Football | 10/13/2023 11:18:00 AM

GAME: North Carolina A&T Aggies (1-4, 0-2 CAA) vs. Delaware Blue Hens (4-1, 2-0 CAA) 

DATE: October 14, 2023
TIME: 3 p.m. 
LOCATION: Delaware Stadium (Newark, Del.)  
FLOFOOTBALL: Jon Mozes (play-by-play); Pat Devlin (analyst)   
RADIO ANNOUNCERS: Donal Ware (play-by-play); Al Swann (analyst); Billy Covington 
 RADIO STATIONS: 1400 AM, 103.5 FM, XM Radio 387

GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T faces a difficult challenge on Saturday when they travel to No. 8 Delaware to take on the Blue Hens at Delaware Stadium. But North Carolina A&T head coach Vincent Brown said at Monday's weekly press session that if you want to be the best, you must beat the best. The Aggies must slow down an outstanding offense to best the Blue Hens on Saturday. 

The Blue Hens come into Saturday's game with the 14th-best passing offense in the nation and running back Marcus Yarns in fifth in Division I-FCS in yards per carry (8.6). The Aggies will need to play disciplined football to pull off the upset. The Aggies have played disciplined football as it pertains to fewer penalties and turnovers this season. 

The Aggies have also solidified a solid return game with all-conference kickoff returner Taymon Cooke. Freshman Kevin White had another rushing touchdown last week and another freshman, Kade Moledor, led the Aggies in tackles against Villanova last week with 11. Delaware and A&T are meeting for the first time. The last time the Aggies defeated a top-10 nationally ranked team came on Aug. 25, 2018, when they defeated sixth-ranked Jacksonville State in Montgomery, Ala. 

STORYLINES:                                                                      

• A&T gets another solid opponent this week in the Delaware Blue Hens. A&T started the season against an FBS opponent in UAB before playing North Carolina Central, now a top-10 team. They also played Elon, who was nationally-ranked last week, before playing a Villanova team that dropped out of the top-25 before playing A&T. 
• Delaware comes in ranked eighth in the country. The Blue Hens are undefeated against Division I-FCS competition, and their only loss on the season came against the Penn State Nittany Lions. 
• Going forward, if the Aggies can move the ball consistently, they could catch fire, considering they are one of the least penalized teams in the country. 
• The Aggies have the second-fewest penalties in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Football Conference with 24. They have only been whistled for 4.8 penalties per game, the third-fewest in the conference. 
• In addition, the Aggies lead the conference in fewest penalty yards in the conference (191), and they only average 38.2 penalty yards per game. That is also the fewest in the conference. 
• Nationally, the Aggies are 10th in the nation in fewest penalty yards per game and 11th in fewest penalty yards. 
• The Aggies have also taken care of the football through the first five games. The Aggies rank first in the CAA in fewest turnovers (5) and rank 20th nationally. Therefore, the matrix is in place for the Aggies to have success against any team in the CAA. 
• Freshman quarterback Kevin White also lends confidence that the Aggies offense is coming alive. He has three rushing touchdowns in the last two games, all from 25 yards or more.
• Sophomore running back Kenji Christian continues to run the football well. Christian is averaging 6.4 yards per carry, which ranks fourth in the CAA and 20th nationally. His 338 yards this season ranks him 11th in the nation. 
• The Aggies have a different receiver step to the forefront each week. Two weeks ago at Norfolk State, Amonte Jones had three receptions for 76 yards. Last week versus Villanova, Nicholas Dobson had a career-high four catches for a career-high 52 yards.
• Defensively, the Aggies display an excellent linebacker group led by graduate BJ Turner. Turner continues to lead the nation in solo tackles with 8.4 per game. He is sixth in the country in tackles per game (8.4) and ranks 15th in tackles for loss per game (1.6). 
• Meanwhile, freshman Kade Moledor registered a season-high 11 tackles against Villanova, and Avarion Cole ranks 15th in the CAA in tackles per game (7.0). 
• Turner is not the only Aggie leading the nation in a statistical category. All-conference kickoff returner Taymon Cooke leads the nation in two statistical categories. 
• Cooke is the nation's leader in kickoff returns for touchdowns with two. He also leads the country in yards per kickoff return (38.9). Cooke has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns in his career, standing two behind Brian Rodman for the program record. 
• A&T is making its first trip back to the state of Delaware since leaving the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The last time the Aggies were in Delaware, they defeated the Delaware State Hornets 34-6 inside Alumni Stadium on Oct. 6, 2018. 
• The Aggies will face a challenging quarterback in Ryan O'Connor. O'Connor leads Delaware's potent passing game. He comes into Saturday's game with 1,272 yards passing, completing 61.7 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. 
• He likes to throw the ball to two-time All-CAA receiver Jourdan Townsend, who was a preseason all-conference selection. Townsend is the Blue Hens' leading receiver, compiling 235 yards and a touchdown on 17 receptions. 
• O'Connor has thrown his 11 touchdown passes to seven different players, and four different Blue Hens have two touchdown receptions. 
• They have only four field goal attempts this season despite averaging 31.6 points per game. 
• On the defensive end, the Blue Hens are opportunistic. They have nine interceptions in 2023, with two picks returned for touchdowns. Graduate linebacker Jackson Taylor leads the Blue Hens in tackles with 44, including 18 unassisted and 3 1/2 for loss.

"We have seen coach (Vincent) Brown in the past, so it's going to be similar and a little bit different as well. If you play (a team you've never faced) early in the season, you actually spend less time on them because you don't have any last-season tape to watch because you're watching a different defense or offense. But right about now, we have a full five games on these guys, so it's pretty much a normal breakdown regardless of who you're playing. You almost have to treat every game like it is the first time you have seen somebody because people are so unique from week to week."

Ryan Carty
Delaware Head Football Coach