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

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, Nov. 9, 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 (4-5 overall, 3-2 MEAC); Norfolk State (3-6, 2-3 MEAC)

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

QUICK HITS
• Saturday will be NCCU's homecoming game.
• The Eagles have a 64-19-2 record (.765 winning percentage) on homecoming since 1931, including five consecutive victories.
• NCCU is looking to win three straight games for the first time since October 2017.
• NCCU leads the series with Norfolk State 10-6, with the Eagles winning five of the last six match-ups.
• Norfolk State's non-conference losses have been to Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina and Montana State. The Spartans lost to Florida A&M by just two points (30-28).
• NCCU and Norfolk State have the top two pass defenses in the MEAC.
• NCCU is third in the NCAA Division I-FCS with a MEAC-best 14 interceptions, the most picks by the Eagles since 2013 (14).
• NCCU's 22 takeaways (14 interceptions, 8 fumble recoveries) top the MEAC and rank fourth in the NCAA Division I-FCS. 
• Among Division I-FCS leaders, NCCU ranks 11th in pass defense (173.8), 12th in total defense (313.6), 12th in tackles for loss (70) and 14th in sacks (27).
• NCCU redshirt senior defensive end Darius Royster tops the MEAC with 14.0 tackles for a loss (19th in FCS) and 8.0 sacks (13th in FCS). 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 junior running back Isaiah Totten, the second-leading rusher in the MEAC with 66.6 ground yards per game, is ranked seventh on NCCU's career rushing list with 2,085 ground yards, averaging 5.2 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 tops the MEAC with five interceptions (5th in FCS) and is tied for second in the conference with 11 passes defended (6 pass break-ups, 5 INTs).
• NCCU redshirt senior defensive end Darius Royster ranks 10th in the league with a team-high 61 tackles, and is the only defensive lineman in the top-23.
• NCCU leads the MEAC and is second in FCS in fourth-down conversion defense, holding opponents to just 2-of-9 (22.2%) on fourth down.
• 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.
• 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 17th football meeting between NCCU and Norfolk State since the teams first met in 1981. NCCU leads the series 10-6, and the Eagles have won five of the last six match-ups.
10/20/2018 - NCCU 36, NSU 6 (Norfolk, Va.)
10/21/2017 - NSU 28, #25 NCCU 21 (Durham, N.C.)
9/24/2016 - NCCU 34, NSU 31 (Norfolk, Va.)
10/31/2015 - NCCU 24, NSU 16 (Durham, N.C.)
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 (Durham, N.C.)
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
(NCCU 36, Norfolk State 6 - Norfolk, Va. - Oct. 20, 2018) NCCU amassed five takeaways (3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries) and six sacks, and connected on the second-longest pass play in school history during a 36-6 conference road victory over Norfolk State at William "Dick" Price Stadium. NCCU recorded 388 yards of total offense, including 200 yards rushing, to average 5.7 yards per play, while Norfolk State managed 301 total yards for an average of 3.8 yards per play.

THE LAST MEETING IN DURHAM
(Norfolk State 28, NCCU 21 - Durham, N.C. - Oct. 21, 2017) NCCU amassed 501 yards of total offense, but the nationally-ranked Eagles committed 15 penalties for 146 lost yards and Norfolk State forced four turnovers as the Spartans snapped NCCU's 18-game conference win streak and school-record 11-game home win streak with a 28-21 victory at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. Norfolk State jumped out to a 21-0 cushion at halftime. No. 25 NCCU rallied in the second half to pull to within seven points, but the Eagles' fourth turnover of the game with eight seconds left sealed their fate.

LAST WEEK
NCCU 28, Howard 6 (Washington, D.C.): NCCU broke open a one-possession game at halftime by exploding for three touchdowns after intermission to cruise to a 28-6 conference victory over Howard University inside Greene Stadium in the nation's capital. All three NCCU running backs found the end zone, topped by redshirt freshman Latrell "Mookie" Collier with a two-yard touchdown rush and a 39-yard catch-and-run for a score.

Norfolk State 48, Morgan State 0 (Norfolk, Va.): Behind five interceptions from its defense and 529 offensive yards, Norfolk State pitched a homecoming shutout, romping past Morgan State 48-0 before 20,178 fans at Dick Price Stadium. Quarterback Juwan Carter passed for 314 yards while accounting for four touchdowns, and Rayquan Smith rushed for 142 yards for NSU. Cornerback Devyn Coles had two of the Spartans' five picks, and senior Nhyre' Quinerly returned the final interception of the day for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. 

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.

Norfolk State: Latrell Scott (Hampton, 1996) 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.

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 89 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.