Game Notes: NCCU Football Hosts #4 Towson

THE GAME
Towson University "Tigers" vs. North Carolina Central University "Eagles"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, September 21, 2013 – Kickoff at 2:00 p.m.

THE SITE
O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium (10,000 capacity/Mondoturf) - Durham, N.C.

THE RECORDS
#4 Towson (3-0 overall, 0-0 CAA); N.C. Central (2-1 overall, 0-0 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network mobile app (iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android, Kindle Fire HD); "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (audio internet stream). Broadcast starts at 1:30 p.m. (Chris Hooks, play-by-play; Joe Simmons, color analyst; Anthony Sharp, sideline reporter)
Video: "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com - $8.95 pay-per-view video stream

QUICK HITS
• Towson is nationally ranked at No. 4 in The Sports Network FCS poll.
• The Tigers have won back-to-back conference titles (2011, 2012) in the tough Colonial Athletic Association.
• At No. 4, Towson is the highest-ranked FCS team to visit O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. The only other nationally-ranked FCS team hosted by NCCU was No. 14 Bethune-Cookman in 2010.
• Saturday's match-up features two of the nation's Top-5 red zone defenses, as NCCU ranks fifth among FCS teams and Towson leads the category.
• Towson junior running back Terrance West, a strong candidate for the Walter Payton Award, ran for a school record-tying five touchdowns against Delaware State on Sept. 14. West, who has scored nine touchdowns in three games this season, increased his career record total to 53 TDs.
•  NCCU true freshman cornerback Michael Jones is tied as the national leader with three interceptions. As a team, NCCU is tied for second in FCS with seven picks.
• The Tigers have won seven consecutive games, the second-longest winning streak in FCS football.
• Towson opened season by beating FBS opponent Connecticut 33-18, then posted consecutive 49-7 wins over Holy Cross and Delaware State.
• After dropping season-opener to Duke, NCCU has back-to-back wins over St. Augustine's and Charlotte.

THE SERIES
This will be the first meeting between NCCU and Towson.

ABOUT NCCU FOOTBALL
North Carolina Central University is in its third season of full NCAA Division I (FCS) athletic competition as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Eagles won back-to-back football conference championships and a Black College National Championship in their final two years in the Division II ranks (2005 and 2006) before starting the transition to Division I in 2007. During its storied gridiron tradition, NCCU has produced 131 all-conference selections, 64 all-Americans, 40 NFL draft picks, 10 conference championships and two Black College National Championships.

EAGLES AGAINST NATIONALLY-RANKED OPPOSITION
Since the start of the transition to NCAA Division I-FCS in 2007, NCCU is 0-6 against nationally-ranked FCS opponents. The Eagles have been out-scored 262-67 (43.7-11.2 avg.) in those contests.
10/23/2010 - #14 Bethune-Cookman - 10-23 L
9/18/2010 - at #1 Appalachian State - 16-44 L
10/10/2009 - at #9 Appalachian State - 21-55 L
9/12/2009 - at #24 Liberty - 10-35 L
11/8/2008 - at #3 Cal Poly - 3-49 L
9/6/2008 - at #8 James Madison - 7-56 L

TWO TOP-5 RED ZONE DEFENSES ON SAME FIELD
Saturday's match-up will feature two of the top five red zone defenses in NCAA Division I-FCS football. NCCU ranks fifth in the FCS by allowing just nine scores in 16 opponent visits to the red zone (56.2 percent), while Towson leads the nation by surrendering only two scores in six trips by opponents into the red zone (33.3 percent).

NCCU ROOKIE JONES TIED AS NATIONAL LEADER IN INTERCEPTIONS
NCCU true freshman cornerback Michael Jones collected two interceptions against Charlotte to increase his season total to three picks, which ties the Baltimore, Md., native for the lead in the NCAA Division I-FCS ranks.

WILKINS POSTS SECOND-LONGEST KICKOFF RETURN IN NCCU HISTORY
On Sept. 14 at Charlotte, NCCU sophomore Adrian Wilkins (Forest City, N.C.) returned the opening kickoff of the second half 100 yards for a touchdown, marking the second longest kickoff return in school history and the longest in 52 years. The school record was set by Richard Wilkins (no known relation) with a 102-yard return versus Shaw on Oct. 28, 1961.

NCCU'S JONES, WILKINS EARN MEAC WEEKLY AWARDS
Two NCCU student-athletes have been honored with Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference weekly football awards, the conference announced Monday. Michael Jones was named MEAC Rookie of the Week and Adrian Wilkins was tagged MEAC Special Teams Player of the Week for their performances during a 40-13 win over Charlotte on Sept. 14. Jones, a 5-9, 175-pound cornerback out of Baltimore, Md., intercepted two 49ers' passes that resulted in a pair of NCCU touchdowns. The true freshman also collected four tackles (three solo), including a solo takedown for a loss, while adding a pass break-up. Jones, who also intercepted a pass in the second overtime of a week-two win over Saint Augustine's, is now tied as the NCAA Division I-FCS leader in interceptions with three picks for 115 return yards. Wilkins, a 5-8, 170-pound redshirt sophomore from Forest City, N.C., returned the opening kickoff of the second half 100 yards for a touchdown, marking the second-longest kickoff return in NCCU history and the longest in 52 years.  He also caught a team-high five passes for 83 yards to finish the game with 183 all-purpose yards. Wilkins is currently the Eagles' leading receiver with 10 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown, averaging 50.3 receiving yards per game and 15.1 yards per reception.

