THE GAME
North Carolina Central Univ. "Eagles" vs. North Carolina A&T State Univ. "Aggies"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019 – Kickoff at 1:00 p.m.

THE SITE
Aggie Stadium (21,500 capacity/natural grass) - Greensboro, N.C.

THE RECORDS
N.C. Central (4-7 overall, 3-4 MEAC); #24/#25 North Carolina A&T (7-3, 5-2 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network at NCCUEaglePride.com (internet stream). Broadcast starts at 12:30 p.m. Jonathan Duren (play-by-play).
TV/Video: ESPN3 (live)/ESPNU (rebroadcast). Shawn Kenney and Forrest Conoly.

QUICK HITS
• Saturday's contest will air live on ESPN3 and will rebroadcast on ESPNU.
• North Carolina A&T leads the series 51-34-5. NCCU won three straight versus the Aggies in 2014-16, but A&T defeated the Eagles in the last two match-ups.
• North Carolina A&T is ranked No. 24 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the STATS FCS Top 25 poll.
• If N.C. A&T wins on Saturday, the Aggies will represent the MEAC in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 21 in Atlanta.
• NC A&T head coach Sam Washington coached NCCU head coach Trei Oliver as an assistant coach when Oliver played at NCCU from 1994-97.
• Saturday's contest features the top two defenses in the MEAC, with NC A&T allowing 296.2 yards per game and NCCU surrendering 313.5 yards per outing.
• The Eagles and Aggies are tied for the conference lead with 29 sacks apiece.
• NCCU boasts the top pass defense in the conference, allowing just 168.6 passing yards per contest (11th in FCS).
• NCCU is tied atop the MEAC and ranks 10th in the NCAA Division I-FCS with 14 interceptions, the most picks by the Eagles since 2013 (14).
• NCCU redshirt senior defensive end Darius Royster tops the MEAC with 16.0 tackles for a loss (23rd in FCS), 9.0 sacks (15th in FCS) and three forced fumbles. 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).
• NCCU redshirt senior defensive end Darius Royster ranks ninth in the league with 74 tackles, and is the only defensive lineman in the top-19.
• NCCU freshman quarterback Davius Richard is just the third quarterback in school history to throw for more than 2,000 passing yards as a freshman, joining Earl "Air" Harvey (3,190 yards/1985) and Stafford Brown (2.577 yards/2006).
• NCCU freshman quarterback Davius Richard achieved the sixth-best passing performance in school history versus Norfolk State on Nov. 9, amassing 384 passing yards with three touchdowns, completing 30 of 46 throws. Only NCCU hall of fame quarterback Earl "Air" Harvey (1985-88) has thrown for more passing yards, as he holds the top five single-game passing efforts in school history.
• NCCU junior running back Isaiah Totten, the fourth-leading rusher in the MEAC with 58.5 ground yards per game, is ranked seventh on NCCU's career rushing list with 2,130 ground yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. On Oct. 26 against Delaware State, he became just the eighth player in NCCU history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards.
• NCCU junior cornerback Bryan Mills is tied as the MEAC leader with five interceptions (9th in FCS) and is second with 13 passes defended (8 pass break-ups, 5 INT).
• 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).
• 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.
• John Pecaro's 70-yard punt against S.C. State (Nov. 16) matched the ninth-longest punt in school history, and is the longest boot by an NCCU punter in 11 years.
• Since the start of the 2012 season, NCCU has scored 40 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including a pick-six and a kickoff return TD this year.
• Three NCCU Eagles - Darius Royster, Micah Zanders and Chidi Okonya (Duke) - have already earned their undergraduate degrees.

THE SERIES
This will be the 91st meeting between the Eagles and Aggies, dating back to 1924 when NC A&T tied NCCU, 13-13, in Durham, North Carolina. The Aggies lead the series 51-34-5.  NC A&T has won 20 of the last 28 meetings. NCCU has won seven of the last 13 contests, including three of the last five outings, but the Aggies have two straight victories over the Eagles.
11/17/2018 - #12 NCA&T 45, NCCU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
11/18/2017 - #7 NCA&T 24, NCCU 10 (Greensboro, N.C.)
11/19/2016 - #20 NCCU 42, #9 NCA&T 21 (Durham, N.C.)
11/21/2015 - NCCU 21, #13/16 NCA&T 16 (Greensboro, N.C.)
11/22/2014 - NCCU 21, #24 NCA&T 14 (Durham, N.C.)
11/23/2013 - NCA&T 28, NCCU 0 (Greensboro, N.C.)
11/17/2012 - NCA&T 22, NCCU 16 OT (Durham, N.C.)
11/19/2011 - NCA&T 31, NCCU 21 (Greensboro, N.C.)
09/25/2010 - NCCU 27, NCA&T 16 (Durham, N.C.)
10/03/2009 - NCA&T 23, NCCU 17 OT2 (Greensboro, N.C.)
10/04/2008 - NCCU 28, NCA&T 27 (Charlotte, N.C.)
09/22/2007 - NCCU 27, NCA&T 22 (Greensboro, N.C.)
09/05/2005 - NCCU 23, NCA&T 22 (Raleigh, N.C.)
09/05/2004 - NCA&T 16, NCCU 15 (Raleigh, N.C.)
08/31/2003 - NCA&T 25, NCCU 0 (Raleigh, N.C.)
09/01/2002 - NCCU 33, NCA&T 30 OT (Raleigh, N.C.)
09/01/2001 - NCA&T 22, NCCU 0 (Raleigh, N.C.)
(Complete game-by-game series on last page of game notes)

THE LAST MEETING
(NC A&T 45, NCCU 0 - Durham, N.C. - Nov. 17, 2018) The 90th gridiron meeting between the rival Eagles and Aggies resulted in the series' most lopsided outcome in 27 years, as nationally-ranked North Carolina A&T blanked NCCU 45-0 in front of a capacity crowd at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. NC A&T, the fifth-best total defense and third-best run defense in NCAA Division I-FCS, amassed 539 yards of total offense and held the Eagles to just 41 total yards, including negative-21 yards rushing.

THE LAST MEETING IN GREENSBORO
(#7 NC A&T 24, NCCU 10 - Greensboro, N.C. - Nov. 18, 2017) Following a tightly-contested first half, North Carolina A&T scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to separate from NCCU, as the Aggies ended a three-year losing skid to the Eagles with a 24-10 win at Aggie Stadium in Greensboro. A&T tallied 358 yards of total offense, including 205 yards rushing and two touchdown runs by Marquell Cartwright. NCCU posted 215 total yards with freshman quarterback Chauncey Caldwell passing for 129 yards and redshirt freshman Isaiah Totten collecting 61 grounds yards with a touchdown.

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.

NC A&T: Sam Washington (Mississippi Valley State, 1982) became the 19th head football coach in North Carolina A&T State history on Jan. 9, 2018. Prior to being promoted to head coach, Washington served as the Aggies defensive coordinator and secondary coach for seven years. Before arriving at A&T, Washington spent four seasons as Grambling's defensive backs coach under Rod Broadway and five years at his alma mater Mississippi Valley State. Washington also worked for eight seasons at N.C. Central as the school's assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. He spent four seasons in the NFL with stops in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

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 four 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.

NCCU FOOTBALL ON ESPN TV NETWORKS
Since 2011, when NCCU became official members of NCAA Division I (FCS), the Eagles have played in 14 games on ESPN TV networks (11 ESPNU, 2 ESPNews, 1 ESPN2). NCCU has a 5-9 record in those games.

EAGLES AGAINST NATIONALLY-RANKED OPPOSITION                                            
Since the start of the transition to NCAA Division I-FCS in 2007, NCCU is 3-13 against nationally-ranked FCS opponents.
9/7/2019 - #8 Towson - 3-42 L
11/17/2018 - #12 North Carolina A&T - 0-45 L
11/18/2017 - #7 North Carolina A&T - 10-24 L
12/17/2016 - #14 Grambling - 9-10 L
11/19/2016 - #9 North Carolina A&T - 42-21 W
11/21/2015 - #13 North Carolina A&T - 21-16 W
11/22/2014 - #24 North Carolina A&T - 21-14 W
11/1/2014 - #20 Bethune-Cookman - 20-34 L
11/2/2013 - #13 Bethune-Cookman - 14-38 L
9/21/2013 - #4 Towson - 17-35 L
10/23/2010 - #14 Bethune-Cookman - 10-23 L
9/18/2010 - at #1 Appalachian State - 16-44 L
10/10/2009 - at #9 Appalachian State - 21-55 L
9/12/2009 - at #24 Liberty - 10-35 L
11/8/2008 - at #3 Cal Poly - 3-49 L
9/6/2008 - at #8 James Madison - 7-56 L

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 91 games, NCCU has scored 40 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including two 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, seven 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.