Complete Game Notes (PDF):  http://nccueaglepride.com/documents/2013/10/22/FB2013_1026atSSU.pdf?id=732

Video:  NCCU Football Weekly Press Conference:  http://youtu.be/m3LF2xZO3IA

THE GAME
North Carolina Central University "Eagles" vs. Savannah State University "Tigers"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, October 26, 2013 – Kickoff at 2:00 p.m.

THE SITE
Ted A. Wright Stadium (8,500 capacity/Field Turf) - Savannah, Ga.

THE RECORDS
N.C. Central (3-4 overall, 1-2 MEAC); Savannah State (1-7 overall, 0-4 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network mobile app (iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android, Kindle Fire HD); "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (audio internet stream). Broadcast starts at 1:30 p.m. (Chris Hooks, play-by-play; Joe Simmons, color analyst).
Video: Live internet video stream at www.SSUathletics.com/showcase (pay-per-view video internet stream/$5.95). Broadcast starts at 1:45 p.m.

QUICK HITS
• Savannah State celebrates homecoming.
• NCCU faces its longest road game of the season by driving 352 miles to Savannah State University.
• Savannah State is 4-39 in its last 43 games. Two of those wins are against NCCU.
• NCCU senior linebacker Tazmon Foster (Henderson, N.C.), who amassed 80 tackles in eight games last season, leads the MEAC with 81 tackles (3rd in FCS). Foster made his NCCU debut at Savannah State last season, recording a team-high eight tackles.
• NCCU sophomore Adrian Wilkins tops the MEAC in both kickoff returns (29.3 yards per return) and all-purpose yards (124.6 yards per game), and has scored touchdowns on two kickoff returns (100, 91 yards), a punt return (89 yards) and a reception. He is the only Eagle in the NCCU record books with a kickoff return touchdown, a punt return touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same season.

THE SERIES
This will be the ninth football meeting between Savannah State University and North Carolina Central University. NCCU leads the series 5-2-1, but the Tigers have won two of the last three games. In the first contest between the Tigers and Eagles, the two teams played to a 0-0 tie to open the 1974 season (Sept. 14, 1974) in Savannah, Ga. NCCU then won four straight match-ups with the Tigers between 1975-2009. On Nov. 13, 2010, the Tigers captured their first series win over NCCU with a 28-21 victory in Savannah, Ga., and made it two straight on Sept. 24, 2011 by edging the Eagles 33-30 in Durham, N.C.  Last year, NCCU out-scored the Tigers 45-33 in Savannah, Ga.
Sept. 22, 2012 - NCCU 45, SSU 33 (Savannah, Ga.)
Sept. 24, 2011 - SSU 33, NCCU 30 (Durham, N.C.)
Nov. 13, 2010 - SSU 28, NCCU 21 (Savannah, Ga.)
Nov. 21, 2009 - NCCU 35, SSU 14 (Durham, N.C.)
Nov. 22, 2008 - NCCU 10, SSU 7 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 20, 2007 - NCCU 30, SSU 14 (Savannah, Ga.)
Sept. 13, 1975 - NCCU 30, SSU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
Sept. 14, 1974 - NCCU 0, SSU 0 (Savannah, Ga.)

THE LAST MEETING 
(Sept. 22, 2012 - NCCU 45, SSU 33)  Trailing 14-10 at halftime, North Carolina Central University tied a school record with 28 points in the third quarter to pull away from Savannah State University, as the Eagles piled up 545 yards of total offense en route to a 45-33 win inside T.A. Wright Stadium in Savannah, Ga. NCCU quarterback Jordan Reid, making his first start since NCCU's last trip to Savannah in 2010, enjoyed a career-best night with 241 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-34 passing. Reid threw two touchdowns in the game-deciding third quarter, a 30-yard connection with Marvin Poole to give NCCU its first lead and a 26-yard strike to Decona Roberts to put the Eagles up by three scores. Poole ended up with career-highs of seven receptions for 93 yards and two trips to the end zone. A key play in that third quarter was a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown by Arthur Goforth, who finished with 213 all-purpose yards, which provided NCCU with a 31-20 cushion at the 7:10 mark. Goforth collected 93 rushing yards, 40 receiving yards on four catches, 72 punt return yards and eight kickoff return yards. NCCU's 545 yards of total offense ranks 10th on the school's all-time list and is the most by the Eagles since piling up 589 total yards versus Edward Waters on Aug. 27, 2005. Linebacker Tazmon Foster topped the NCCU defense with eight tackles, while NCCU redshirt freshman Ryan Smith collected six takedowns and three passes defended, including a touchdown-saving interception in the end zone.

