute of the third quarter. NCCU regained the lead 38-35 at 10:49 of the fourth quarter, but the Eagles fumbled again and the Bulldogs recovered. On the ensuing drive, SCSU used six consecutive rushes for 53 yards in just 1:29 to take back the advantage for good, 42-38, with 9:11 remaining. It was the first gridiron meeting between the two schools since 1993. SCSU now has seven straight victories in the series with NCCU, and the Bulldogs lead the series 11-8 since the two teams first played in 1927.
LAST WEEK
(NCCU - Bye Week) After a 45-33 win over Savannah State on Sept. 22, the Eagles had a week off.
(South Carolina State 14, Norfolk State 0) South Carolina State scored twice in the first quarter and then held Norfolk State scoreless as the Bulldogs posted a 14-0 shutout victory at home on Saturday. Each team collected 261 yards of total offense.
NCCU EAGLES IN NFL VENUES
Since 2000, NCCU has played in five NFL venues. The Eagles won their first three contest before suffering an overtime loss in 2010 inside the Georgia Dome. NCCU was successful in its last venture into an NFL stadium, defeating Central State 42-3 at Cleveland Browns Stadium in 2011.
Recent Trips to NFL Stadiums:
Cleveland Browns Stadium - Cleveland Browns (Sept. 10, 2011 vs. Central State - W, 42-3)
Georgia Dome – Atlanta Falcons (Oct. 16, 2010 vs. Georgia State – L, 17-20 OT)
Giants Stadium – New York Giants (Sept. 15, 2007 vs. Elizabeth City State – W, 18-10)
Ericsson Stadium – Carolina Panthers (Nov. 4, 2001 vs. Johnson C. Smith – W, 34-3)
Veterans Stadium – Philadelphia Eagles (Sept. 30, 2000 vs. Morris Brown – W, 19-16)
NCCU RUN DEFENSE TOPS IN MEAC, AMONG BEST IN NATION
Through four games, the NCCU defense has allowed just 83.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks first in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and eighth among the statistical leaders of the NCAA Division I-FCS. The Eagles also rank 11th in the nation (FCS) in tackles for loss with an average of 7.8 per contest. In last season’s meeting at South Carolina State, the Bulldogs rushed for 357 yards, an average of 7.8 yards per carry.
PUNT RETURN PROWESS
NCCU leads the MEAC and ranks second among NCAA Division I-FCS programs with a punt return average of 25.5 yards. The Eagles have returned eight punts for 204 yards and they are the only FCS team with three punt return touchdowns. The only other NCAA Division I program with three punt return touchdowns is Missouri.
IRVINE APPROACHING 3,000 CAREER ALL-PURPOSE YARDS
NCCU redshirt senior Geovonie Irvine needs 64 yards to become the seventh Eagle in NCCU history to reach 3,000 career all-purpose yards. The other Eagles to have accomplished that feat are Robert Clark (1983-86), Anthony Cooley (1988-91), Joe Simmons (1990-93), Monte Southerland (1993-96), Greg Pruitt, Jr. (2004-06) and current teammate Arthur Goforth (2009-12).
IRVINE IS SIXTH EAGLE WITH 2,000 RECEIVING YARDS
After tallying 53 receiving yards at Elon, senior Geovonie Irvine became just the sixth Eagle in NCCU history to record 2,000 receiving yards. The redshirt senior now has 2,052 career receiving yards to rank fifth on the school’s all-time list. Irvine needs 78 receiving yards to pass Terrence McNeill (1983-86; 2,129 yards) into the fourth spot.
IRVINE RANKS FOURTH AMONG NCCU RECEIVERS
Senior receiver Geovonie Irvine ranks as NCCU’s fourth all-time leading receiver with 146 career catches for 2,052 yards and 15 trips to the end zone. Up next on the list in the third spot is Antoine Calloway (1993-96) with 153 receptions for 1,920 yards and 17 touchdowns. Robert Clark (1983-86) is NCCU’s career leader in receptions with 210 for 4,231 yards and 38 touchdowns.
PIN-POINT PLACEMENT BY NCCU PUNTER CORNELIUS
Dating back to the Elon game in 2011, NCCU punter Matthew Cornelius (R-Jr., 6-0, 163, Charlotte, N.C.) has placed 21 punts inside the 20-yard line without a touchback. In 88 punts during his NCCU career, Cornelius has knocked 27 punts inside the 20-yard line with only one touchback. He also has blasted five punts 50 yards or better with a career-long boot of 66 yards.
ARTHUR GOING FORTH IN KICKOFF RETURN YARDAGE
NCCU senior running back and return specialist Arthur Goforth (Sr., 5-8, 171, Columbia, S.C.) has moved passed Montez Patterson (1998-2001 / 1,658 kickoff return yards) into second place on the Eagles’ career kickoff return yards list with 1,774 yards (21.9 avg.). Goforth boasts two of the longest kickoff returns in NCCU history, ranking third with a 97-yard score against Winston-Salem State on Sept. 11, 2010, and eighth with a 92-yard trip to the end zone at Appalachian State on Sept. 18, 2010. During his career as an Eagle, he has amassed 3,051 all-purpose yards (626 rushing, 171 receiving, 480 punt return, 1,774 kickoff return).
THE COACHES
North Carolina Central: Henry Frazier III (Bowie State, 1993) is in his second season as head coach at NCCU. Prior to his arrival in Durham, N.C., Frazier spent seven seasons (2004-10) at the helm of the Prairie View A&M University Panthers football team. He took over a program that experienced the nation’s longest losing streak, dropping 80 straight contests from 1989-98, and transformed the Panthers into SWAC champions in 2009. Among his many coaching honors is the 2009 Eddie Robinson National FCS Coach of the Year award. Frazier also served as head coach at his alma mater, Bowie State University (1999-2003).
South Carolina State: Oliver “Buddy” Pough is in his 11th season as head coach at South Carolina State, his alma mater. Since succeeding head coach emeritus Willie Jeffries as Bulldog head coach in 2002, Pough has built the SC State football program into a perennial power in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). During his 11-year tenure at the school where he earned a bachelor’s and a master’s as well as All-MEAC honors as an offensive lineman, Pough has compiled an enviable 85-36 overall record. His teams have also captured two MEAC titles (2008 & 2009) outright and shared two others (2004, 2010).
ABOUT NCCU FOOTBALL
North Carolina Central University enters its second season of full NCAA Division I (FCS) athletic competition as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Eagles won back-to-back football conference championships and a Black College National Championship in their final two years in the Division II ranks (2005 and 2006) before starting the transition to Division I in 2007. During its storied gridiron tradition, NCCU has produced 129 all-conference selections, 63 all-Americans, 40 NFL draft picks, 10 conference championships and two Black College National Championships.
NCCU RECEIVER NICELY PULLS DOUBLE-DUTY
NCCU senior receiver Jonathan Nicely (R-Sr., 6-4, 197, Augusta, Ga.) is also a forward on the NCCU men’s basketball team. Nicely, who was also a two-sport standout at Evans High School (Ga.), came off the Eagles bench in 17 games during the 2011-12 season, averaging 1.9 minutes of action. As a sophomore in 2010-11, he appeared in 27 contests, averaging 6.8 minutes per game.
PRESEASON INJURIES HURT NCCU
NCCU’s offense took a hit in the preseason with two season-ending injuries. The Eagles’ leading rusher Idreis Augustus and veteran redshirt senior receiver Andrew Johnson are out of action for 2012 after suffering knee injuries.
NCCU’S IRVINE, PROCTOR EARN PRESEASON HONORS
NCCU seniors Geovonie Irvine and Xavier Proctor were selected to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference Football Team. Irvine, a 5-7, 161-pound native of Durham, N.C., was named to the All-MEAC First Team as a return specialist. Last season Irvine garnered All-MEAC Second Team recognition in the postseason after returning 18 kickoffs for 400 yards (22.2 avg.), including an 81-yard touchdown scamper, and six punts for 54 yards (9.0 avg.). He also led the Eagles with 47 receptions for 580 yards and five touchdowns. Irvine enters his final season as NCCU’s fourth all-time leading receiver with 138 career catches for 1,920 yards and 13 trips to the end zone. Proctor, a 6-6, 272-pound native of Ellicott City, Md., earned All-MEAC Second Team honors as a defensive lineman. In 2011, he tallied 37 tackles with 7.5 hits for a loss and 3.5 sacks, along with two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.
NCCU PICKED TO FINISH NINTH IN THE MEAC
Under the direction of second-year head coach Henry Frazier III, North Carolina Central University has been picked to finish ninth in the 11-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, according to a poll of league head football coaches and sports information directors. In its first season back in the MEAC, NCCU placed 10th during the 2011 campaign with a 1-7 conference record and an overall mark of 2-9.
LISTEN TO NCCU FOOTBALL ON WNCU 90.7 FM
Thanks to a new partnership between WNCU 90.7 FM and the North Carolina Central University Department of Athletics, the 50,000-watt Durham radio station will air the broadcast of NCCU football games during the 2012 season. The 90.7 FM signal encompasses a coverage area of more than 100 miles, reaching listeners in Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill and beyond. WNCU, a non-commercial public radio station, last carried NCCU football games during the regular season in 1997. “I am excited about this revitalized collaboration with NCCU Athletics and the football program,” said Lackisha Freeman, WNCU General Manager. “Additionally, I am glad to have the football games back on our airwaves and hope this will demonstrate the true meaning of ‘Eagle Pride, Amplified.’ I am optimistic that this partnership will be rewarding for all parties involved, most importantly, our student-athletes.” According to Freeman, WNCU plans to have a presence at all NCCU home football games, giving fans the opportunity to listen to its programming and meet the station’s on-air personalities and staff. “I am truly excited about our new partnership with WNCU,” said Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree, NCCU Director of Athletics. “The opportunity for NCCU Athletics to be a part of the WNCU family of loyal followers will enhance our constituent-base and that of WNCU. General Manager Lackisha Freeman has been tremendous in this collaborative effort and we look forward to the marketing potential this partnership will bring to the Department of Athletics and WNCU.” Chris Hooks, entering his fifth gridiron season as the play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, will continue to announce the live action. The broadcasts will begin with a pre-game show 30 minutes prior to the scheduled kickoff time. For more details about WNCU 90.7 FM, visit www.WNCU.org.
EAGLES’ EQUIPMENT RIDES IN STYLE
North Carolina Central University and Tru-Pak Moving Systems, Inc., partnered to unveil a brand new truck with NCCU style on Aug. 1, 2011, in front of McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium. Tru-Pak Moving Systems, Inc., “The Official Mover of NCCU Football,” uses the 28-foot truck to transport the Eagles’ gridiron equipment to road games and is part of Tru-Pak’s fleet of more than 200 trucks. “I can’t think of a finer institution to give this gift to than NCCU,” stated Allyson Siegel, Executive Vice President of Tru-Pak Moving Systems, Inc. “Producing leaders in the world for years in both the classroom and on the athletic field, NCCU is leading the way for other institutions. I am very excited about the upcoming season and look forward to being part of their success in years to come.” The truck is used primarily to aid the NCCU football program move its equipment to and from the site of competition, which enhances the travel experience for the student-athletes and support staff; while also giving the institution visibility not only across North Carolina, but nationwide as the truck is used as part of the normal fleet during the week and the rest of the year. “I’m so excited about our new partnership with Tru-Pak Moving Systems,” said NCCU Athletics Director Dr. Ingrid Wicker-McCree. “As our program grows, we are looking to form great corporate sponsorships such as this. Ms. Allyson Siegel has been wonderful in her support of our athletics program, and most importantly, our student-athletes. We will move in style this season.” Tru-Pak Moving Systems, Inc., has been a family owned and operated full-service moving and storage company for more than 50 years. This company averages 4,500 moves annually. Eagle fans are encouraged to check out their website at www.Tru-Pak.com or call 1-800-659-122 ext. 211.
