DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University football team will return to O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium for the last time in the 2024 season Friday night, squaring off against defending conference champion Howard.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m., and the game will air live on ESPNU.

The Series: This will be the 28th meeting between the Eagles and the Bison. N.C. Central leads the series 16-10-1. Prior to last season, the Eagles had won 10 in a row against Howard. Last season's win for Howard was the first since 1994. 

N.C. Central has won the last four games played in Durham, and the Bison have not won at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium since 1994. The matchup will pit the last two MEAC champions and Celebration Bowl participants against each other.

The Eagles lead the series 7-5-1 in games played in Durham. 

Last Time Out: The Eagles (6-3, 2-1 MEAC) suffered their first MEAC loss of the season, falling 24-21 at South Carolina State on Oct. 31. Quarterback Walker Harris threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns, while running back J'Mari Taylor rushed for a team-high 72 yards and scored a touchdown.

Howard (4-6, 1-2 MEAC) fell 38-14 to South Carolina State this past Saturday. Quarterback Ja'Shawn Scroggins threw for two touchdowns in the loss, though he did also throw three interceptions.

Taylor Made: In the season opener against Alabama State, running back J'Mari Taylor had 24 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns to go along with two catches for 18 yards and a touchdown. He finished with 146 all-purpose yards. 

Taylor has rushed for 862 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 95.8 rushing  yards per game. He has 24 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns. He has scored at least one touchdown running the ball in every game he has played in this season.

Taylor leads the team and the MEAC in scoring (TDs) with 78 points and rushing by averaging 95.8 yards per game. He is currently 16th in NCAA FCS rushing touchdowns (11), 15th in scoring (8.7) and 12th in total touchdowns (13). Taylor ran for a career-high 196 yards on 26 carries in the win over Morgan State; he now his three 100-yard rushing games on the season. 

Quick on the Uptake: In the games against North Carolina A&T and Norfolk State, Markell Quick had a combined nine receptions for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Over that same span, he recorded two catches of 60 yards or more. In the game against North Carolina A&T, Quick had four catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. 

Against Norfolk State, he had five catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns. It marked his first 100-yard receiving game, and the first multi-touchdown game of his career. In the Eagles' win over Morgan State, Quick caught five passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. 

He has now scored a receiving touchdown in four games, including the last two.

No-Fly Zone: N.C. Central's secondary has recorded 10 interceptions with one returned for a touchdown, 27 pass breakups and 24 quarterback hurries going into the Howard game. They have placed continued pressure on the quarterbacks.

The Eagles have recorded 22 sacks and 68 tackles for a loss of 222 yards. The Eagles defense is ranked fourth in the NCAA in team tackles for loss (7.6), seventh in defensive touchdowns (3) and 11th in third-down conversion defense. 

Red Zone Success: This season, the Eagles have made 33 trips into the red zone and have come away with points 29 times for an 88% conversion rate. Twenty-five of those red-zone trips have resulted in touchdowns, an 76% conversion rate. 

The Coaches: Trei Oliver (N.C. Central, 1998) is in his fifth season as a college head coach. With 24 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, Va., 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.

Larry Scott was named Howard head coach on Feb. 6, 2020. The former Florida (Gainesville, Fla.) assistant coach came into the job with more than 15 years of collegiate experience, including six postseason bowl/playoff game victories. 

NCCU the MEAC Favorite: The 2022 MEAC champion and HBCU national champion Eagles were selected as the preseason favorite to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) for the second straight season.

Four Eagles made the preseason first team: Trevon Humphrey (OL), Jaden Taylor (DL), Kole Jones (DB) and Juan Velarde (P/K). Four more Eagles were on the second team list: J'Mari Taylor (RB), Joaquin Davis (WR), Ja'Quan Sprinkle (OL), and Max U'Ren (LB).

Nationally, NCCU is ranked 20th in the Stats Perform Top 25 poll and tied for 21st in the AFCA poll..

Youth Movement: Underclassmen have played a significant role with the Eagles during the first nine games this season, and that shows just how much youth is on this team. There are 56 underclassmen on the roster (freshman or sophomore), and they continue to play snaps for the Eagles. Nine games into the season, 45 of the 56 underclassmen have seen playing time.

A North Carolina State of Mind: NCCU's emphasis on recruiting talent in North Carolina is demonstrated with 63 Eagles calling the Tar Heel state their home out of the 110 student-athletes on the team's season-opening roster (63%).
 
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.