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THE GAME    
Norfolk State University "Spartans" vs. North Carolina Central University "Eagles"

THE KICKOFF    
Saturday, October 31, 2015 – Kickoff at 2:00 p.m. 

THE SITE    
O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium (10,000 capacity/Mondoturf) - Durham, N.C.

THE RECORDS    
Norfolk State (2-5 overall, 2-2 MEAC); N.C. Central (4-3 overall, 3-1 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE    
Audio: NCCU Sports Network "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (audio internet stream). Broadcast starts at 1:30 p.m. (Jonathan Duren, play-by-play; Joe Simmons, color analyst).
Video: NCCU Sports Network "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (video internet stream - $8.95).

QUICK HITS    
•    NCCU hosts Norfolk State for Homecoming 2015.
•    The Eagles have a 60-19-2 record (.753 winning percentage) on homecoming since 1931.
•    Saturday will be the 13th meeting between the Eagles and the Spartans since the teams first met on Nov. 14, 1981. NCCU leads the series 7-5 with two straight wins.
•    NCCU is the only team in NCAA Division I-FCS to not allow an opponent to convert on fourth down (0-for-3).
•    NCCU freshman kicker Nigel Macauley is the FCS national leader in field goals made with an average of 2.0 per game. He is also the conference's second-leading scorer at 9.3 points per contest.
•    NCCU senior Ryan Smith tops the FCS in kickoff returns with an average of 34.0 yards per return.
•    Norfolk State senior linebacker Deon King leads the FCS in tackles with an average of 14.3 stops per contest (100 total tackles). 
•    In the last four weeks, NCCU has accumulated 1,016 rushing yards (254.0 yards per game), the program's best stretch since tallying 1,072 rushing yards (268.0 yards per game) from Sept. 8-Oct. 6, 2001.
•    C.J. Moore's 10 tackles versus Morgan State moves the safety to sixth on the Eagles' career tackles list 260 stops.
•    NCCU redshirt-freshman running back Dorrel McClain recorded his second straight 100-yard rushing performance and third of the season with 113 yards and two touchdowns on the ground versus Morgan State.
•    NCCU held Morgan State to minus-11 rushing yards, the fewest rushing yards by an opponent since Sept. 29, 2001 when Edward Waters finished with minus-42 rushing yards.
•    In the past 41 games (start of 2012 season), NCCU has scored 27 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including three in 2015.
 
THE SERIES    
This will be the 13th football meeting between NCCU and Norfolk State since the teams first met in 1981. Thanks to a 19-14 come-from-behind victory last season, NCCU leads the series 7-5, including two straight and five of the last seven. NCCU holds a 5-1 advantage in match-ups versus the Spartans in Durham, with Norfolk State's lone road win coming on Oct. 12, 1985.

11/15/2014 - NCCU 19, NSU 14 (Norfolk, Va.)
11/16/2013 - NCCU 24, NSU 13 (Durham, N.C.)
11/4/1995 - NSU 27, NCCU 6 (Norfolk, Va.)
9/10/1994 - NSU 26, NCCU 24 (Norfolk, Va.)
9/11/1993 - NCCU 30, NSU 20 (Durham, N.C.)
9/17/1988 - NCCU 10, NSU 7 (Norfolk, Va.)
9/19/1987 - NCCU 28, NSU 20 (Durham, N.C.)
10/12/1985 - NSU 32, NCCU 14 (Durham, N.C.)
10/6/1984 - NSU 29, NCCU 26 (Norfolk, Va.)
10/8/1983 - NCCU 47, NSU 6 (Durham, N.C.)
10/9/1982 - NSU 14, NCCU 9 (Norfolk, Va.)
11/14/1981 - NCCU 27, NSU 20 (Durham, N.C.)

THE LAST MEETING    
(Nov. 15, 2014 in Norfolk, Va. - NCCU 19, Norfolk State 14) Trailing 14-13 with less than six minutes left in the game, NCCU scored the game-winning touchdown on special teams with C.J. Moore blocking a punt and recovering the loose ball in the end zone for the score.

LAST WEEK    
(NCCU 20, Morgan State 17 - Durham, N.C.) After Morgan State dropped a long snap on a punt attempt, NCCU took advantage with a game-winning 30-yard field goal by rookie kicker Nigel Macauley with 6:19 remaining in the contest. Redshirt-freshman running back Dorrel McClain ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns to spark the offense, while the Eagles defense tallied 14 tackles for a loss to hold the Bears to negative-11 rushing yards.

(Bethune-Cookman 59, Norfolk State 49 - Daytona Beach, Fla.) Norfolk State scored 49 points and amassed 483 yards of total offense against Bethune-Cookman, but the Wildcats scored 59 points with 607 yards of total offense. Norfolk State junior quarterback Greg Hankerson passed for 266 yards and four touchdowns, including three to senior receiver Isaac White on 10 catches for 126 yards.

THE COACHES    
NCCU: Jerry Mack (Arkansas State, 2003) is in his second season as a college head coach. At age 35, he boasts 10 years of coaching experience, including stints with five NCAA Division I programs and two conference championship teams. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Mack has held positions as wide receivers coach at the University of South Alabama (2012-13) and the University of Memphis (2011), as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (2010), as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at the University of Central Arkansas (2008-09), as wide receivers and tight ends coach at Jackson State University (2006-07), and as an offensive graduate assistant at Delta State University (2004-05). Mack began his collegiate playing career at Jackson State before transferring after one season (1999) to Arkansas State University.  He lettered three years at Arkansas State (2001-03) before earning his bachelor's degree in management information systems in 2003. Mack completed his master's degree in physical education from Delta State in 2006.

