THE GAME
Delaware State University "Hornets" vs. North Carolina Central University "Eagles"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 – Kickoff at 2:00 p.m.

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

THE RECORDS
N.C. Central (2-5 overall, 1-2 MEAC); Delaware State (1-6, 0-4 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network at NCCUEaglePride.com (internet stream). Broadcast starts at 1:30 p.m. Jonathan Duren (play-by-play); Joe Simmons (color analyst).
TV/Video: ESPN3

QUICK HITS
• Last season, Delaware State snapped a five-game losing skid in the series with NCCU by capturing a 28-13 upset victory on homecoming in Dover. The win was the first of the season for the Hornets and the first against the Eagles since 2010.
• Delaware State's last gridiron victory in Durham was in 1977. The Hornets are 0-5 in the Bull City since then.
• NCCU leads the series against Delaware State, 18-7. The Eagles have won nine of the last 11 contests against the Hornets.
• NCCU junior running back Isaiah Totten, the third-leading rusher in the MEAC with 65.7 ground yards per game, is ranked eighth on NCCU's career rushing list with 1,967 ground yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He needs 33 yards to become just the eighth player in NCCU history to rush for 2,000 yards.
• NCCU is tied for second in the NCAA Division I-FCS with a MEAC-best 11 interceptions, the most picks by the Eagles since 2014.
• NCCU's 17 takeaways (11 interceptions, 6 fumble recoveries) top the MEAC and rank tied for sixth in the NCAA Division I-FCS. 
• NCCU is under the direction of first-year head coach Trei Oliver, who was an all-region safety and punter (1994-97) at NCCU, as well as an assistant coach (2003-06).
• NCCU junior cornerback Bryan Mills tops the MEAC with three interceptions and is tied as the conference leader with eight passes defended (5 pass break-ups, 3 INTs).
• NCCU freshman kicker Adrian Olivo ranks second in the MEAC in field goal percentage (81.8%/18th in FCS) and field goals per game (1.29/17th in FCS).
• NCCU redshirt senior defensive end Darius Royster is second in the league with 5.5 sacks and third with 10.5 stops for a loss. Last season, he amassed 17.0 takedowns behind the line of scrimmage (T-2nd in MEAC, 15th in FCS) and four forced fumbles (1st in MEAC, 9th in FCS).
• Thanks to Jerome Foster's pick-six against Elizabeth City State on Sept. 21, NCCU has now had at least one interception for a touchdown in 16 consecutive seasons.
• Davius Richards' 62-yard touchdown run at Morgan State (Sept. 28) is the longest rush by an NCCU quarterback since Lawrence Fuller raced 74 yards against Morris Brown on Sept. 30, 2000.
• NCCU's 330 yards rushing at Morgan State (Sept. 28) are the most against a conference opponent since Oct. 23, 2004, when the Eagles were in the Division II CIAA and rushed for 349 yards against CIAA foe Livingstone College.
• NCCU junior cornerback Bryan Mills tied the NCCU single-game record with three interceptions, becoming the first Eagle to accomplish the feat since Adrian Jones on the same date in 1996 against Elizabeth City State.
• Since the start of the 2012 season, NCCU has scored 39 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including a pick-six this year.

THE SERIES
This will be the 26th meeting in the series between the Eagles and the Hornets since the teams first played in 1945. NCCU leads the series against Delaware State, 18-7. The Eagles have won nine of the last 11 contests with wins in 2017, 2016, 2015, 2012, 2011, 2004, 2003, 1996 and 1979, while DSU won last season 28-13 and the 2010 meeting 29-7.

NCCU vs. Delaware State Series Results:
10/27/2018 - DSU 28, NCCU 13 (Dover, Del.)
10/28/2017 - NCCU 42, DSU 14 (Durham, N.C.)
11/5/2016 - NCCU 38, DSU 19 (Dover, Del.)
11/7/2015 - NCCU 43, DSU 10 (Durham, N.C.)
11/3/2012 - NCCU 23, DSU 20 - 2OT (Durham, N.C.)
11/5/2011 - NCCU 14, DSU 7 (Dover, Del.)
11/6/2010 - DSU 29, NCCU 7 (Dover, Del.)
9/11/2004 - NCCU 26, DSU 23 (Dover, Del.)
9/20/2003 - NCCU 21, DSU 14 (Durham, N.C.)
9/21/1996 - NCCU 21, DSU 16 (Atlantic City, N.J.)
10/13/1979 - NCCU 31, DSU 26 (Durham, N.C.)
10/14/1978 - DSU 16, NCCU 13 (Dover, Del.)
10/15/1977 - DSU 23, NCCU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
10/16/1976 - NCCU 27, DSU 6 (Dover, Del.)
10/18/1975 - NCCU 16, DSU 14 (Durham, N.C.)
10/19/1974 - NCCU 7, DSU 0 (Dover, Del.)
10/13/1973 - NCCU 32, DSU 7 (Durham, N.C.)
10/14/1972 - DSU 14, NCCU 10 (Dover, Del.)
10/16/1971 - NCCU 34, DSU 3 (Durham, N.C.)
10/7/1950 - NCC 13, DSU 0 (Dover, Del.)
10/22/1949 - NCC 27, DSU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
9/25/1948 - NCC 14, DSU 0 (Dover, Del.)
9/27/1947 - DSU 7, NCC 0 (Durham, N.C.)
9/28/1946 - NCC 32, DSU 6 (Durham, N.C.)
9/29/1945 - DSU 13, NCC 12 (Durham, N.C.)

