- The Aggies have won three straight games at home. They went 6-0 at home in 2022, marking the last time they had a three-game home winning streak.
- Senior Jonathan Kimbrough-Campbell recorded 11 tackles and intercepted a pass on Saturday. Sophomore linebacker Tyrek Brown led the Aggies with four tackles for loss.
- Sophomore receiver Michael Carlock-Williams had another two touchdown receptions, giving him five on the season. He ranks second in the conference.
GREENSBORO, NC – After a devastating loss at Bryant two weeks ago, the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University football team hoped to reverse the 1-5 first half of its season by taking advantage of a three-game homestand to open the second half of its season.
So far so good. The Aggies have won the first two games of that homestand after a 27-12 win over Chicago State Saturday afternoon at Truist Stadium. The Aggies have won two straight games for the first time since the 2022 season, and they also have three straight home wins dating back to their upset defeat of Rhode Island at the end of September. A&T improved to 3-5 overall. Coming into the 2026 season, the Aggies had four wins over the past three years. Only one game remains in the three-game stand.
The Big One.
The university will host its 100
th Greatest Homecoming on Earth celebration starting in one week. It will culminate with the Aggies football team facing Piedmont Triad and Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) rival Elon at 1 p.m. in Truist Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 31. A win would give the Aggies a 3-0 start to the second half of their season.
"Now we've got another home game, and it is the game," said A&T head coach
Shawn Gibbs. "It's the biggest home game of the year. We've got all our alums coming back, but like I just told them, homecoming isn't for us. Homecoming is for the alums. They're coming back here; we're already here. Our job is to go out and practice next week and the week of homecoming to get ready to play a heck of a team in Elon. We must get ready to protect our house."
Over the first three quarters of Saturday's game against Chicago State, the Aggies put an impenetrable defense on the field. The Cougars, a first-year Division I-FCS program, entered the game with the 25th-ranked offense in the country. Chicago State only had 151 yards of offense going into the fourth quarter, however. The Aggies defense recorded 10 tackles for loss and intercepted two passes on Saturday. There were even thoughts of a shutout going into the fourth quarter with the Aggies holding a 27-0 lead. It would be A&T's first shutout since blowing out archrival North Carolina Central University 54-0 on Nov. 23, 2019.
But those hopes ended in the fourth quarter. A holding penalty on an
Elijah Kennedy punt return gave the Aggies the ball at their 8-yard line to start the fourth. A&T moved the ball only two yards in three plays, forcing the Aggies to punt from their 10 and giving the Cougars the ball at midfield with 12 ½ minutes remaining.
The Cougars needed eight plays to reach the A&T 3. On 3
rd-and-goal, Cougars quarterback Ashton Pannell found Tre Hartwell open out of the backfield and connected for a 3-yard touchdown pass to end A&T's shutout hopes. On the ensuing kickoff, the Cougars attempted a pooch kick that the Aggies let hit the ground and bounce until Vernon Cole recovered the live ball at the Aggies 38.
"We keep freezing in those situations," said Gibbs, perhaps recalling the onside kick Bryant recovered in the late seconds on Oct. 3 that led to Bryant winning on a game-winning field goal.
"That one, we were prepared for, and we were in position," Gibbs continued. "Actually, it was a guy back there who was a former running back that we knew would field the ball if they did that, and we just didn't. I didn't get them coached up. So, we've got to do a better job making them comfortable making those plays. That was a simple play."
The Aggies called for a fair catch on Chicago State's next pooch kick, but Cougars' defensive back Tareq Council intercepted
Kevin White's pass, giving the Cougars 1
st-and-10 at the A&T 29 with five minutes to play. The INT made the game super interesting. But the A&T defense stiffened. The Aggies stopped Chicago State on four plays, forcing a turnover on downs. The A&T offense got the ball back with 3:12 remaining. The Aggies ran out the clock, leading the team into its bye week before Homecoming festivities begin.
"We know we could have played better," said Gibbs. "But I also told them it's a fact that half the teams in the country are going to lose today, and we ain't one of them. We have a lot of work to do; we must clean up a lot of stuff, but we found a way to win two in a row. We've just got to keep the momentum going into homecoming. We've got two weeks before homecoming and a lot of time to prepare. We're excited and ready to get to work tomorrow."
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