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THE GAME    
North Carolina Central University "Eagles" vs. Western Michigan University "Broncos"

THE KICKOFF    
Saturday, September 10, 2016 – Kickoff at 7:00 p.m. 

THE SITE    
Waldo Stadium (30,200 capacity/FieldTurf) - Kalamazoo, Michigan

THE RECORDS    
N.C. Central (0-1 overall, 0-0 MEAC); Western Michigan (1-0 overall, 0-0 MAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE    
Audio: NCCU Sports Network "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (audio internet stream). Broadcast starts at 6:45 p.m. (Jonathan Duren, play-by-play).
Video: ESPN3 (Dan Gutowsky, play-by-play; Marcus Ray, color commentator).

QUICK HITS    
•    Saturday will be the first meeting between NCCU and Western Michigan.
•    NCCU's five fumble recoveries versus Duke leads the Division I-FCS rankings, and are the most by the Eagles since 2010.
•    NCCU recovered five fumbles against Duke last week; while NCCU ball carriers lost only five fumbles in all of last season.
•    Third-year head coach Jerry Mack has not only captured conference titles in each of his first two seasons at NCCU, but he became the first head coach in school history to win 15 games in his first two years. 
•    Since the start of the 2012 season, NCCU has scored 30 touchdowns on defense and special teams.
•    Senior quarterback Malcolm Bell needs 17 passing yards to become the seventh NCCU quarterback with 4,000 career passing yards.
•    Saturday's match-up will feature two of the youngest head coaches in Division I football, as P.J. Fleck of Western Michigan (born Nov. 29, 1980) and Jerry Mack of NCCU (born Oct. 24, 1980) are both 35 years old.

FLASHBACK TO 2015    
•    NCCU repeated as co-champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with a 7-1 conference record.
•    The Eagles posted the most wins as a NCAA Division I-FCS program with an 8-3 overall record.
•    The Eagles earned the program's second win over a nationally-ranked FCS opponent by defeating No. 13/16 North Carolina A&T in the final game of the season on Nov. 21, 2015.
•    NCCU closed out season on a seven-game winning streak.
•    NCCU ranked No. 1 in the nation (FCS) in fourth down conversion percentage defense (8.3%) - allowing only one fourth down conversion all season (12 attempts) - and fourth down conversion percentage offense (81.8%/9 of 11).

THE SERIES    
This will be the first gridiron meeting between NCCU and the Broncos of Western Michigan University.

ABOUT THE BRONCOS    
The Western Michigan University Broncos are a NCAA Division I-FBS football program, playing in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Just three seasons ago, in the first campaign under head coach P.J. Fleck, the 2013 Broncos finished at 1-11. Since then, WMU has posted back-to-back eight-win seasons for the first time in program history, as well as playing in a bowl game in consecutive seasons. In 2015, the Broncos captured their first win over a ranked opponent by defeating No. 24 Toledo, and won the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl 45-31 over Middle Tennessee. Last year, the Broncos' offense ranked 26th in the country in passing and 29th in rushing. The team was one of only seven schools to rank in the top-30 in both rushing and passing, joining Baylor, Clemson, Arizona, Oklahoma, TCU and Indiana. Overall, the Broncos ranked 17th in total offense with 490.3 yards per game.

LAST WEEK    
(Duke 49, NCCU 6 - Durham, N.C.) After Duke University amassed 416 yards of total offense and 49 unanswered points in the first half, Durham neighbor North Carolina Central University managed to hold the Blue Devils scoreless after intermission and added a pair of field goals in a 49-6 season-opening loss at Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday night. NCCU senior Brandon McLaren kicked a career-long 48-yard field goal late in the third quarter, then added a 34-yard field goal at the start of the fourth quarter to account for the Eagles scoring. Both kicks followed fumble recoveries, which proved to be one of the highlights for NCCU. In all, the Eagles recovered five loose balls, matching the most by NCCU since Sept 25, 2010 against North Carolina A&T. Three sophomore safeties – Alden McClellon, Davanta Reynolds and Jaquell Taylor - topped NCCU's defensive effort with eight tackles each. Of McClellon's eight stops, 2.5 were behind the line of scrimmage, including a solo sack and a forced fumble. Linebacker Reggie Hunter and lineman Ja'Quan Smith added seven takedowns apiece for the Eagles. NCCU senior quarterback Malcolm Bell completed 7 of 25 passes for 74 yards with an interception. He is now 17 yards shy of becoming the seventh NCCU signal caller with 4,000 passing yards. Sophomore running back Dorrel McClain tallied 23 rushing yards on eight carries, while redshirt-freshman Torri Cotton contributed 20 ground yards on five attempts. LaVontis Smith and David Miller had two catches each for 20 and 19 yards, respectively. Duke finished the contest with 535 yards of total offense, including 308 rushing and 227 through the air. NCCU posted 112 total yards with 38 on the ground and 74 passing.

