GAME NOTES: NCCU football at Bethune-Cookman on ESPNU

THE GAME
North Carolina Central University "Eagles" vs. Bethune-Cookman University "Wildcats"

THE KICKOFF
Thursday, November 8, 2018 – Kickoff at 7:00 p.m.

THE SITE
Daytona Stadium (9,601 capacity) - Daytona Beach, Fla.

THE RECORDS
N.C. Central (4-4 overall, 2-2 MEAC); Bethune-Cookman (5-5, 3-2 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (internet stream). Broadcast starts at 6:40 p.m. (Carter Woodiel, play-by-play).
Television: ESPNU (ESPN3/WatchESPN). Broadcast starts at 7:00 p.m. (Tiffany Greene, play-by-play; Jay Walker, analyst).

QUICK HITS
• Thursday's contest will air live on ESPNU.
• This will be the 10th meeting between the Eagles and the Wildcats since the teams first met in 1994. Bethune-Cookman leads the series 7-2.
• Last season, B-CU completed a 48-yard Hail Mary pass on the final play to stun the Eagles with a 13-10 road win, ending NCCU's chances for a fourth straight MEAC title.
• In 2015 in Durham, the Eagles held a 26-7 third quarter lead over B-CU, but the Wildcats rallied to go ahead and then blocked NCCU's potential game-winning 18-yard field goal try with just 32 seconds left to edge the Eagles 28-26.
• NCCU has a 11-3 record in the month of November since 2014.
• NCCU has a 1-3 record away from O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium, while B-CU is 2-1 at home.
• Against Edward Waters on Saturday, NCCU created 559 total yards, the 10th most in school history, including 379 rushing yards, the ninth most in school history, the highest rushing total since 2003, and the Eagles' fourth straight contest with at least 200 ground yards.
• NCCU leads the conference and ranks 18th in the NCAA Division I-FCS in tackles for loss with an average of 7.6 per game.
• NCCU boasts the top red-zone offense in the MEAC and ranks 11th in FCS, scoring 90.0 percent of the time. The Eagles are 27-of-30 inside the 20-yard line, with 17 touchdowns and 10 field goals.
• NCCU senior defensive lineman Darius Royster has more tackles for loss than last season's team leaders (Roderick Harris and Antonio Brown with 8.5). Royster owns 10.5 takedowns behind the line of scrimmage (3rd in MEAC, 37th in FCS) and four forced fumbles (1st in MEAC, 3rd in FCS).
• NCCU senior safety Davanta Reynolds, the Preseason MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the STATS FCS Preseason All-America Team (Second Team), ranks fourth in the MEAC with 62 tackles (7.8 per game).
• Since the start of the 2012 season, NCCU has scored 38 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including three defensive scores last year and two this season.
• NCCU is under the direction of first-year head coach Granville Eastman, who accepted the interim role after Jerry Mack left to be the offensive coordinator at Rice.

ABOUT NCCU FOOTBALL
NCCU won three consecutive MEAC championships from 2014-16, and represented the MEAC in the 2016 Celebration Bowl versus Grambling in the Georgia Dome.
NCCU Recent Records:
2017: 7-4 overall, 5-3 MEAC
2016: 9-3 overall, 8-0 MEAC – MEAC champions
2015: 8-3 overall, 7-1 MEAC – MEAC co-champions
2014: 7-5 overall, 6-2 MEAC – MEAC co-champions

THE SERIES
This will be the 10th football meeting between NCCU and Bethune-Cookman since the teams first met in 1994. Bethune-Cookman leads the series 7-2. In that first match-up on Sept. 24, 1994, the Eagles captured a 24-5 road victory in Daytona Beach, Florida. On Oct. 23, 2010, B-CU, as the 14th ranked team in the nation, earned a 23-10 win in Durham. On Oct. 29, 2011, the Wildcats amassed 525 yards during a 34-6 victory to spoil NCCU's homecoming. On Oct. 27, 2012, B-CU scored 28 unanswered points to overcome a three-point second-half deficit en route to a 42-17 win. In 2013, the 13th-ranked Wildcats pounded out 436 rushing yards to beat the Eagles 38-14 in Durham. On Nov. 1, 2014, the 20th-ranked Wildcats overcame a 14-7 halftime deficit to down the Eagles 34-20. On Oct. 3, 2015, B-CU rallied from a 26-7 third quarter deficit and blocked a potential game-winning 18-yard field goal try with just 32 seconds left to edge NCCU 28-26 in Durham. On Oct. 1, 2016, NCCU used a dominant second-half performance to finish with 489 yards of total offense in a 31-14 victory in Daytona Beach, Florida. On Nov. 11, 2017, B-CU completed a 48-yard Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game for a stunning 13-10 road win.

11/11/17 - B-CU 13, NCCU 10 (Durham, N.C.)
10/1/2016 - NCCU 31, B-CU 14 (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
10/3/2015 - B-CU 28, NCCU 26 (Durham, N.C.)
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
(Bethune-Cookman 13, NCCU 10 - Durham, N.C. - Nov. 11, 2017) With 16 seconds remaining in a critical MEAC match-up, North Carolina Central University took its first lead of the game with a fourth-down, 4-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Chauncey Caldwell to sophomore receiver Xavier McKoy. However, on the game's final play, starting with just five seconds on the clock, Bethune-Cookman University quarterback Larry Brihm, Jr. rolled to his left, set his feet and fired a pass to the end zone, where the ball was deflected and caught by Keavon Mitchell for the game-winning, 48-yard touchdown. The wild 13-10 Wildcat victory ended NCCU's run for a fourth consecutive conference championship.

THE LAST MEETING IN FLORIDA
(NCCU 31, Bethune-Cookman 14 - