GAME DAY GUIDE  

VIDEO: Press Conference with NCCU head coach Jerry Mack   

THE GAME    
North Carolina Central University "Eagles" vs. FIU "Panthers"

THE KICKOFF    
Saturday, September 19, 2015 – Kickoff at 6:00 p.m. 

THE SITE    
Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium (20,000 capacity/Field Turf) - Miami, Fla.

THE RECORDS    
N.C. Central (1-1 overall, 0-0 MEAC); FIU (1-1 overall, 0-0 C-USA)

MEDIA COVERAGE    
Audio: NCCU Sports Network "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (audio internet stream). Broadcast starts at 5:30 p.m. (Jonathan Duren, play-by-play).
Video: FIUsports.com ($6.95)

QUICK HITS    
•    Saturday will be the first meeting between NCCU and Conference USA foe FIU.
•    Both NCCU and FIU have 1-1 records heading into week three.
•    The NCCU Eagles are 0-6 when lining up against FBS opponents, and have been out-scored 303-38 in those contests.
•    NCCU's 72 points scored in week one ranks second in school history. (85 points vs. Fort Jackson, Sept. 21, 1946)
•    NCCU's 72-0 win over Saint Augustine's is the first shutout by the Eagles since a 59-0 victory against Johnson C. Smith on Sept. 2, 2010.
•    NCCU junior Mike Jones broke the single-game school record with 145 punt return yards on five attempts during the Eagles' season-opener versus Saint Augustine's. 
•    In the past 36 games (start of 2012 season), NCCU has scored 26 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including two already in 2015.

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. 

THE SERIES    
This will be the first meeting between the Eagles of NCCU and the Panthers of FIU.

ABOUT THE FIU PANTHERS    
The FIU Panthers are in their third season as members of Conference USA, leaving the Sun Belt Conference after the 2012 campaign.  FIU started its football program in 2002. FIU opened the season with an upset victory over Central Florida (15-14), followed by a heart-breaking loss at Indiana (22-36).

THE COACHES    
NCCU: Jerry Mack (Arkansas State, 2003) is in his second season as a college head coach. At age 34, 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.

FIU: Ron Turner (Pacific, 1977) was named FIU's head football coach on Jan. 4, 2013. Now in his third season with the Panthers, Turner's 38 years in coaching have included 11 as a head coach with FIU, Illinois and San Jose State. Prior to joining FIU, Turner's career was highlighted with participation in eight bowl games: Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Aloha, Citrus and Micron PC. After he led an impressive turnaround at the University of Illinois, which resulted in the school's 2001 Big Ten championship, the league unanimously voted him that season's Big Ten Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award. In 12 seasons coaching in the National Football League, Turner spent the majority of that time with the Chicago Bears, in addition to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts.

HARD TIMES AGAINST FBS OPPONENTS    
Since departing the NCAA Division II ranks at the end of the 2006 season, the Eagles have lined up against a NCAA Division I-FBS opponent six times, all resulting in losses. In those setbacks, NCCU has been out-scored 303-38, including 144-7 after halftime and 90-0 in the third quarter.
Sept. 12, 2015 at Duke (0-55 L)
Aug. 30, 2014 at East Carolina (7-52 L)
Aug. 31, 2013 at Duke (0-45 L)
Sept. 15, 2012 at Duke (17-54 L)
Sept. 1, 2011 at Rutgers (0-48 L)
Sept. 26, 2009 at Duke (14-49 L)

NCCU'S HISTORIC 72 POINTS IN WEEK ONE ARE MOST IN FCS    
The 72 points scored by NCCU in its season-opening shutout of Saint Augustine's University are the most tallied by any team in NCAA Division I-FCS in the first week of the season. The scoring output ranks second in school history, trailing an 85-point explosion by the 1946 Eagles against Fort Jackson (Sept. 21, 1946).

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 36 games, NCCU has scored 26 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including two 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, five interceptions and two fumble recoveries. 

