DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University football team will hold its home opener on Saturday, taking on in-state rival Elon University at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., live on ESPN+.

Series History: This will mark the 14th meeting between the Eagles and the Phoenix of Elon University. Elon leads the all-time series 9-4. The last meeting between the two team in Durham came on Sept. 17, 2011; the Phoenix won the game 23-22 in a nailbiter. In last year's meeting, the Eagles handed Elon its first home loss since 2022.

Last Time Out: The Eagles opened the 2024 season with a 31-24 win over Alabama State in the 2024 Denny's Orange Blossom Classic at Hard Rock Stadium. The win was the Eagles ninth in an NFL venue and fourth under Oliver, who is 4-0 in such games. J'Mari Taylor was the offensive star for the Eagles, rushing for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, averaging 5.3 yards per run. He also caught a touchdown pass.

Elon opened its season with a 26-3 loss at Duke this past weekend. The Phoenix were shut out until the final 14 seconds of the game, when Jack Berkowitz connected on a 39-yard field goal. Matthew Downing led Elon's offense, completing 11 of 17 passes for 72 yards. Former Eagle Khalil Baker led the Phoenix defense with 10 tackles and two pass breakups.

Home Openers: North Carolina Central is 60-46-1 all-time in home openers, and 4-0 under Oliver. The Eagles' last home-opening loss came back in 2011 to Elon--a game the Eagles lost 23-22 in part due to a missed PAT in the second quarter. For the fourth time in program history, N.C. Central will host Elon as the home opener; they also hosted the Phoenix in 1971, 1991, 1995 and 2011.

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'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. Oliver is 29-19 in four seasons as NCCU's head coach.

Tony Trisciani (Springfield College, 1996) begins his sixth season at the helm of the Elon program in 2024. Widely familiar with the CAA Football landscape, the 2023 season marked Trisciani's 28th year as a football coach and his 18th year coaching at a CAA Football institution. Known for developing champions, Trisciani's career has featured multiple conference championships on the field while guiding his defensive units to national leaders in multiple categories and coaching numerous all-conference and All-American student-athletes. Trisciani is also a leader locally and nationally, serving on the AFCA Rules Committee and as a voter in the AFCA Coaches Poll. He also works on the coaches council for the Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation and serves on Elon Athletics' Diversity, Equity and Inclusion subcommittee.

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 receiving votes in both the Stats Perform FCS and AFCA Coaches polls.

Eagles vs. The CAA: Since his arrival, Oliver holds a 3-2 mark against teams from the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA, formerly Colonial Athletic Association), with wins over North Carolina A&T, Campbell and Elon a year ago. This season, the Eagles will host Elon and North Carolina A&T, while traveling to Campbell.

Non-Conference Success: Under Oliver, the Eagles are 15-10 against non-conference opponents – including a 12-3 mark over the last two-plus seasons after a season-opening win over Alabama State. NCCU has three Top 25 wins in that span, defeating No. 25 Elon (2023), No. 25 New Hampshire (2022) and No. 5 Jackson State (2022).

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%).