THE LAST MEETING
(Delaware State 28, NCCU 13 - Dover, Del. - Oct. 27, 2018) Delaware State celebrated homecoming by rushing for 273 yards and two touchdowns during a 28-13 upset victory over North Carolina Central at Alumni Stadium. DSU running backs Michael Chris-Ike and Brycen Alleyne combined for 249 ground yards and accounted for both of the Hornets' rushing scores. The win was the first of the season for Delaware State and snapped a five-game losing skid in the series with NCCU, dating back to 2010.NCCU's lone touchdown was a 24-yard run by sophomore quarterback Chauncey Caldwell early in the second quarter. He left the contest with 1:38 remaining in the first half due to an injury.

THE LAST MEETING IN DURHAM
(NCCU 42, Delaware State 14 - Durham, N.C. - Oct. 28, 2017) NCCU celebrated homecoming with a 42-14 victory over Delaware State in front of a capacity crowd of 14,117 fans inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. NCCU senior wide receiver Jacen Murphy collected 10 receptions for 189 yards and two touchdowns. NCCU amassed 401 yards of total offense with quarterback Chauncey Caldwell accounting for 252 total yards and four scores. The Durham, North Carolina native completed 17-of-29 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 10 yards and a pair of trips to the end zone. Defensively, NCCU recorded four sacks and three interceptions. Safety Davanta Reynolds picked off his fourth interception of the season and added four tackles and a pass break-up.

LAST WEEK
No game last week. On Thursday, Oct. 10, NCCU amassed nearly 150 yards more than Bethune-Cookman, but a pair of touchdowns by wide receiver and return specialist Jimmie Robinson sparked the Wildcats to a 27-13 conference victory during a live ESPNU broadcast inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. NCCU accumulated 391 yards of total offense, topped by freshman quarterback Davius Richard with 250 passing yards and junior running back Isaiah Totten with 78 yards on the ground. The Eagles' defense, led by senior defensive end Darius Roster with 11 tackles, including 2.5 stops for a loss with 1.5 sacks, held the visiting Wildcats to just 243 total yards.

Merrimack 30, Delaware State 21 (Dover, Del.): Merrimack scored the last 16 points of the game to surge past Delaware State 30-21 at Alumni Stadium. The Hornets, who led on three occasions in the game, lost their fifth straight to fall to 1-6. Bryant Dallas rushed for a career-best 102 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Tylik Bethea connected on 11-of-22 passes for 166 yards and a score for the Hornets. Delaware State was also plagued by two turnovers and seven penalties for 80 yards.

THE COACHES
NCCU: Trei Oliver (N.C. Central, 1998) is in his first season as a college head coach. With 20 years of college coaching experience that includes five conference championships and three black college football national titles, Oliver returned to his alma mater as North Carolina Central University's 24th head football coach in December 2018. A native of Yorktown, Virginia, Oliver earned all-conference and all-region honors as a defensive back and punter during his four-year playing career at NCCU from 1994-97. The 1998 graduate later returned to NCCU as an assistant coach from 2003-06, helping the Eagles to back-to-back Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championships in 2005 and 2006.

Delaware State: Rod Milstead (Delaware State, 1992), a former DSU Hornet All-America offensive lineman and National Football League standout, is in his second season as head coach at his alma mater. This is his first collegiate head coach position. Milstead served as Delaware State's offensive line coach in 2014 and held the same position at North Carolina Central in 2013. Following his playing career with the Hornets, Milstead competed for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins.

ALUMS AS HEAD FOOTBALL COACHES AT NCCU
Trei Oliver is the third alumnus to lead the NCCU football program, following in the footsteps of Bishop Harris, a 1963 graduate who coached the Eagles from 1991-92, and Herman Riddick, a 1933 graduate who guided the Eagles to a school record 112 victories from 1945-1964.

ROYSTER NAMED PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
NCCU redshirt senior defensive end Darius Royster was named as the Preseason Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year by Phil Steele's College Football Preview magazine. In 2018, Royster led the MEAC and ranked ninth in the nation (FCS) with 4 forced fumbles, tied for second in the conference and ranked 15th in the nation with a team-high 17.0 tackles for a loss, and tied for fifth in the league with a team-best 5.0 sacks. He finished third on the squad with 58 total takedowns, 39 of which were unassisted. Royster broke the school record for most tackles for loss in a game with 6.0 TFL among his season-best 10 total tackles versus Prairie View A&M (Sept. 2) in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and registered 5.0 stops for a loss at S.C. State (Nov. 24) in the final game of last season.

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 87 games, NCCU has scored 39 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including one this year, two last season, three in 2017, three in 2016, 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 14 punt returns, six kickoff returns, three blocked field goal returns, 12 interceptions and four fumble recoveries. 

ABOUT NCCU FOOTBALL
North Carolina Central University is in its ninth season of full NCAA Division I (FCS) athletics 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, 2016), and have made three appearances in the NCAA Division II 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 143 all-conference selections (first team), 68 all-Americans, 41 NFL draft picks, 11 conference championships and two Black College National Championships (1954, 2006). 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. 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.