*No. 14/14 North Carolina A&T (5-1, 3-0 MEAC) at Howard (1-6, 1-3 MEAC)
Date: Oct. 22, 2016
Time: 1 p.m.
Facility: Greene Stadium (7,086)
Series: A&T leads, 27-20-2
Radio: 1320 AM/93.7 FM WCOG; Play-by-play – Donal Ware, Analysts – Al Swann
Television: None
*FCS media poll listed first/coaches' poll listed next
LAST GAME'S OFFENSIVE STARTERS: WR Denzel Keyes (6-4, 215, Sr., 5 rec., 34 yards); LT Brandon Parker (6-7, 299, R-Jr., 3x MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week ); LG Joshua Mattocks (6-3, 332, R-Jr.); C Darriel Mack (6-2, 291, R-Jr.); RG Daquan Blake (6-3, 315, Jr.); RT Wes Cole (6-6, 335, Sr.); WR Deshaun McFadden (5-8, 171, So.); RB Tarik Cohen (5-6, 179, Sr., 3rd straight 200-yard game); QB Lamar Raynard (6-4, 176, R-So., career-high 277 yards passing, 3TDs); TE Leroy Hill (6-3, 239, So.); WR Elijah Bell (6-2, 210, Fr., scored the go-ahead TD on a 37-yard TD reception from Raynard).
LAST GAME'S DEFENSIVE STARTERS: DE Angelo Keyes (6-1, 270, R-Sr., 1SACK); DT Marquis Ragland (6-3, 277, R-Sr.); NT Julian McKnight (6-3, 291, R-So.); DE Kenneth Melton (6-2, 220, R-Jr., 1SACK); LB Deion Jones (5-11, 207, R-So., 5TCKLs, 1PBU); LB Joshua Patrick (5-11, 226, Jr.); LB Jeremy Taylor (5-11, 181, R-Jr., key 24-yard pick-6 in the fourth quarter, 6TACKLs); ROV Lorenz Suttles (6-2, 190, Sr.); FS Zerius Lockhart (5-10, 175, R-Jr., 44-yard INT return); CB Tard McCoy (5-9, 184, R-Jr.); CB Marquis Willis (5-8, 153, R-So.).
The Game: N.C. A&T heads to the nation's capital to face MEAC rival Howard University. The two teams will meet for the 50th time. The Aggies have won four in a row in the series and a win Saturday would give the Aggies their longest winning streak over the Bison in series history. The Aggies will have a hard time trying to topple the Bison who will be celebrating homecoming. The last time the Aggies were in Washington, D.C., for Howard's homecoming back in 2011, they lost 35-28. Other motivation for the Bison may stem from the Aggies coming away with a 65-14 win over Howard last season at Aggie Stadium during N.C. A&T's homecoming. The Aggies win was the most lopsided in series history.
N.C. A&T is coming off a 52-35 win over Bethune-Cookman where they trailed in the fourth quarter for the first time in conference play. Thirty-five are the most points the Aggies have given up in conference play since the Bison scored 35 in their 2011 win over the Aggies. N.C. A&T running back Tarik Cohen will go into Saturday's game needing only 79 rushing yards to reach 5,000 for his career. Howard has an excellent running back as well. Anthony Philyaw is second behind Cohen in rushing in the MEAC at 126.2 yards per game. The Bison are coming off a 14-9 loss to S.C. State where they only allowed the Bulldogs one offensive touchdown.
News & Notes
- N.C. A&T running back Tarik Cohen needs 79 yards to become the 26th player in NCAA FCS history to rush for 5,000 yards in a career. Cohen is also 110 yards shy of having his fourth straight 1,000-yard rushing season, becoming on the 11th player in FCS history and second in MEAC history to do so.
- The Aggies 561 yards of offense was the best offensive performance during the six-year Rod Broadway era. It is only the third time in 13 seasons the Aggies offense has exceeded 500 yards of offense.
- N.C. A&T is ranked No. 14 in the FCS STATS Media poll as well as the NCAA FCS Coaches' poll. It is the 13th straight week the Aggies have been ranked nationally. They have been ranked No. 1 in the black college polls – Sheridan Broadcasting Network and BoxToRow – all season. They have been ranked 36 straight weeks in BTR poll and 34 straight weeks in the SBN poll.
- Tarik Cohen is now the Aggies all-time leader in carries. Last week against Bethune-Cookman he carried the ball 25 times. He now gives him 766 carries on his career, exceeding Mike Mayhew's mark of 761.
- N.C. A&T has never ranked higher than fourth in the MEAC and 65th in the nation in total offense over the previous five seasons. This season the Aggies rank No. 1 and No. 27 in total offense in the MEAC and the NCAA.
Opposing Point of View
“Anthony (Philyaw) is a guy I'll line up against anybody. I feel like every game we go into, not just A&T, but Maryland and Rutgers, I feel really good about the guy I have carrying the football. I don't think he is going to try to go out and do anything outside of the norm. But of course, I can't say he is not thinking about the other guy on the other side of the football field. He wants to outperform him, but he is not going to try to do it outside of our scheme. At the same time, I don't think Tarik Cohen is a problem for Anthony Philyaw. Tarik is going to be a challenge for our defense. Our defense needs to be thinking about how we're going to tackle him, how are we going to stop him and make him frustrated and make the day long for him. We're not going to get caught up in rushing titles and who is the best back, our ultimate goal is to win.”
Howard head coach Gary Harrell on the matchup between the two best running backs in the league, A&T's Tarik Cohen and Howard's Anthony Philyaw
