DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University football team will return to O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium on Saturday for the Aggie-Eagle Classic, squaring off against rival North Carolina A&T.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.; the game will air live on ESPN+ and be rebroadcasted on ESPNU at 11 p.m.
Series History: This will be the 96th meeting between North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T on the gridiron, with the Aggies leading the all-time series 54-36-5. This will be North Carolina A&T’s first game at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium since 2018, the year prior to Trei Oliver taking over as head coach. The Eagles lead the series 19-17-1 in games played in Durham, and the series is tied at 5-5 in the last 10 meetings in the Bull City.
The series dates back to 1922, when N.C. Central was known as the National Training School.
Last Time Out: N.C. Central (1-2, 0–0 MEAC) fell 45-10 to North Carolina on the road this past weekend, despite holding tough for much of the first three quarters. The Eagles actually scored first, taking the game’s opening drive 75 yards before J’Mari Taylor found the end zone from five yards out.
North Carolina A&T (1-2, 0-1 CAA) is coming off a 42-13 loss to Delaware – a game in which the Aggies allowed 526 yards of total offense and were held to just 74 yards rushing.
The Coaches: Trei Oliver (N.C. Central, 1998) is in his fifth season as a college head coach. With 24 years of college coaching experience that includes five conference championships and three Black college football national titles, Oliver returned to his alma mater as North Carolina Central’s 24th head football coach in December 2018. A native of Yorktown, Va., Oliver earned all-conference and all-region honors as a defensive back and punter during his four-year playing career at NCCU from 1994-97. The 1998 graduate later returned to NCCU as an assistant coach from 2003-06, helping the Eagles to back-to-back Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championships in 2005 and 2006. Oliver is 29-19 in four seasons as NCCU’s head coach.
Vincent Brown (Mississippi Valley State, 1998) is in his second season as head coach for the Aggies. A native of Atlanta, Ga., who became a 1988 second-round draft pick of the New England Patriots and a three-time All-Pro linebacker, Brown spent the previous four seasons before coming to A&T as William & Mary’s associate head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Brown has also made Div. I collegiate coaching stops at Howard University (2017-18), UConn (2014-16), the University of Virginia (2010-13) and the University of Richmond (2008-09). He coached linebackers at Richmond when the Spiders won the FCS national championship in 2008. In the process, he coached All-America linebacker Eric McBride. He coached three All-CAA selections in 2009.
Aggie-Eagle Connections: There are several connections between the two schools, one of the biggest being that N.C. Central alum (Class of 1965) and athletic director Bill Hayes was the head coach of the Aggies from 1988-2002 and won two MEAC championships. Rod Broadway was the head coach at both schools and led both schools to championships. He was the head coach at N.C. Central from 2003-06 and won two CIAA Championships and later went to North Carolina A&T, where he guided the Aggies from 2011-17 and won three MEAC championships during that time.
Oliver was not only a previous assistant under Broadway when he lead the Eagles, but also when he was at North Carolina A&T. Oliver who was with the Aggies from 2011-15 was a part of two MEAC championships. Eagles current defensive coordinator Courtnry Coard was also on staff at North Carolina A&T from 2011-21. Current Eagles cornerbacks coach Tony McRae played at North Carolina A&T from 2012-15.
NCCU the MEAC Favorite: The 2022 MEAC champion and HBCU national champion Eagles were selected as the preseason favorite to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) for the second straight season.
Four Eagles made the preseason first team: Trevon Humphrey (OL), Jaden Taylor (DL), Kole Jones (DB) and Juan Velarde (P/K). Four more Eagles were on the second team list: J’Mari Taylor (RB), Joaquin Davis (WR), Ja’Quan Sprinkle (OL), and Max U’Ren (LB).
Nationally, NCCU is receiving votes in both the Stats Perform FCS and AFCA Coaches polls.
Eagles vs. the CAA: Since his arrival, Oliver holds a 3-3 mark against teams from the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA, formerly Colonial Athletic Association), with wins over North Carolina A&T, Campbell and Elon a year ago. This season, the Eagles will host Elon and North Carolina A&T, and travel to Campbell.
Non-Conference Success: Under Oliver, the Eagles are 15-12 against non-conference opponents – including a 12-5 mark over the last two-plus seasons after a season-opening win over Alabama State and losses to Elon and North Carolina. NCCU has three Top 25 wins in that span, defeating No. 25 Elon (2023), No. 25 New Hampshire (2022) and No. 5 Jackson State (2022).
Carrying the Rock: N.C. Central has been known for producing some great running backs, and J’Mari Taylor is cut from the same fabric as the others. In the season opener, he had 24 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns to go along with two catches for 18 yards and a touchdown. He finished with 146 all-purpose yards. Taylor has recorded 228 yards and four touchdowns to average 76 yards per game so far this season.
Youth Movement: Underclassmen have played a significant role with the Eagles during the first three games this season, and that shows just how much youth is on this team. There are 56 underclassmen on the roster (freshman or sophomore), and they continue to play snaps for the Eagles. Three games into the season, 40 of the 56 underclassmen have seen playing time.
A North Carolina State of Mind: NCCU’s emphasis on recruiting talent in North Carolina is demonstrated with 63 Eagles calling the Tar Heel state their home out of the 110 student-athletes on the team’s season-opening roster (63%).
A North Carolina State of Mind, Part Two: Oliver has made a point of playing schools from the state of North Carolina, and there are four on the schedule this year (Elon, UNC, North Carolina A&T and Campbell). There have been at least two teams from the Tar Heel State on the schedule each year since Oliver took over as head coach. Since 2011, the Eagles are 20-21 against teams from North Carolina and Oliver has an 8-6 advantage. The Eagles went 4-0 against teams from North Carolina just a year ago, and they are 6-3 over the last two-plus seasons.
Source: Maurice D. Williams/NCCUEaglePride.com