LAST WEEK
(Morgan State 34, NCCU 22) Morgan State University dominated the first quarter of play then held off a persistent NCCU squad the rest of the way as the visiting Bears spoiled the Eagles' homecoming celebration with a 34-22 road win in front of a sellout crowd of 11,763 fans packed inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium on Oct. 19.

(Bethune-Cookman 48, Savannah State 21) Savannah State held Bethune-Cookman to six points in the second half, but the defending MEAC champion Wildcats defeated SSU 48-21 before a crowd of 4,693 at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla. Bethune-Cookman scored on its first four possessions to jump out to a 28-0 lead. It was the fifth consecutive loss by the SSU Tigers.

THE COACHES
North Carolina Central: Dwayne Foster (Delaware State, 1993) joined NCCU in 2011 as assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach, before being elevated to interim head coach prior to the 2013 season. Previously, he served as running backs coach at Prairie View A&M University (2005-10), tight ends and running backs coach at Catholic University (2004), and offensive line coach at Bowie State University (2003). Foster made his name on the high school level in Washington, D.C., as the head coach of Archbishop Carroll High School from 1997-2003. At Archbishop, Foster received coach of the year honors by the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Committee in 1998. Foster played college football at Delaware State University from 1989-93 and helped the Hornets capture two MEAC Championships during his freshmen and junior seasons before graduating in 1993. Foster is a member of the Black Coaches and American Football Coaches Associations, was part of the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program in 2010 with the Buffalo Bills and in 2012 with the Cincinnati Bengals, and participated in the NCAA Men's Football Coaching Academy in Indianapolis, Ind., in June 2006.

Savannah State: Earnest Wilson III was hired as Savannah State's 24th head football coach on June 7, 2013.  In his 23rd year of coaching, came to SSU from fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) member Hampton University, where he has served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since 2012. Wilson has also worked at Jackson State University (2010-12), New Mexico State (2005-09), Benedict College (2003-04), Oberlin College (1998-99), Elizabeth City State University, Alabama A&M (1994-96), Penn State (1993), the University of Maine, and Allegheny College (1990-92). Wilson's coaching background also includes a stint as the head coach and director of football operations for the Carolina Rhinos (2001-02) and Jacksonville Tomcats (1999-2001) of Arena League Football 2 (AFL2). Wilson also served as the head coach of the Dayton Skyhawks of the Indoor Football League (1999). Wilson played football while receiving both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Texas Tech University. He earned a bachelor of science in recreation in 1989 and a master of education in sports administration in 1990.

NCCU'S FOSTER TOPS CONFERENCE IN TACKLES
NCCU senior linebacker Tazmon Foster leads the MEAC with an average of 11.6 tackles per game (81 total tackles). A 5-10, 215-pound native of Henderson, N.C., Foster amassed a career-high 17 tackles (eight solo) along with a forced fumble against No. 4 Towson. In just 15 games with the Eagles, the linebacker has totaled 160 tackles and has two touchdowns to his credit with fumble and interception returns to the end zone.

WILKINS TOPS MEAC IN ALL-PURPOSE YARDS; KNACK FOR BIG PLAYS
NCCU sophomore receiver and return specialist Adrian Wilkins (Forest City, N.C.) leads the MEAC with an average of 124.6 all-purpose yards per game. He is the only student-athlete in the conference to average more than 100 all-purpose yards per contest. Wilkins also leads the league in kickoff return yards with an average of 29.3 per return. Wilkins has a knack for making big plays. He owns the second-longest kickoff return (100 yards at Charlotte, Sept. 14, 2013) and punt return (89 yards at Howard, Oct. 5, 2013) in school history. As a receiver, Wilkins has caught 21 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown. He is the only Eagle in the NCCU record books with a kickoff return touchdown, a punt return touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same season.

EAGLES TURNING DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS INTO POINTS
Since the start of the 2012 season, the Eagles have demonstrated a knack for finding the end zone when the offense is off the field. In the past 18 games, NCCU has scored 15 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including five this season and 10 in 2012. In that time, the Eagles have made trips to the end zone on six punt returns, three kickoff returns, two blocked field goal returns, three interceptions and a fumble recovery. NCCU's nine special teams touchdowns in the past two seasons (6 PR, 3 KOR) are more than the amount by the Eagles in the previous seven seasons (eight from 2005-11).