A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: RB Jah-Maine Martin (16 rush att., 77 yards, 1 TD); QB Kingsley Ifedi (8-for-18, 125 yards, 2 TDs); LB Jacob Roberts (10 tackles, 7 unassisted, 1 blocked punt); DB Miles Simon (7 tackles, 6 unassisted, 1 PB); Ty Williams (6 tackles, 6 unassisted, 1 PB).

SCSU STATISTICAL LEADERS: RB Kendrel Flowers (15 rush att., 160 yards, 1 TD); QB Quincy Hill (10-for-18, 157 yards, 1 INT); WR Shaqaun Davis (5 rec., 96 yards); DB Kendall Moultrie (5 tackles, 5 unassisted, 2 TFLs, 2 sacks); LB BJ Davis (5 tackles, 5 unassisted, 1 TFL); LB Jeblonski Green (5 tackles, 4 unassisted, 2 TFLs).

WHY A&T GOT THE W: A&T ran the football effectively in the second half. After the South Carolina State Bulldogs held the Aggies to minus-13 yards rushing in the first half. The Aggies rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown in the second half, giving the Bulldogs a heavy dose of Jah-Maine Martin. Martin carried the ball 10 times for 78 yards in the second half, scoring on a 33-yard touchdown run to give the Aggies their first lead of the game, 20-17, with 2:49 remaining in the third quarter.

WHY SCSU DID NOT GET THE W: A&T scored on two incredible pass plays during the game that had to leave the Bulldogs wondering what they did to deserve their fate. Quarterback Kingsley Ifedi replaced starter Jalen Fowler to begin the second quarter. With 4:40 remaining in the first half, the Aggies had the ball 1^st-and-10 on the SCSU 23-yard line. Ifedi dropped back and threw a pass to the back of the end zone. Aggies tight end Nick Dobson was well covered on the play. With the ball behind him, Dobson turned his body away from the defender, reached his arm out and made an amazing one-handed grab while keeping one foot inbounds. Replay upheld the call, cutting the Bulldogs lead to 10-7.

In the third quarter, the Aggies trailed 17-7. Ifedi threw a dart to wide receiver Taymon Cooke. Cooke was also well covered, and it even appeared that a strong hit was coming his way to dislodge him from the football. Instead, Cooke caught the pass, avoided the big hit by ducking his head. When he turned around to turn up field, he discovered no one was behind. He darted toward the end zone for a 58-yard catch and run TD to cut the Bulldogs lead to 17-13.  

CRUCIAL: Let's take you back to 2015 in Orangeburg. The Aggies trailed 6-2 late in the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs tried a fake punt. Linebacker Denzel Jones intercepted the pass and returned the ball deep into Bulldogs territory. A few plays later, true freshman Kylil Carter connected with Khris Gardin on a touchdown pass that gave the Aggies a 9-6 win, sending A&T to the Celebration Bowl. Fast forward to Saturday evening in Orangeburg. The Bulldogs trail 20-17 with 4 ½ minutes remaining in the game. Gavyn Zimmerman steps in to attempt a 31-yard field goal to tie the game for the Bulldogs.

But instead the Bulldogs try a fake field goal that A&T sniffs out and stops before it really even gets started. But at least this time, it's the Bulldogs who are headed to the Celebration Bowl.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – During the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) video press conference with head coaches this past Tuesday, South Carolina State head coach Buddy Pough pretty much predicted what would happen on Saturday evening at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.
"It's the same A&T. It's the same South Carolina State. It will be a dogfight between the two of us," Pough said. "It's always a one or two-score ballgame."

The Aggies did win by two scores, 27-17, in about as whacky a game as anyone can imagine. The two teams played in a non-conference matchup for the first time since 1970 because the Aggies are now a member of the Big South Conference.

A&T improved to 5-5 on the season thanks to the non-conference win, keeping its hopes of a ninth straight winning season alive. The Bulldogs dropped to 5-5 on the season, but received good news during the game when Norfolk State forfeited a 26-0 lead to Delaware State, losing 28-26, to clinch a Celebration Bowl berth for the Bulldogs as the MEAC champion representative in the December bowl game.