JONES BREAKS SCHOOL PUNT RETURN RECORD    
During a season-opening win over Saint Augustine's (Sept. 5), NCCU junior Mike Jones (Baltimore, Md.) broke a 46-year-old single-game school record with 145 punt return yards on only five attempts. The previous record was held by Moses Bryant with 140 punt return yards against Livingstone on Sept. 27, 1969. Last season, Jones earned First Team All-MEAC and FCS All-America honors as a punt returner with a 19.1-yard average. He is currently average 20.5 yards per punt return during his NCCU career (21 punt returns, 431 yards).

NCCU PICKED TO FINISH FORTH IN MEAC    
Coming off a season with the most wins during the Division I-FCS era with a 7-5 record and a share of the MEAC Championship, NCCU was predicted to finish fourth and received four first-place votes from the league's football head coaches and sports information directors.

EIGHT EAGLES EARN PRESEASON ALL-MEAC HONORS    
Eight NCCU Eagles earned a place on the 2015 Preseason All-MEAC Football Teams. NCCU representatives on the Preseason All-MEAC First Team are junior quarterback Malcolm Bell (Richmond, Va.), senior offensive lineman Clevonne Davis (Miramar, Fla.) and junior Mike Jones (Baltimore, Md.), who claimed two spots as a defensive back and a return specialist. Garnering second-team honors for the Eagles are senior wide receiver Quentin Atkinson (Raleigh, N.C.), junior center Carl Jones (Nashville, Tenn.) and senior defensive back C.J. Moore (Raleigh, N.C.). On the third team are junior linebacker Jeremy Thompson (Durham, N.C.) and sophomore tight end Jvon Simmons (La Plata, Md.).

FUMBLE!  EAGLES RANK SECOND IN NATION IN FUMBLES RECOVERED    
NCCU recovered 19 fumbles during the 2014 season, which ranked second in the NCAA Division I-FCS behind Albany-NY (20). NCCU senior defensive end Felix Small (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was the national FCS leader with seven forced fumbles, which is an NCCU single-season record. Linebacker Jordan Miles (Woodbridge, Va.) recovered four fumbles, while safeties C.J. Moore (Raleigh, N.C.) and Theo Livingston (Fayetteville, N.C.) collected three fumble recoveries each.

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). 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 132 all-conference selections, 65 all-Americans, 40 NFL draft picks, 11 conference championships and two Black College National Championships. Two Eagles have represented NCCU on the National Football League's grandest stage - the Super Bowl. The first NCCU Eagle to make a Super Bowl appearance was Richard Sligh, who was a reserve tackle with the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II against the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 14, 1968. Sligh, who holds the distinction as the tallest player in NFL history (7'0"), played at NCCU from 1962-64 and was later drafted by the Raiders in the 10th round of the 1967 NFL draft. On Jan. 24, 1982, former NCCU Eagle Louis Breeden was a starting cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI against the San Francisco 49ers. Earlier in the season (Nov. 8, 1981), Breeden intercepted a pass thrown by San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts and returned it a team-record 102 yards for a touchdown. The following year, he was selected as a First-Team All-Pro. A two-time all-conference pick during his NCCU career from 1973-76, Breeden was chosen by the Bengals in the seventh round of the 1977 NFL draft. He completed his 10-year NFL career with 33 interceptions for 558 return yards and two touchdowns. The first Eagle selected in the NFL Draft was Matt Boone, who was taken by the Giants with the eighth pick in the 18th round in 1956. The latest Eagle announced during the NFL Draft was Greg Peterson, who was chosen by the Buccaneers in the fifth round in 2007. NCCU's highest draft pick was Doug Wilkerson, who was selected in the first round with the 14th overall pick of the 1970 NFL Draft by the Oilers. The Eagles have also had three second-round NFL draft picks, including Robert Massey in 1989 by the Saints, Charles Smith in 1975 by the Broncos and Chuck Hinton in 1962 by the Browns. HBCU football pioneer John Brown, who represented NCCU (then North Carolina College) on the gridiron in the 1940s, was one of the first to play professional football out of a historically black college or university. Brown shares the honor with Ezzret Anderson of Kentucky State and Elmore Harris of Morgan State, who all began their professional football careers in 1947. Brown and Anderson were teammates on the Los Angeles Dons, while Harris was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. According to NCCU records, Brown was the first of the three to sign a professional football contract. He played center and linebacker with the Dons from 1947-49, before moving to the Canadian Football League.