THE GAME
North Carolina Central University "Eagles" vs. Towson University "Tigers"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019 – Kickoff at 6:00 p.m.

THE SITE
Johnny Unitas Stadium (11,198 capacity / FieldTurf Revolution) - Towson, Md.

THE RECORDS
N.C. Central (0-1 overall, 0-0 MEAC); #8/9 Towson (1-0, 0-0 CAA)

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

QUICK HITS
• Saturday's contest will be the third gridiron meeting between NCCU and Towson since the series started in 2013, with the Tigers winning both contests.
• NCCU opens the season with three straight non-conference road games before its home-opener on Sept. 21 versus Elizabeth City State.
• 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).
• Towson stands at No. 8 in the STATS FCS Poll and No. 9 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS Top-25.  The Tigers rose three spots in each poll from the preseason rankings, following their season-opening 28-21 win over The Citadel.
• Since the start of the transition to NCAA Division I-FCS in 2007, NCCU is 3-12 against nationally-ranked FCS opponents.
• 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 in 2018. The Eagles registered eight tackles for loss in the season-opener at Austin Peay.
• NCCU topped the MEAC and finished 21st in the nation (FCS) in turnover margin (+0.55 per game) last season. The Eagles are tied atop the conference leaders at +3 this year, collecting three interceptions without committing a turnover at Austin Peay.
• NCCU junior running back Isaiah Totten is ranked 15th on NCCU's career rushing list with 1,491 ground yards.
• 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.
• NCCU redshirt sophomore Justin Nicholson's three pass break-ups at Austin Peay ties the cornerback as the conference leader in that category.
• Since the start of the 2012 season, NCCU has scored 38 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including three defensive scores in 2017 and two last season.
• Towson quarterback Tom Flacco, the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year, is the brother of former Ravens and current Broncos quarterback Joe Flacco.
• Towson was 7-5 last year, tying for third in the Colonial Athletic Association at 5-3 and earning an NCAA FCS Playoff berth for the first time since 2013.

THE SERIES
This will be the third meeting between NCCU and Towson, with the Tigers holding a 2-0 advantage in the series. In the first meeting on Sept. 21, 2013, No. 4 Towson pulled away from NCCU in the second half for a 35-17 win in Durham, N.C. On Sept. 20, 2014, Towson overcame a four-point second quarter deficit en route to a 31-20 win in Towson, Md.

LAST WEEK
Austin Peay 41, NCCU 10 (Clarksville, Tenn.): NCCU kicked a field goal to start the scoring on Thursday night, Aug. 29, but it was mostly Austin Peay State University the rest of the contest as the host Governors posted a 41-10 season-opening victory. A 24-yard field goal connection by NCCU freshman Adrian Olivo gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead at 7:01 of the first quarter, but Austin Peay scored 41 unanswered points before the visitors tallied the last score, a 35-yard touchdown pass from Chauncey Caldwell to Nique Martin with 4:29 left to play. One bright spot for the Eagles was the turnover battle. NCCU defensive backs collected three interceptions by freshman Shamar Baker, junior Marcus Martin and senior Stephen Stokes, while the Eagles did not turn the ball over. Another defensive back, sophomore Justin Nicholson, recorded a game-high three pass break-ups to go with five solo takedowns, while yet another defensive back, senior Deonta Fair, amassed a game-high 11 tackles. Junior linebacker Austin Parker chipped in 10 tackles, while junior linebacker Noah Rainbow-Douglas contributed seven stops. Offensively, nine different Eagles caught a pass, topped by junior receiver Ryan McDaniel with five receptions for 21 yards and Martin with three grabs for 80 yards, including a touchdown. NCCU starting quarterback Micah Zanders completed 10 of 20 passes for 61 yards, while Caldwell threw for 78 yards on 8-for-23 passing with a team-best 21 rushing yards. As a team, NCCU tallied 192 yards of total offense, compared to Austin Peay's 563 total yards.

Towson 28, The Citadel 21 (Charleston, S.C.): Towson used a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter for a 28-21 comeback win over The Citadel. Towson quarterback Tom Flacco threw for 328 yards and a touchdown on 21-for-36 passing, and rushed for 48 yards. Shane Simpson ran for a team-best 74 yards with two scores.

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.

Towson: Rob Ambrose (Towson, 1993), now in the 11th season as the head coach at his alma mater, led the Tigers to the FCS championship game and a school record 13 victories in 2013, along with back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association championships in 2011 and 2012. After the 2011 Tigers made their first appearance in the NCAA FCS playoffs, Ambrose was presented with the Eddie Robinson Award as the national FCS coach of the year. He has also served as an assistant coach at Connecticut and Towson, and spent the 2001 season as the head coach at Division III Catholic University.

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.

EAGLES AGAINST NATIONALLY-RANKED OPPOSITION                                            
Since the start of the transition to NCAA Division I-FCS in 2007, NCCU is 3-12 against nationally-ranked FCS opponents.
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

SEVEN NCCU EAGLES VOTED TO PRESEASON ALL-MEAC TEAMS
Seven North Carolina Central University Eagles were named to the 2019 Preseason All-MEAC Football Teams, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced on Friday from its annual football media day and luncheon in Norfolk, Virginia. 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. Totten (Apex, N.C.) ranked third in the conference in rushing with 768 yards and seven touchdowns in 2018, averaging 5.5 yards per carry to earn All-MEAC First Team recognition. In two seasons, he has amassed 1,486 rushing yards to rank 15th on NCCU's career rushing list, averaging 5.63 yards per carry with 12 career rushing touchdowns. Royster (Chesapeake, Va.) led the MEAC and ranked ninth in the nation (FCS) with four forced fumbles a year ago, 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. The 2018 All-MEAC Third Team pick finished third on the squad with 58 total takedowns, 39 of which were unassisted. He broke the school record for most tackles for loss in a game with 6.0 TFL versus Prairie View A&M in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, while adding 5.0 stops for a loss at S.C. State. Cox (Summerville, S.C.) tied for sixth in the conference with 4.5 sacks, to go along with 6.5 stops for a loss, 26 total tackles and a forced fumble as a Third Team All-MEAC honoree last season. Dale (Morehead City, N.C.) started seven games on the offensive front last season before being sidelined with an injury. Okezie-Okeke (Woodstock, Ga.) started all 11 games in his first college season as a center, grading out at 85 percent of his blocking assignments with five pancake blocks. Lee (Jacksonville, Fla.) started all 11 games at right tackle as a true freshman, grading out at 83 percent of his blocking assignments with three pancake blocks. Bailey (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) ranked fourth on the team with 51 tackles, including 6.5 hits for a loss with a solo sack, two pass break-ups and two forced fumbles.

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 81 games, NCCU has scored 38 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including 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, 11 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 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.