Football | 11/5/2021 11:55:00 PM

North Carolina A&T (3-5, 2-3 BIG SOUTH) at Charleston Southern (3-4, 2-3 BIG SOUTH)         
 Date: November 6, 2021  
 Time: 1 p.m. EST
 City/Venue:  Charleston, S.C./Buccaneer Field 
 Series: A&T leads, 1-0      
 
 
Radio: Donal Ware (pxp); Al Swann (analyst); Billy Covington (analyst)
 
NORTH CAROLINA A&T AGGIES: The Aggies will try to get back to their winning ways today as they head to the Palmetto State to face the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. The Aggies are coming off a 35-16 loss to Big South Conference favorite Monmouth at the Greatest Homecoming On Earth. It was the Aggies first homecoming loss in 11 years. It was also the Aggies first home loss in seven games. The upside for the Aggies is that Jah-Maine Martin (5-foot-10, 220, R-SR, running back, Conway, S.C.) helped the Aggies get their running game going. Martin posted 97 yards on 16 carries. The Aggies also saw the return of dynamic running back Kashon Baker (5-6, 170, SR, Farmville, N.C.). 
 
A&T had a decent showing defensively. The Aggies held Monmouth to 71 yards rushing, and they sacked the Hawks eight times. A&T's downfall occurred on third downs, where the Hawks converted 8 of 17 on first down. Meanwhile, the Aggies offense converted just 3 of 12 on third down, making a massive difference. Linebacker Jacob Roberts (6-0, 235, SO, Charlotte, N.C.) continued his outstanding season. He had eight tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks against the Hawks. Roberts leads the Aggies in tackles with 58. He also has eight TFLs and an interception on the season. 
 
The Aggies return to Buccaneer Field after playing there in 2019. The last time the Aggies played there, Martin had a career game with 299 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Linebacker Joseph Stuckey (6-0, 215, JR, Hillside, N.J.) led the Aggies with eight tackles. The Aggies held the Bucs to 48 yards rushing in the 27-21 win. CSU returns quarterback Jack Chambers who A&T head coach Sam Washington says is a significantly better player than two years ago.
 
A&T HEAD COACH SAM WASHINGTON: Sam Washington is a 1982 graduate of Mississippi Valley State. Washington is 22-10 (.688) as the Aggies head coach in his third season on the field and fourth overall. In his rookie season as a head coach, Washington was named the 2018 MEAC coach of the year after leading the Aggies to a MEAC title and a Celebration Bowl victory. In year two, the Aggies won the MEAC again under Washington and took home the Celebration Bowl. In addition, he has two HBCU national titles, and Washington is off to the best two-year start of any football coach in A&T history. He comes into Saturday's game 14-6 (.700) against conference opponents. 

 
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN BUCCANEERS: The Bucs are coming off a 27-14 win over the Campbell Camels last Saturday. This year, CSU is 2-1 at home, with their lone loss coming against Monmouth, 41-14, in Week 2. 
 
Senior linebacker Garrett Sayegh. Sayegh is coming off his best performance of the season, a 16-tackle effort against Campbell. He had 11 solo tackles, two forced fumbles and an interception. The performance earned him Big South defensive player of the week honors. Sayegh leads the team on the season with 77.0 total tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks. 
 
The Bucs possess the best passing offense in the league with 19 touchdowns and 308.0 yards per game. Similarly, they are tops in total offense, gathering 447.6 yards per game, over 20 yards more than second-place Hampton (423.6). In addition, CSU is fifth in scoring offense at 27.0 points per game while, defensively, they allow 27.4 points per contest, good for sixth. 
 
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN HEAD COACH: Autry Denson became the fifth head coach in CSU history when hired in January of 2019. He has compiled an 11-12 (.478) overall record, and two top-3 Big South finishes. Under Denson's tutelage, the Bucs have nurtured 20 all-conference selections in two seasons, with 12 coming in his first year. Denson brings Power Five experience, having served as the running backs coach at Notre Dame before coming to CSU. 
 
THE QUARTERBACKS: Jalen Fowler leads the signal calling for A&T. A&T head coach Sam Washington revealed this week that Fowler has been playing with a broken left hand for the past two weeks. Washington said Fowler sustained the injury at Kennesaw State on Oct. 16 when he tried to brace himself with his hand during a fall. Despite the injury, Fowler has thrown for better than 200 yards in the past two weeks. But he also has three interceptions and a lost fumble in the past two weeks. 
 
Redshirt senior quarterback Jack Chambers captains the ship that is the No. 1 passing attack in the conference (308.0 yards per game). He has two games this season with four-plus touchdown passes and sports a 15-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. In addition, Chambers rides a two-game streak of 100-plus rushing yards. Chambers only had 16 yards rushing two years ago against A&T. 
 
GAME NOTES 

• The Aggies have scored only 25 points in their last three games. They have failed to score in the second half over the past three weeks as well. 
• The Aggies are trying to avoid their first losing season since 2011. The Aggies need to win their last three games to secure a winning season. The Aggies last losing season occurred during legendary coach Rod Broadway's first season.
• A&T's streak of six straight 9-win seasons has come to an end. 
• The Aggies are also unranked in every FCS poll – AFCA coaches, STATS Perform and BoxToRow Black College Poll – for the first time in 89 weeks. 
• Quarterback Jalen Fowler has 1,503 passing yards this season. He could become just the fifth quarterback to have a 2,000-yard passing season. He would join Lamar Raynard, Maseo Bolin, Alan Hooker and Kylil Carter on the list. 
• The 2019 and 2021 seasons could mark the first time the Aggies had 2,000-yard passers in back-to-back seasons. The Aggies did not play football in 2020 because of the pandemic.
• This season, the Bucs are 2-1 at home, while A&T is 0-4 on the road.