DURHAM, N.C. – Over the past two Saturdays, the North Carolina A&T football has had to face the No. 1 Division I-FCS team in the nation in North Dakota State and a rapidly improving ACC team in the Duke Blue Devils.
NDSU scored more than 40 points last week in Fargo, ND, and on Saturday, Duke improved to 3-0 with a 49-20 win over the Aggies at Wallace Wade Stadium. If you think it gets easier for the Aggies, head coach Sam Washington says think again. A&T will play its home opener next week against the defending HBCU national champion South Carolina State (SCSU) Bulldogs.
"The talent level will drop a little, but it is not going to drop drastically," said Washington. "The amount of depth will change because we're not facing an FBS program. But South Carolina State is strong. They're going to be ready to play, so we have to approach it that way, we have to look at it that way, and we've got to be ready when they come to town."
The one thing Washington is looking to correct before the home opener is turnovers. Last week in Fargo, the Aggies had three turnovers that led to 21 points. On Saturday, two fumbles led to 14 Blue Devil points, including a 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown by DeWayne Carter.
Carter's touchdown was a part of a 21-point outburst by the Blue Devils over the first eight minutes of the game as they took a 21-0 lead. Duke even opened the game with a 67-yard kickoff return followed by a five-yard delay of game penalty before quarterback Riley Leonard connected with Nicky Dalmolin on a 38-yard touchdown pass.
A&T did get settled once the second quarter started. Aggies starting quarterback Jalen Fowler led the Aggies on a 14-play, 71-yard drive. The drive included a beautiful top-tap catch on the sideline to stay in bounds by graduate receiver Zach Leslie on an 18-yard reception. Unfortunately, the Aggies drives stalled at the Duke 4-yard line leading to a 21-yard field goal by sophomore Andrew Brown.
After Leonard ran in for a 2-yard touchdown put Duke ahead 28-3, the Aggies put together an impressive two-minute offense, where Fowler completed passes of 15 and 9 and benefited from a 15-yard pass interference penalty. The nine-play, 45-yard drive led to a 41-yard field goal from Brown with 12 seconds remaining in the first half to make it a 28-6 Duke lead at halftime.
But an Aggies fumble to open the second half led to a 56-yard touchdown run from Leonard. Those are the mistakes Washington wants to get fixed before SCSU, and the beginning of Big South Conference play.
"I thought we did improve. We did do some things better in the second half than we did in the first half," said Washington. "But we still have the problem with the turnovers. We had two turnovers that plagued us, and they both resulted in them scoring points. We cannot give opposing teams those types of opportunities. It is one of those things that is a thorn in our side."
A&T did play its third different quarterback this season when freshman Eli Brickhandler made his collegiate debut on Saturday. He led the Aggies on two fourth-quarter drives. One resulted in redshirt freshman Charlie Dixon scoring his first career touchdown, an 8-yard run with 12:05 remaining in the game. The other drive resulted in Brickhandler throwing his first collegiate touchdown pass, a 6-yard toss to fullback Romello Kimbrough.
\"I was pleased with the progress when it comes to penalties. We had four penalties for 20 yards. That is a drastic improvement, so they are getting the message," said Washington. "I can see some growth. It's about building upon each game and getting better."
That growth and maturity will be needed next week against the Bulldogs.