The good news came with an ouch as the Bulldogs lost their sixth straight game to A&T. It is the Bulldogs' longest losing streak in the 56-game series.
It did not come easy in matchup of two teams who have Bulldogs as their respective mascots. Therefore, it was indeed a dogfight. And the fight started out lopsided.

The Bulldogs, who rushed for 190 yards on Saturday, got a 51-yard touchdown from Kendral Flowers to take a 10-0 first-half lead.

A&T got on the board thanks to a second-quarter blocked punt by Jacob Roberts (6-foot, 235, LB, Charlotte, N.C.). Roberts' second blocked punt of the season gave the Aggies a 1^st-and-10 on the SCSU 23. On the first play of the drive, backup quarterback Kingsley Ifedi (6-1, 215, R-JR, Charlotte, N.C.) connected with tight end Nick Dobson (6-3, 240, FR, Teachey, N.C.) for a 23-yard TD reception as the two teams went into the locker room with the Aggies trailing 10-7.

Six minutes into the second half, the Bulldogs got a blocked punt of their own as Jamre Benjamin returned the blocked kick 22 yards to put the Bulldogs ahead by 10 again.

A&T scored 20 unanswered points to seal the win, however. It started with an Ifedi to Taymon Cooke (6-0, 190, WR, Bluefield, Va.) 58-yard touchdown pass. The Aggies missed the extra point to make it a 17-13 contest.

"I thought he played very well," said Washington about Ifedi. "He stayed within his means. He didn't try to do too much. We know he can use his feet, but he threw some passes today that kept drives going, and I was very happy to see that."

Running back Jah-Martin (5-10, 220, R-SR, Conway, S.C.) then gave the Aggies the lead for good as he ran threw a big hole on the right side of the Aggies offensive line for a 33-yard touchdown run as A&T took the lead 20-17 in the third quarter.

"We gave the ball to Jah-Maine, and we encouraged the offensive line to block better and to give a better effort than they did in the first half," said Washington about the Aggies 99 yards rushing in the second half after rushing for minus-13 in the first.

Things got a little strange from there. Despite one of the best kickers in the MEAC, the Bulldogs decided to attempt a fake field goal instead of tying the game at 20 with a little more than four minutes remaining in the game. Instead of kicking the ball, Gavyn Zimmerman took a pitch from the Bulldogs holder. It didn't fool A&T as Zimmerman got swallowed for a 19-yard loss.

The Bulldogs had one more chance as they took over the ball at the A&T 10 with 2:12 remaining. But on 2^nd-and-3, Aggies defensive end Devin Harrell (6-3, 240, R-SR, Gastonia, N.C.) rushed up field in attempt to knock down a pass attempt by SCSU QB Quincy Hill. But Harrell's block attempt turned into him catching the ball and running into the end zone for a touchdown to seal the win.

"I was pleased with the character of our ball club," said Washington. "They showed a lot of grit and for that I'm grateful. They didn't quit, and they didn't duck their heads. They dug down deep inside and made things happen. That's what winners do."

QUOTABLE: "It's very important to the team and the program and our future. We want something to build upon going forward, and to end the season on a winning note would be a great way of doing that."
GAME NOTES

• Kingsley Ifedi has been playing college football since 2018 when he played at East Carolina. Ifedi's touchdown pass to Nick Dobson on Saturday was the first of his career.
• After losing five straight on the road, the Aggies have now won their last two road games.
• The Aggies finished 2-1 in the state of South Carolina this season with road wins over Charleston Southern and SCSU. The lost at Furman earlier this season.
• The Aggies have not only won six straight over the Bulldogs, they have won three in a row in Orangeburg. That has never happened before.
• The Aggies were picked to win third in the Big South preseason poll. If they win next week against Gardner-Webb, they will finish third in the conference.
• The top two teams in the MEAC at this time are SCSU and North Carolina Central. A&T has wins over both.
• Jah-Maine Martin scored his 34^th career touchdown as an Aggie on Saturday.