Norfolk State: Latrell Scott was named the 17th head football coach in Norfolk State history on Dec. 16, 2014. Scott joined NSU following a two-year run as head coach at Virginia State University. Scott directed the Trojans to a 19-4 record and two Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Northern Division regular-season titles in his two seasons in Petersburg. The Trojans never lost to a CIAA team under Scott's direction, going a combined 15-0. Scott was named the 2014 CIAA Coach of the Year. NSU is the third head coaching position in Scott's career. In addition to leading VSU the last two years, Scott was head coach at the University of Richmond in 2010. He led the Spiders to a 6-5 mark that season. Scott has 15 years of coaching experience. In addition to his previous stints as a head coach, Scott has also served as an assistant coach at James Madison University (2012), the University of Virginia (2009), the University of Tennessee (2008), Richmond (2005-07), VMI (2002-04), Western Carolina (2001) and Fork Union Military Academy (1999-2000).

EAGLES TIED AS NATIONAL LEADERS IN BLOCKED PUNTS    
NCCU is tied among the national FCS leaders in blocked punts with four. The Eagles join four other teams atop the national leaderboard. C.J. Moore has two blocked punts, while Reggie Hunter and Alden McClellon have one each.

NCCU ROOKIE NATIONAL LEADER IN FIELD GOALS    
NCCU freshman kicker Nigel Macauley (Fayetteville, N.C.) is the national FCS leader in field goals made with an average of 2.0 per game. Macauley is also the second-leading scorer in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with an average of 9.3 points per game, which ranks 11th in NCAA Division I-FCS.

NCCU'S SMITH JUMPS TO NO. 1 SPOT AS KICK RETURNER    
NCCU senior Ryan Smith (Upper Marlboro, Md.) has jumped to the top spot as the No. 1 kickoff returner in the NCAA Division I-FCS ranks with an average of 34.0 yards per return. Smith returned two kickoffs for 98 yards against Morgan State. In the season-opener, he took his first career kickoff return 95 yards for a touchdown.

THREE STRAIGHT 200-YARD GROUND GAMES    
After amassing 324 rushing yards versus Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 3, the most ground yards by NCCU since tallying 349 at Livingstone College on Oct. 23, 2004, NCCU ran for 214 yards at Florida A&M on Oct. 10 and 291 yards at Savannah State on Oct. 17, marking the first time since 1999 that the Eagles have rushed for more than 200 yards in three straight games. In the last four weeks, NCCU has accumulated 1,016 rushing yards (254.0 yards per game), the program's best stretch since tallying 1,072 rushing yards (268.0 yards per game) from Sept. 8-Oct. 6, 2001.

EAGLES TURN 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 41 games, NCCU has scored 27 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including three in 2015, five in 2014, nine in 2013 and 10 in 2012. In that time, the Eagles have made trips to the end zone on 10 punt returns, six kickoff returns, three blocked field goal returns, six interceptions and two fumble recoveries. 

BELL FIRST NCCU QUARTERBACK TO RUN FOR 100 YARDS SINCE 1999    
NCCU redshirt junior Malcolm Bell rushed for 101 yards at Florida A&M on Oct. 10 to become the first Eagles quarterback to amass 100 yards on the ground since 1999, when Darrell Nesbitt ran for 156 yards against Benedict College (Sept. 25, 1999).

HAVE NO FEAR, EAGLES HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE    
NCCU football fans should have no fear about the Eagles' 1-3 start this season. The Eagles also started last season with a 1-3 record before winning six of their final eight games to earn a share of the MEAC Championship.

EAGLES ACHIEVE BEST GROUND GAME IN 11 YEARS    
Facing soaking wet weather conditions on Oct. 3 versus Bethune-Cookman, NCCU posted its best ground attack in 11 years. The Eagles amassed 324 rushing yards for the program's best running effort since accumulating 349 rushing yards against Livingstone on Oct. 23, 2004. Redshirt freshman Dorrel McClain ran for 144 yards and a touchdown, while redshirt junior quarterback Malcolm Bell added 93 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. As a team, NCCU posted 502 yards of total offense and 30 first downs against the Wildcats. 

TWO STARTERS LOST FOR SEASON DUE TO INJURY    
Two NCCU starters suffered season-ending injuries during a 39-14 loss at FIU on Sept. 19 in Miami. NCCU junior FCS All-American cornerback and return specialist Mike Jones suffered a fractured ankle in the first quarter, while junior transfer receiver Khalil Stinson fractured his hip on a second-quarter punt return.

FLASHBACK TO 2014    
•    NCCU won a share of the MEAC Championship with a 6-2 conference record.
•    The Eagles posted the most wins as a NCAA Division I-FCS program with a 7-5 overall record.
•    The Eagles earned the program's first win over a nationally-ranked FCS opponent by defeating No. 24 North Carolina A&T in the final game of the season on Nov. 22.
•    NCCU broke the school record for completions in a season with 227, topping the mark set by the 2011 Eagles of 210.
•    The Eagles ranked third in the nation (FCS) in turnover margin at +12.0.
•    NCCU quarterback Malcolm Bell passed for 1,982 yards with 15 touchdowns and just five interceptions, completing 177 of 286 passes as a sophomore.

ABOUT NCCU FOOTBALL    
North Carolina Central University is in its fifth season of full NCAA Division I (FCS) athletic competition as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Eagles have won 11 conference championships as members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1953, 1954, 1956, 1961, 1963, 1980, 2005, 2006) and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (1972, 1973, 2014), and have made three appearances in the NCAA playoffs (1988, 2005, 2006).