Football Season Has Returned to North Carolina A&T Aggieland

No. 14 North Carolina A&T (0-0) vs. Jacksonville State (0-0)

Date: Saturday, August 25, 2018

Time: 7 p.m. EST

Facility: Cramton Bowl (25,000)

Series: JSU leads, 2-0

TV: ESPN

ESPN Triad Radio: Donal Ware (play-by-play); Al Swann (analysts)

Stations:

600 AM/101.5 FM Winston-Salem

1320 AM/93.7 FM Greensboro

1230 AM/104.9 FM High Point

920 AM/104.5 FM Burlington

1200 AM/95.1 FM Burlington

OFFENSIVE DEPTH CHART

Position	First Team	Second Team
LT	73 Marcus Pettiford	75 Bilal Ali
LG	68 Macquel Hardy	74 Sylvester Smith
C	62 Malik Johnson	55 Dacquari Wilson
RG	78 Micah Shaw	69 Deven Milton
RT	79 Dontae Keys	77 Breontae Matthews
TE	87 Leroy Hill	82 Jarvis Reid
XWR	13 Elijah Bell	86 Jordan McDaniel
SLOT	88 Malik Wilson	23 Amos Williams
YWR	19 Zachary Leslie	4 Isaiah Hicklin
ZWR	81 Ron Hunt	15 Ahmed Bah
QB	7 Lamar Raynard	10 Kylil Carter
FB	46 William Hollingsworth	49 William Simpson
RB	22 Marquell Cartwright	30 Jah-Maine Martin

AGGIE FOOTBALL VIDEO

DEFENSIVE DEPTH CHART

Position	First Team	Second Team
DE	96 Sam Blue	99 Artavious Richardson
NG	95 Julian McKnight	52 Michael Branch
DT	92 Jermaine Williams	94 Justin Cates
DE	40 Darryl Johnson	41 Tre Smalls
SLB	9 Antoine Wilder	27 Justin Philip
WLB	34 Deion Jones	44 Julius Reynolds
MLB	5 Kiaundric Richardson	54 Kyin Howard
CB	29 Mac McCain	21 Derrek Williams
CB	14 Timadre Abram	24 Amir McNeil
ROV	2 Jamaal Darden	18 Richie Kittles
FS	33 Jalon Bethea	20 Najee Reams

The Matchup: 

North Carolina A&T and Jacksonville State will play in the third annual Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff Showcase Game which will air live on ESPN. The game annually features two of the best teams in FCS football in what is an NCAA playoff-like game in August. Within 10 years, the Aggies have gone from being one of the worst teams in the nation to a team who is routinely playing on the big stage. The Aggies have played in two of the last three Celebration Bowl playing in front of millions of fans watching live on television and thousands watching inside an NFL stadium. There are very few teams playing on Saturday, so once again the Aggies will have a national TV audience all to themselves. In the matchup, both teams have a lot in common.

Both teams have been routinely nationally ranked over the past four seasons. Both teams are sound defensively. The Aggies have had the best rushing defense in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference the past seven seasons. Over the past three seasons, the Aggies have had a top-10 rushing defense in the nation and a top-20 total defense nationally. The Gamecocks are not too shabby stopping the run either.  They have not finished outside the top-5 in rushing defense over the past three seasons and over the last two seasons, the Gamecocks have had a top-5 total defense in the country. N.C. A&T and Jacksonville State have also been super successful in their respective conferences. N.C. A&T has won three out of the last four MEAC titles while the Gamecocks have not lost a game in the Ohio Valley Conference in four years. The Gamecocks are a perennial playoff team while the Aggies have played in the Celebration Bowl two out of the last three years and they played in the NCAA playoffs in 2016.  

News and Notes:

•  North Carolina A&T finished last season as the only undefeated team on the FCS level. They were one of only two undefeated teams in Division I football joining Central Florida. N.C. A&T has not lost a football game in the last 642 days. Their last loss came in Richmond, Va., on Nov. 26, 2016.
•  N.C. A&T comes into the season seeking its 10th MEAC championship. Only S.C. State (14) has more. The Aggies also have five CIAA titles giving them a total of 14 conference championships since 1924. The Aggies are also seeking their fourth straight postseason appearance. Prior to reaching the Celebration Bowl last season, the Aggies had never been to three straight postseason appearances. 
• The Aggies are 54-1 in the past seven seasons when leading at halftime. N.C. A&T's only loss when leading at halftime since 2011 was at Norfolk State. The Aggies have won 47 straight when leading at the half. 
• N.C. A&T will be seeking their second straight win over a nationally-ranked opponent after defeating No. 12 Grambling State last season in the Celebration Bowl.

Opposing Point of View

"They are a deep football team and they return a lot of guys. They did lose a few linemen from last year, but most of their skill people are back on offense. I think the running back is an NFL back and they have had the conference player of the year the last two years. The quarterback is very athletic and can throw and run the football well. He makes very few mistakes. We have a challenge in front of us." 

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION