N.C. Central (2-1, 0-0 MEAC) at North Carolina A&T (0-2, 0-0 Big South)
Date: September 25, 2021
Time: 6 p.m. EST
City/Venue: East Greensboro, N.C./Truist Stadium
Series: A&T leads, 52-34-5
TV: ESPN+
NORTH CAROLINA A&T AGGIES: The Aggies had a bye week last week after losing to the Duke Blue Devils, 45-17, two weeks ago. The game mirrored the 2019 game in many ways. Similar to the 2019 game against the Blue Devils, a late second-quarter drive gave Duke the momentum it needed to win the game. In 2019, the Aggies had a first-half lead over the Blue Devils. Two weeks ago, A&T put together a 20-play, 86-yard drive that gobbled up more than 12 minutes off the clock to take a 7-0 lead. Duke answered with a touchdown and then attempted and executed a successful onside kick that led to another touchdown. A 5-yard Kingsley Ifedi touchdown tied the game at 14 before the Blue Devils scored a touchdown with three seconds remaining in the half to take a 21-14 lead.
Duke scored another rushing touchdown and was never seriously threatened by the Aggies again. There were plenty of bright spots for the Aggies. Ifedi replaced an injured Jalen Fowler at quarterback and managed the offense well. He led the Aggies with 83 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Freshman running back Bhayshul Tuten had 54 yards rushing on seven carries, which led to him winning Big South freshman of the week honors.
A&T expects Fowler back into the lineup this week and several other players who have been out due to injury or COVID. All-conference defensive end Jermaine McDaniel is expected back. Nose guard Michael Branch is also back in the lineup for this week. The Aggies have looked dominant against their rivals as of late. They have won the last two ball games by a total of 99-0. The Eagles have managed only 53 yards of offense in those two games combined.
A&T HEAD COACH SAM WASHINGTON: Sam Washington is a 1982 graduate of Mississippi Valley State. Washington is 19-7 (.760) 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.
NCCU EAGLES: The Eagles claimed their first home win of the season, besting long-time HBCU rival Winston-Salem State, 20-13, last Saturday at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham. NCCU relied on the rushing attack to move to 2-1 on the year, compiling 151 yards and the offense's only touchdowns (two) on the ground.
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Cole Williams leads the MEAC in tackles, recording 27 (10 solo, 17 assisted) at an average of 9.0 per game. In a game against Marshall earlier this year, Williams was everywhere. The safety-turned-linebacker tallied a game-high 16 tackles and two pass breakups despite the Eagles dropping the contest, 44-10.
Most college football teams would consider it a blessing to have one dependable running back. Some schools get lucky and find two. Three is a rarity, and four is just unheard of, but that's what NCCU has – a four-headed rushing attack. Four Eagle running backs – Jamal Currie-Elliott, Isaiah Totten, Jorden Freeman and Latrell Collier – have registered double-digit carries through three games, with Totten leading the way at 25 attempts. On 24 carries, Currie-Elliott leads the team with his net of 105 yards. He is the only running back to eclipse the triple-digit mark thus far. Collier is the only running back to record a touchdown this season with two, tied for the team-lead with sophomore quarterback Davius Richard.
NCCU'S HEAD COACH: Eagles announced Trei Oliver as head coach on Dec. 13, 2018. He is the 24th head coach in school history. A 1998 graduate of NCCU, Oliver returned to his alma mater with more than 20 years of coaching experience, but this is his first time as a head coach. Interestingly enough, Oliver spent some time on the Aggies' coaching staff from 2011-15. He held duties as the outside linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at A&T. At the helm of the Eagles, Oliver is in his third year and has an overall record of 6-9. He is 0-1 against the Aggies, suffering a 54-0 loss back in 2019.
THE QUARTERBACKS: Fans should be prepared to see four different quarterbacks on Saturday. NCCU's main guy is Richard. Richard started the first two games for the Eagles this season but missed the last game. However, in those first two contests, he displayed his dual-threat ability compiling 290 passing yards and a touchdown and 56 rushing yards, and two scores. In a 23-14 win over Alcorn State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge on national television, Richard went 16-for-25 for 184 yards through the air and 64 yards rushing on nine attempts with two touchdowns on the ground.
The other QB is Walker Harris. In the win over Winston, he was 16-for-26 for 134 yards. He also rushed six times for 24 yards.
The Aggies opened the season with Jalen Fowler as its starting quarterback. After a rough first half against Furman, he settled in and had a decent day in the Aggies 29-18 loss to the Paladins. Kingsley Ifedi got the start at Duke two weeks ago as the Aggies sidelined Fowler with an injury. N.C. A&T head coach Sam Washington said to look for Ifedi to play a role in the Aggies game plan this week.
THE OPPONENT'S POINT OF VIEW: "(N.C. A&T) pushed around an ACC team. That shows how good and how physical they are upfront. They're a championship program, and that's where we're trying to get our program to. I thought early on in the first half, when they were fresh, they played with Duke and went toe-to-toe with them. We have to bring that same mindset, that same physicality, into the game. How do we slow them down? We just play our brand of football. We just have to be sound fundamentally. Our coaches are putting together a good game plan now. We have to be physical. It starts upfront. We have to be physical."
NCCU head coach Trei Oliver on competing with the Aggies