EAGLES TURNING DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS INTO POINTS
Since the start of the 2012 season, the Eagles have demonstrated a knack for finding the end zone when the offense is off the field. In the past 14 games, NCCU has scored 12 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including two this season and 10 in 2012. In that time, the Eagles have made trips to the end zone on five punt returns, two kickoff returns, a blocked field goal return, three interceptions and a fumble recovery.

THE COACHES
North Carolina Central: Dwayne Foster (Delaware State, 1993) joined NCCU in 2011 as assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach, before being elevated to interim head coach prior to the 2013 season. Previously, he served as running backs coach at Prairie View A&M University (2005-10), tight ends and running backs coach at Catholic University (2004), and offensive line coach at Bowie State University (2003). Foster made his name on the high school level in Washington, D.C., as the head coach of Archbishop Carroll High School from 1997-2003. At Archbishop, Foster received coach of the year honors by the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Committee in 1998. Foster played college football at Delaware State University from 1989-93 and helped the Hornets capture two MEAC Championships during his freshmen and junior seasons before graduating in 1993. Foster is a member of the Black Coaches and American Football Coaches Associations, was part of the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program in 2010 with the Buffalo Bills and in 2012 with the Cincinnati Bengals, and participated in the NCAA Men's Football Coaching Academy in Indianapolis, Ind., in June 2006.

Towson: Rob Ambrose (Towson, 1993), now in the fifth season as the head coach at his alma mater, led the Tigers to back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association championships in 2011 and 2012. After the 2011 Tigers made their first appearance in the NCAA FCS playoffs, Ambrose was presented with the Eddie Robinson Award as the national FCS coach of the year. He has also served as an assistant coach at Connecticut and Towson, and spent the 2001 season as the head coach at Division III Catholic University, posting a 3-7 record.

LAST WEEK
(NCCU 40, Charlotte 13) North Carolina Central University forced seven turnovers and used the second-longest kickoff return in school history to cruise to a 40-13 victory over the Charlotte 49ers in front of a sellout crowd of 16,630 fans inside Jerry Richardson Stadium. Charlotte entered the contest unbeaten, having out-scored its two opponents 99-14, including 41-0 in the first quarter. However, NCCU scored the first 33 points of the game on Saturday and kept the 49ers off the scoreboard until midway through the fourth quarter. The Eagles intercepted five 49ers' passes with two going into the hands of rookie cornerback Michael Jones. Adrian Wilkins returned the opening kickoff of the second half 100 yards for a touchdown, marking the second-longest kickoff return in school history and the longest in 52 years. Charlotte amassed 533 yards of total offense on 106 plays (a record by an NCCU opponent) for an average of 5.0 yards per play. Still, NCCU's 385 yards of total offense, including a season-best 207 rushing yards, yielded an average of 6.0 yards per play.

(Towson 49, Delaware State 7) Towson junior running back Terrance West, a strong candidate for the Walter Payton Award, ran for 82 yards on 16 carries and tied a school record by scoring five touchdowns as the No. 4 Tigers rolled past Delaware State by a 49-7 margin. Although the Tiger offense exploded for 49 points, the defensive unit was dominant, forcing four turnovers and holding the Hornets to one touchdown.

LISTEN TO NCCU FOOTBALL ON NCCU SPORTS NETWORK MOBILE APP
For fans interested in listening to North Carolina Central University athletic events on their mobile device, there is an app for that. The NCCU Department of Athletics has partnered with StepLeader, a digital solutions provider located in Raleigh, N.C., to create an app that is available as a free download on iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) and Android (including the popular Kindle Fire HD) platforms through the App Store or Google Play (search for "NCCU"). "Our fans no longer have to be tied to their radio or computer to listen to our live game broadcasts," said NCCU sports information director Kyle Serba. "The app allows fans to take the NCCU Sports Network broadcasts with them wherever they go." Besides live audio game broadcasts, the app offers recorded interviews with NCCU coaches and student-athletes, and provides news updates, schedules, results and team rosters. The app also encourages fan interaction by integrating the primary social media outlets used by NCCU Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as well as a feature to submit fan photos. "Our mobile products are designed to service local communities by providing timely and relevant news stories, including audio and video, so partnering with NCCU, who produces very rich sports content, was a very natural fit," said Brian Handly, StepLeader CEO. "Thousands of students and alumni will now be able to access sports information from their smartphone or tablet, and we're excited about the opportunity to work with other universities in the future." The NCCU Sports Network app was officially unveiled at halftime of the NCCU men's basketball game against South Carolina State University on March 4.

COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION