Road Game: Morgan State Bears vs. UAlbany Great Danes

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GAME TIME
Morgan State (0-2) will face its second of three straight road tests when they take on UAlbany (0-2) in a non-conference matchup on Saturday (Sept. 15) at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium. The Bears open the 2018 season under the leadership of interim head coach Ernest T. Jones. UAlbany completed the 2017 season with a 7-7 overall mark and were 6-2 in CAA play. The Great Danes fell 45-26 at Rhode Island in the conference opener last Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed live at UAlbanysports.com. The game will also be broadcast on WEAA, 88.9 FM. 

GAME COVERAGE
RADIO: WEAA, 88.9 FM is the flagship station for the Morgan State Bears ... Lamont Germany will call the play-by-play with Kelvin Bridgers in the booth. The game will be broadcast live on 88.9 FM and streamed on WEAA.org. 

TELEVISION: n/a

LIVE STREAM: Click Here  

LIVE STATS: Click Here

SOCIAL NETWORKS
Fans can keep up-to-date with all MSU Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/MorganStBears and @MorganStateFootball. You can also become a fan of the Bears on Facebook at Facebook.com/MorganStateBears.

TICKETS
Season ticket plans—which include a ticket to all five home games, including homecoming start at only $95. Premium seats are now available for purchase by calling 443.885.1522 or visiting MSU Student Center Athletics Ticket Office during business hours (Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or visit  morganstatebears.com/tickets.
 
THE SERIES
• Saturday marks the 2nd meeting in the series that began with a 26-0 #24 UAlbany win on Sept. 9, 2017 at Hughes Stadium. 

THE COACHES
•  Morgan State - Ernest T. Jones (Alcorn State, '95) joined the Bears as the Defensive Coordinator in 2016 and was previously a JUCO head coach at ASA Miami (2015 - 8-2 record); he has also worked at Connecticut, Notre Dame, Univ. of Buffalo, Cincinnati, Alcorn State, Central Michigan, Oberlin, Kentucky State and Concordia. CAREER RECORD (10-14, 2yrs); RECORD AT MSU (0-2, 1st yr).
•  UAlbany -Greg Gattuso (Penn State, '83) led the Great Danes to their first win over a Top 10 program -- a 19-10 overtime victory over No. 7 Villanova at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium.  CAREER RECORD (118-58, 17 yrs); RECORD AT UALBANY (21-26, 5th yr).
 
LAST TIME OUT vs. THE GREAT DANES
•  Sept. 9, 2009 --Morgan State opened its home schedule against UAlbany with hopes of lighting up its new scoreboard and breaking into the win column on a sunny Saturday at Hughes Stadium. But their hopes were ended with a 26-0 loss to the Great Danes, in the first meeting in school history between the teams.
•  The loss snapped Morgan State's string of 3-consecutive home opener victories since 2014.
•  UAlbany's (1-1) Karl Mofor, a native of Greenbelt, Md., rushed for 98 yards with two touchdowns to lead the Great Dane's offense.The freshman scored on runs of 4 and 29 yards.
•  Will Brunson passed for 143 yards and a score, completing 10 of 21 passes. Jordan Crockett, 55 yards receiving, caught the 34-yard TD pass to break open a scoreless game late in the first half. Ethan Stark added field goals of 32 and 41 yards for UAlbany.
•  Morgan State (0-2) got 170 yards passing from Elijah Staley, who completed 18 of 40 passes. The Bears marched as far as the UAlbany 20 just once.
•  Sophomore Manassah Bailey led the Bears receiving unit with four catches for 57 yards.
 
A WIN WOULD ... 
...give Ernest T. Jones his first win as MSU's head coach and his 11th career win.
... would mark the Bears' first  win against UAlbany in school history.
... mark MSU's first road non-conference win since defeating Bowie State (28-23) on Sept. 13, 2014.
... mark MSU's first non-conference road win since defeating Towson 12-9 on Sept. 26, 2009.
... mark the Bears  road win  since a 35-24  win on Nov. 19, 2016.
... .mark MSU's earliest season victory since recording a 28-24 home win against Howard on Sept. 24, 2016.
 
QUICK HITS
• Junior DeAndre Harris, a 6-4, 210-pound quarterback from Washington (Ga.) has opened the season by connecting on 19 of 35 passes for 174 yards, including a pair of INTs. He also has 28 yards on the ground and ran for a TD in Week 2 at Akron.
• The Bears recorded a season-high 114 yards on the ground against Akron. Freshman RB Jordan Riggins led the way with 16 carries for 55 yards.
• LB Rico Kennedy, the team's leading tackler in 2017 with 70 stops, in addition to 19.5 tackles for loss (No. 3 in the FCS), posted eight tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks in the Bears' season opener vs. Towson, and had 10 tackles in Week 2 at Akron.
• Senior LB Damare' Whitaker led the Bears defensive efforts at Akron where he recorded a game-high 11 tackles.
• MSU's defense forced three turnovers at Akron. Senior S Darius Johnson and r-junior CB DJ Trigg recorded interceptions and r-senior DL  AJ Agbelese had a fumble recovery.
• MSU ranks T-No. 12 in passes intercepted (3) and turnovers gained (5).
• TE Jack McCracken (6-4, 205) is a big target in the Bears passing game. The true freshman currently leads the team with 4 receptions for 58 yards (14.5 avg) and took over the long-snapping chores in Week 2 at Akron.
• Ernest T. Jones' Bears are predicted to finish 9th in the MEAC's 2018 Preseason Order of Finish. 
 
A GLANCE AT THE GREAT DANES
•  UAlbany finished 2017 with an overall mark of 4-7 and a 2-6 conference record, and snapped a 6-game losing streak when they posted a 15-0 home shutout of New Hampshire in the season finale.
•  UAlbany returned 14 starters (eight on offense and six on defense) from a team that ended the 2017 season.
•  Greg Gattuso (Penn State, '83) leads the UAlbany in his fifth season at the helm. This marks his 17th season as a head coach.
•  RB Elijah Ibitokun- Hanks finished the 2016 campaign with a CAA-best 1,401 yards (16 TDs) and was a STATS FCS Third-Team All-American, but missed almost all of 2017 while rehabbing an injury.
•  UAlbany also returns sophomore Karl Mofor, who ran for 555 yards and six TDs during Ibitokun-Harris' absence last year.
•  UAlbany was strong defensively a season ago, allowing just 17.7 points per game, fourth-best in the CAA. The Danes also were No. 2 in the league in total defense (282.5 ypg).
•  The Danes' will be led by QB Vince Testaverde -- the son of Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde. The fifth-year senior has been seeing game action for the first time since 2014 when he was a true freshman at Texas Tech. He also spent two years at Miami before transferring to UAlbany.  
• The Danes' special teams will be led by  junior wide receiver Donovan McDonald.  Last year, McDonald ranked third in the league with an average of 10.1 yards per punt return. He also led the Danes with 1,015 all-purpose yards and became UAlbany's second-leading receiver with 29 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns.
• Freshman WR Dev Holmes earned the CAA Rookie of the Week after collecting 148 yards receiving and a TD on nine catches in Week 1 vs. Pittsburgh.
• R-sophomore MLB Levi Metheny and junior CB Tyler Carswell lead the Danes' defense.  The duo have recorded 21 tackles apiece thru the first two games of the season.
• The Great Danes are last in the CAA with 39 points allowed per game and second-to-last with 403.5 yards permitted per contest; UAlbany ranked second in the CAA and ninth in the country in FCS in total defense a year ago.

MORGAN STATE/UALBANY CONNECTIONS
• UAlbany has a couple of players from the DMV area on its roster– junior CB Ty Tobias [Oxon Hill, Md. | Potomac HS], senior SMason Gray [Washington, DC | St. John's College Prep],  r-sophomore TE Murad Hussain [Baltimore, MD | Franklin HS], senior LBNeven Sussman [Sandy Spring, MD | Sherwood HS], sophomore RB Karl Mofor [Greenbelt, MD | Roosevelt HS], and r-senior OLJack Dudzinski [Fulton, MD | Reservoir HS].  Morgan State has two players from the state of New York– junior OL Tarik Johnson[Liberty, NY | Liberty HS] and freshman OL Jily Sylla [Harlem, NY | Harlem Village Academies].
• Edward Scott, MSU's Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, was an all-conference outfielder and an Academic All-American at UAlbany.

PRESEASON PICKED 9TH 
Morgan State was picked to finish ninth (9th) to MEAC defending champion and Preseason #1 North Carolina A&T and #2 Howard.
 
