GREENSBORO – Perhaps this is why it is called "rebuilding" a program.
From week to week, the North Carolina A&T football team continues to put together a piece here and a part there, or may find the right tool for the job over there as it tries to build the infrastructure for the rebuild. But despite all the progress, the rebuilding of the North Carolina A&T football program is still under construction.
For the third straight week, the Aggies played in a compelling fourth quarter only to come up short. This time, at the hands of longtime rival South Carolina State University (SCSU), losing 22-16 in front of a sellout #GHOE crowd at Truist Stadium on Saturday.
A&T has worked hard throughout the season to resolve issues —whether it is getting off to slow starts, surrendering explosive plays, or finding stability at the quarterback and running back positions —only to have another issue arise. On Saturday, the Aggies committed two gigantic fourth-quarter turnovers that turned what could have been a festive homecoming with a win into a disappointing, baffling loss.
The Aggies, who stepped away from conference play to host the HBCU SCSU Bulldogs for homecoming, dropped to 1-6 on the season. The Bulldogs, who had lost seven straight games to A&T before their win over the Aggies last season, have now won two straight over their longtime state border rival and improved to 4-3.
"It's still a case of us not finishing games, but I'm still proud of the way those kids fight," said A&T head coach Shawn Gibbs. "They fight their butts off. They don't ever give up. We've just got to stop killing ourselves with these self-inflicted wounds. Again, if we get out of our own way, we'll be a much-improved team."
For the second consecutive week, the Aggies took a halftime lead into the locker room. Behind three Andrew Brown field goals, the Aggies led 9-0 over SCSU. One of those field goals traveled 55 yards through the uprights to break the program record for longest field goal. Brown broke the record he shared with Noel Ruiz, which was 52 yards.
Brown is now the only Aggie in program history with three successful field goals of 50 yards or more. His field goal to end the first half, a 33-yarder, made him the all-time leader in career field goals made at A&T with 43, passing Cody Jones, who hit 42 field goals from 2013-16.
Meanwhile, the A&T defense played a fabulous game. The Aggies held an opponent to zero first-half points for the first time since leading Robert Morris 30-0 on October 22, 2022. Until the second half, the Aggie D also resolved the explosive plays issues it had coming into the game. The Aggies had surrendered 44 plays of 20 yards or more to their opponents over the first six games.
In holding the Bulldogs to only 294 yards of offense, the Aggies surrendered only three of those types of plays on Saturday. Admittedly, two of those plays led to Bulldog scores, and the other occurred during a Bulldogs scoring drive in the third quarter.
SCSU cut A&T's lead to 9-7 by putting together an eight-play, 86-yard drive that included a 22-yard run from backup quarterback William Atkins IV, who replaced starter Ryan Stubblefield in the second quarter. Atkins IV finished off the drive with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Cyrus Ellison. A&T's defense returned to form from there, holding the Bulldogs to a combined three yards over their next two offensive drives.
However, the Aggies gave the Bulldogs offense a short field when Jordan Franklin sacked A&T sophomore quarterback Kevin White, leading to White fumbling at A&T's 11-yard line. Franklin scooped up the loose ball and returned to the A&T 9. Three plays later, Josh Shaw scored from one yard out to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game. Atkins IV connected with Ellison for a 2-point conversion to increase SCSU's lead to 15-9.
On A&T's possession, a miscommunication on a read-pass option play between White and junior running back JT Smith led to another A&T fumble. Joshua Barker recovered for SCSU, giving the Bulldogs 1st-and 10 from A&T's 33. That turnover turned into a 23-yard touchdown pass from Atkins IV to Jordan Smith. The extra point gave the Bulldogs 22 unanswered points and a 13-point lead.
Junior Elijah Kennedy tried to assist in ending the Bulldogs scoring streak. He returned the ensuing kickoff 48 yards to the SCSU 48. A&T reached the SCSU 6 before turning the ball over on downs on a 4th-and-goal from the Bulldogs 12. The Aggies did get the ball back and scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass from White to senior Thomas Brown, cutting SCSU's lead to six with 3:05 remaining.
But even with three timeouts remaining and the two-minute timeout, the Aggies could not stop the Bulldogs from running out the clock. Mason Pickett-Hicks's nine-yard run on 3rd-and-9 closed the door on A&T's hopes.
"This game was about our turnovers. That was the difference in this game. If we don't turn the ball over and we just play, then I think we'll be fine," said Gibbs. "Another touchdown was on an explosive play. It's like a broken record. We keep coming in here and saying the same thing every week. We've got to stop giving up explosive plays, and you can't turn the ball over.
We turned the ball over twice deep in our own territory. The kids are playing hard, but we've got to find a way to get the message across. You can't turn the football over if you're trying to win a football game, especially against a good football team like South Carolina State."
A&T will get its bye week next week before hosting the Campbell Fighting Camels at Truist Stadium on Saturday, October 25, at 1 p.m.