(Western Michigan 22, Northwestern 21 - Evanston, Ill.) Western Michigan knocked off Big Ten opponent Northwestern, 22-21, on the road for the Broncos' first season-opening win since 2004. It was the Broncos' first win over a Big Ten opponent since 2008. Western Michigan's offense out-gained Northwestern's, 416-319.

THE COACHES    
NCCU: Jerry Mack (Arkansas State, 2003) is in his third season as a college head coach. He boasts 11 years of coaching experience, including stints with five NCAA Division I programs and three conference championship teams. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, 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.

Western Michigan: P.J. Fleck (Northern Illinois, 2004) wacs announced as the 15th head Coach in the 108-year history of the Western Michigan football program in December 2012 to rebuild the program. Fleck has received the reputation of being a program "turnaround" coach by being under the tutelage of proven program builders including; Joe Novak (retired- Northern Illinois), Jerry Kill (Minnesota, Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Emporia State, Saginaw Valley State), Greg Schiano (Rutgers), and Jim Tressel (Youngstown State, Ohio St.). While being the second-youngest head coach in the FBS, Fleck is also distinguished as being one of two head coaches (along with Jim Harbaugh) currently in college football (FBS) that has played and coached in the NFL. Fleck played for two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2004-05) and was a wide receivers coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012. Fleck played college football from 1999-2003 at Northern Illinois, capping his collegiate career with the Huskies defeating Maryland, Alabama and Iowa State, rising to a No. 10 national ranking en route to a 10-2 mark. He ranks third in career receptions (179) and fourth in career receiving yards (2,162) in NIU history.

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 eight times, all resulting in losses.
Sept. 3, 2016 at Duke (6-49 L)
Sept. 19, 2015 at FIU (14-39 L)
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)

MACK OFF TO FAST START AS NCCU HEAD COACH    
Jerry Mack is the first NCCU football head coach to win 15 games in his first two seasons. Willie Smith, who died on Aug. 22 in Durham at the age of 84, won 14 in 1973 (7-4) and 1974 (7-2-2). After the Eagles went 7-5 in Mack's first season for a share of the MEAC title, his squad posted an 8-3 record in 2015 to earn a second straight conference co-championship. 

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 47 games, NCCU has scored 30 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including six 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 12 punt returns, six kickoff returns, three blocked field goal returns, seven interceptions and two fumble recoveries. 

BELL NEAR PASSING, TOTAL OFFENSE MILESTONES    
Among NCCU career leaders, redshirt-senior quarterback Malcolm Bell (Richmond, Va.) ranks seventh in passing yards (3,983) and sixth in total offense yards (4,903) in his four-year career (2013-16). Bell needs 17 passing yards to become the seventh Eagle quarterback with 4,000 passing yards and 97 yards of total offense to become the sixth NCCU student-athlete with 5,000 yards of total offense.

BELL FIRST NCCU QUARTERBACK TO RUN FOR 100 YARDS SINCE 1999    
On Oct. 10, 2015, NCCU signal caller Malcolm Bell rushed for 101 yards at Florida A&M 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).

TEN EAGLES EARN PRESEASON ALL-MEAC HONORS    
Ten NCCU Eagles were voted to the 2016 Preseason All-MEAC Football Team. Leading the way for NCCU on the All-MEAC First Team are senior quarterback Malcolm Bell (Richmond, Va.), senior center Carl Jones (Nashville, Tenn.), senior offensive lineman Desmond Cooper (Stafford, Va.) and senior linebacker Jeremy Miles (Durham, N.C.). All-MEAC Second Team distinction was awarded to sophomore running back Dorrel McClain (Cary, N.C.), senior offensive lineman Tarrance Wells (Oxon Hill,, Md.), junior defensive lineman Antonio Brown (Jacksonville, Fla.), sophomore defensive back Davanta Reynolds (Tucker, Ga.) and senior return specialist LaVontis Smith (Maben, Miss.). Junior defensive lineman Ja'Quan Smith (Miramar, Fla.) rounded out NCCU's selections with a spot on the All-MEAC Third Team.

ABOUT NCCU FOOTBALL    
North Carolina Central University is in its sixth season of full NCAA Division I (FCS) athletic competition as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Eagles have won 12 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, 2015), 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 136 all-conference selections, 65 all-Americans, 41 NFL draft picks, 12 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 Ryan Smith, who was chosen by the Buccaneers in the fourth round in 2016. 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.