PRESEASON ALL-MEAC PLAYERS
Seven (7) Morgan State football players were named to the 2018 MEAC preseason team, which was voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors.  Senior defensive lineman Malachi Washington and junior linebacker Rico Kennedy were first-team selections. Senior offensive linemen Joshua Miles and Matthew Thompson were third-team picks, along with junior wideout Manasseh Bailey, junior linebacker Ian McBorrough, and senior defensive back Carl Garnes. The seven preseason All-MEAC performers are part of a group of 37 lettermen and 16 starters returning for the 2018 Morgan State football season.
 
BEARS OPEN 120th SEASON OF FOOTBALL SINCE 1898
MSU enters its 120th season of football and will open the 2018 campaign under interim head coach Ernest T. Jones, set to enter his first year at the helm and his third year at Morgan State.
 
RETURN MEN 
The 2018 Morgan State Bears return 37 letterwinners, including 16 starters - 7 on offense, 8 on defense and 1 on special teams.
 
CAMPAIGNING FOR SUCCESS 
The Bears enter the 2018 season looking to post their first winning season since going 6-5 in 2009. MSU's 7-6 record in 2014 was vacated. 
 
NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Bears will open the 2018 campaign against four non-conference opponents. MSU opens the season against Towson (Sept. 1) in the 'Battle for Greater Baltimore', followed by road trips versus  Akron (Sept. 9), Univ. at Albany (Sept. 15) and the N.C. A&T (Sept. 22) game will also be recorded as a non-conference contest. 
 
BEARS OPEN 41st SEASON IN MEAC
The Bears will open its 41st season in the MEAC when they host South Carolina State for Homecoming on Oct. 6.
• The Bears opened the 2017 MEAC schedule with a 49-17 loss against #15 N.C. A&T at Hughes Stadium. 
• The Bears kicked off its first season in the MEAC in 1971. Morgan State withdrew from the conference at the end of the 1979-80 fiscal year, before returning to the MEAC in 1984.
 
EDWARD SCOTT NAMED TO FCS ADA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Division I Football Subdivision Athletics Directors Association announced that Morgan State's Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Edward Scott will serve on its Executive Committee. Scott represents the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

MAKING AN IMPACT IN THE CLASSROOM
The Morgan State football team has had great success in the classroom.
• Most recently, the Bears produced a 3.24 GPA during Summer 2018.
• The 2017-18 school year saw the Bears achieve their highest single-year GPA in program history.
• The program had 31 Athletic Director Honor Roll Members in the Fall of 2017, a 41% increase from the previous Fall. 

MSU LEGEND EDDIE P. HURT NAMED TO 2019 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME BALLOT
76 players and six coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 100 players and 32 coaches from the divisional ranks make-up the 2019 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.  Morgan State head coach Eddie P. Hurt is among the list of nominees.
•  Hurt led Morgan's football teams to six Black College National Championships and won 14 CIAA titles. 
• Eleven of his squads executed undefeated seasons, including a non-losing string of games from 1932 to 1938. 
•  His 1943 team did not allow a score from a single opponent.

WBAL-TV TO TELEVISE MORGAN STATE HOME FOOTBALL GAMES ON MeTV BALTIMORE
WBAL-TV has announced that it is partnering with Morgan State University (MSU) to televise the school's 2018 regular season home football games on MeTV Baltimore, WBAL-TV's digital channel.  The announcement was made by Dan Joerres, President and General Manager of WBAL-TV.
• All five home games at Morgan State's Hughes Memorial Stadium can be seen on MeTV Baltimore beginning on Saturday, September 1, 2018.  The season opener will feature Morgan against Towson University at 7:00 PM, billed as "The Battle of Greater Baltimore."
• "Morgan State is a wonderful institution with a rich history that is a part of the fabric of Baltimore City.   We could not be more excited to air Morgan State Football on MeTV Baltimore this fall," said Joerres.
• "Morgan Athletics is proud to be a part of the WBAL and MeTV family.   Morgan has a special place in the Baltimore community and we believe partnering with WBAL is only going to strengthen that relationship with Greater Baltimore.

NEXT UP
Morgan State will hit the road for a non-conference matchup against N.C. A&T  on Saturday, Sept. 22. The game  will be broadcast live on WEAA 88.9FM.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

FOLLOW US IN CYBERSPACE 
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official web site of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more. 
• Follow us on social media:
            Facebook: /MorganStateBears
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.

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