GAME TIME CHANGED TO 2 PM/TV: ESPNU/ESPN3
DURHAM, North Carolina -- Bethune-Cookman University "Wildcats" vs. North Carolina Central University "Eagles"
Complete Game Notes (PDF) | GAME DAY GUIDE | Press Conference Video
THE GAME
Bethune-Cookman University "Wildcats" vs. North Carolina Central University "Eagles"
THE KICKOFF
Saturday, October 3, 2015 – Kickoff at 2:00 p.m. (changed due to weather forecast)
THE SITE
O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium (10,000 capacity/Mondoturf) - Durham, N.C.
THE RECORDS
Bethune-Cookman (3-1 overall, 1-0 MEAC); N.C. Central (1-2 overall, 0-0 MEAC)
MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (audio internet stream). Broadcast starts at 1:30 p.m. (Jonathan Duren, play-by-play).
Video: Live on ESPN3 / WatchESPN. Tape delayed on ESPNU - to air 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3. Announcers: Roy Philpott (play-by-play) and Jay Walker (color analyst). #BCUvsNCCU
QUICK HITS
• Saturday's match-up features two of the five teams that shared the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football championship in 2014.
• When NCCU begins conference play on Oct. 3 versus Bethune-Cookman, it will be the Eagles' first FCS opponent this season.
• Since rejoining the MEAC, NCCU has lost all five meetings with Bethune-Cookman.
• The lone victory for the Eagles in the B-CU series came in 1994, a 24-5 win in Daytona Beach.
• Saturday will be NCCU's first home game since a week-one 72-0 shutout over Saint Augustine's.
• NCCU's 72 points scored in week one ranks second in school history. (85 points vs. Fort Jackson, Sept. 21, 1946)
• NCCU's 72-0 win over Saint Augustine's is the first shutout by the Eagles since a 59-0 victory against Johnson C. Smith on Sept. 2, 2010.
• In the past 37 games (start of 2012 season), NCCU has scored 27 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including three in 2015.
FLASHBACK TO 2014
• NCCU won a share of the MEAC Championship with a 6-2 conference record.
• The Eagles posted the most wins as a NCAA Division I-FCS program with a 7-5 overall record.
• The Eagles earned the program's first win over a nationally-ranked FCS opponent by defeating No. 24 North Carolina A&T in the final game of the season on Nov. 22.
• NCCU broke the school record for completions in a season with 227, topping the mark set by the 2011 Eagles of 210.
• The Eagles ranked third in the nation (FCS) in turnover margin at +12.0.
• NCCU quarterback Malcolm Bell passed for 1,982 yards with 15 touchdowns and just five interceptions, completing 177 of 286 passes as a sophomore.
THE SERIES
This will be the seventh football meeting between NCCU and Bethune-Cookman since the teams first met in 1994. Bethune-Cookman leads the series 5-1, including five straight victories. In that first match-up on Sept. 24, 1994, the Eagles captured a 24-5 road victory in Daytona Beach, Fla. Five years ago on Oct. 23, 2010, B-CU, as the 14th ranked team in the nation, earned a 23-10 win in Durham, N.C. Four years ago, the Wildcats amassed 525 yards during a 34-6 victory to spoil NCCU's homecoming on Oct. 29, 2011. Three years ago, B-CU scored 28 unanswered points to overcome a three-point second-half deficit en route to a 42-17 win on Oct. 27, 2012. Two years ago, the 13th-ranked Wildcats pounded out 436 rushing yards to beat the Eagles 38-14 on Nov. 2, 2013, in Durham. Last season, on Nov. 1, 2014, the 20th-ranked Wildcats overcame a 14-7 halftime deficit to down the Eagles 34-20.
11/1/2014 - #20 B-CU 34, NCCU 20 (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
11/2/2013 - #13 B-CU 38, NCCU 14 (Durham, N.C.)
10/27/2012 - B-CU 42, NCCU 17 (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
10/29/2011 - B-CU 34, NCCU 6 (Durham, N.C.)
10/23/2010 - #14 B-CU 23, NCCU 10 (Durham, N.C.)
9/24/1994 - NCCU 24, B-CU 5 (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
THE LAST MEETING
(Nov. 1, 2014 in Daytona Beach, Fla. - #20 Bethune-Cookman 34, NCCU 20) NCCU took a 14-7 advantage into the locker room, but Bethune-Cookman, boasting the second-ranked defense in the FCS, held the Eagles to just 20 yards of total offense after intermission. The Wildcats pounded out 334 yards and five touchdowns on the ground as part of 453 total yards to pull away for a 34-20 victory.
THE LAST MEETING IN DURHAM
(Nov. 2, 2013, in Durham, N.C. - #13 B-CU 38, NCCU 14) The No. 13 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats pounded out 436 rushing yards during a convincing 38-14 win over North Carolina Central University inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C. Bethune-Cookman overcame 24 penalties for 232 yards by amassing 594 yards of total offense. The Wildcats also held NCCU to only 137 total yards, including negative-1 yard rushing. NCCU was held scoreless until 12:16 left in the contest when senior Thomas Dixon returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
THE COACHES
NCCU: Jerry Mack (Arkansas State, 2003) is in his second season as a college head coach. At age 34, he boasts 10 years of coaching experience, including stints with five NCAA Division I programs and two conference championship teams. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Mack has held positions as wide receivers coach at the University of South Alabama (2012-13) and the University of Memphis (2011), as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (2010), as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at the University of Central Arkansas (2008-09), as wide receivers and tight ends coach at Jackson State University (2006-07), and as an offensive graduate assistant at Delta State University (2004-05). Mack began his collegiate playing career at Jackson State before transferring after one season (1999) to Arkansas State University. He lettered three years at Arkansas State (2001-03) before earning his bachelor's degree in management information systems in 2003. Mack completed his master's degree in physical education from Delta State in 2006.
B-CU: Terry Sims (Knoxville, 1994) was introduced as the 15th head coach at Bethune-Cookman University on Dec. 22, 2015. The native of Jesup, Georgia took over the program after spending the previous five years as an assistant coach for the Wildcats. Before arriving in Daytona Beach, Sims spent four seasons as recruiting coordinator, special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at Howard University. Sims has also made assistant coaching stops at the University of Louisville-Lafayette, Prairie View A&M, Texas Southern, and Austin Peay. Sims is a 1994 graduate of Knoxville College, where he was a team captain as a defensive back on the gridiron, while also patrolling center field in baseball. He earned a master's degree from Louisville in 1997.
TWO STARTERS LOST FOR SEASON DUE TO INJURY
Two North Carolina Central University starters suffered season-ending injuries during a 39-14 loss at Florida International University on Sept. 19 in Miami. NCCU junior FCS All-American cornerback and return specialist Mike Jones suffered a fractured ankle in the first quarter, while junior transfer receiver Khalil Stinson fractured his hip on a second-quarter punt return. NCCU head coach Jerry Mack says the loss of Jones and Stinson has a "huge impact" on the team. "This is very unfortunate for these two young men and their families," said Mack. "Mike is obviously a key player for us and I was looking forward to watching Khalil continue to grow as we enter conference play. We're sure they will be back in 2016 ready to go."
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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