THE GAME
North Carolina Central University "Eagles" vs. Morgan State University "Bears"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019 – Kickoff at 6:00 p.m.

THE SITE
Hughes Stadium (10,000 capacity / Synthetic Grass) - Baltimore, Md.

THE RECORDS
N.C. Central (1-3 overall, 0-0 MEAC); Morgan State (0-3, 0-0 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network at NCCUEaglePride.com (internet stream). Broadcast starts at 5:30 p.m. Jonathan Duren (play-by-play). 
Video: ESPN3

QUICK HITS
• Saturday will be the MEAC opener for both NCCU and Morgan State.
• Four of the last five match-ups between the Eagles and the Bears have been decided with less than seven minutes left in the contest.
• This will be NCCU's fourth road game in the first five weeks.
• Morgan State has started the season against FBS opponents Bowling Green (L 3-46) and Army (L 21-52), as well as FCS power James Madison (L 12-63).
• The Eagles lead the nation (FCS & FBS) with 13 total takeaways (7 INT, 6 FR).
• NCCU tops the MEAC and ranks third in NCAA Division I-FCS with seven interceptions. The Eagles have already passed last season's total of six picks.
• 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.
• The Eagles are sitting atop the MEAC and rank eighth in the nation (FCS) with a +6 turnover margin (+1.50 per game). NCCU topped the MEAC and finished 21st in the nation in turnover margin (+0.55 per game) last season.
• NCCU has registered 30 TFL in the first four games, averaging 7.5 per contest (25th in FCS). In 2018, NCCU led the conference and ranked 14th in the NCAA Division I-FCS in tackles for loss with an average of 7.7 per game. 
• 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 running back Isaiah Totten, the third-leading rusher in the MEAC with 58.8 ground yards per game, is ranked 11th on NCCU's career rushing list with 1,742 ground yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
• NCCU redshirt sophomore Justin Nicholson's five passes defended (four pass break-ups, one interception) are tied for the most in the MEAC.
• NCCU freshman kicker Adrian Olivo tops the MEAC in field goal percentage (87.5%), is second in field goals per game (1.75/8th in FCS), and ranks third in the league in scoring with 7.0 points per game.
• NCCU senior defensive back Stephen Stokes leads the conference with two interceptions.
• NCCU redshirt senior defensive end Darius Royster 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) last season. Royster is second in the league this year with 4.5 stops for a loss and 3.0 sacks.
• With 14 catches for 191 yards and a touchdown, NCCU junior receiver Nique Martin ranks ninth in the MEAC in receptions per game (3.5).
• 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 42nd gridiron meeting between NCCU and Morgan State since the teams first played on Nov. 15, 1930. The MSU Bears hold a 24-15-2 advantage in the series. The Bears won the first five contests, then rolled off another five-game win streak from 1964-68, out-scoring the Eagles 125-7 during that stretch, including four straight shutouts. NCCU has posted two three-game win streaks, first from 1957-59 and also from 1972-74. MSU has won seven of the past 11 meetings. Four of the last five match-ups have been decided with less than seven minutes left in the contest.

Last 10 Meetings:
Oct. 22, 2016 - NCCU 21, MSU 17 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 24, 2015 - NCCU 20, MSU 17 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 18, 2014 - MSU 21, NCCU 20 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 19, 2013 - MSU 34, NCCU 22 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 13, 2012 - NCCU 24, MSU 20 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 15, 2011 - MSU 52, NCCU 3 (Durham, N.C.)
Sept. 13, 2008 - MSU 49, NCCU 7 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 16, 1982 - NCCU 27, MSU 7 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 10, 1981 - MSU 35, NCCU 27 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 11, 1980 - MSU 14, NCCU 7 (Baltimore, Md.)

LAST WEEK
NCCU 45, Elizabeth City State 7 (Durham, N.C.): Trei Oliver celebrated his first victory as a head coach at his alma mater, as N.C. Central cruised to a 45-7 triumph over Elizabeth City State in the Eagles' home-opener inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. NCCU amassed 391 yards of total offense, paced by rookie quarterback Davius Richard, who completed 17 of 24 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 34 yards. The Eagles held the visiting Vikings to just 91 total yards, recording 14 tackles for a loss with seven sacks, three fumble recoveries and an interception returned for a touchdown. Senior defensive end Darius Royster amassed eight takedowns, including 3.0 stops in the backfield with 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble.

Army 52, Morgan State 21 (West Point, N.Y.): Morgan State held a 14-7 lead into the second quarter, but Army rushed for six touchdowns and a season-high 403 yards to defeat the Bears 52-21. Morgan State collected 308 yards of total offense, including 230 yards and two touchdowns through the air by DeAndre Harris. MSU receiver Manasseh Bailey caught six passes for 121 yards and two trips to the end zone. Linebacker Rico Kennedy registered a game-high 12 tackles with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble to top the Bears.

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.

Morgan State: Tyrone Wheatley (Michigan, 2008) was announced as Morgan State's 22nd head football coach effective February 21, 2019. Wheatley spent the past two seasons as the running backs coach under head coach Doug Marrone for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. Wheatley also worked with Marrone at Syracuse University from 2010-12, and then with the NFL's Buffalo Bills from 2013-14. Wheatley finished his Michigan football playing career as the program's second-leading rusher. He was the Big Ten's "Offensive Player of the Year" in 1992, and also earned All-America honors in the 110-meter hurdles as a track athlete in 1995. He enjoyed a 10-year career in the NFL before starting his coaching career.

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.

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.

SEVEN NCCU EAGLES VOTED TO PRESEASON ALL-MEAC TEAMS
Seven NCCU Eagles were named to the 2019 Preseason All-MEAC Football Teams. NCCU junior running back Isaiah Totten, redshirt senior defensive lineman Darius Royster, and senior defensive lineman Kawuan Cox were voted to the Preseason All-MEAC First Team. Redshirt junior offensive lineman Andrew Dale was selected to the Preseason All-MEAC Second Team, while redshirt sophomore center Somadina Okezie-Okeke, sophomore offensive lineman Ricky Lee and junior linebacker Branden Bailey received Preseason All-MEAC Third Team honors. 

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 84 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.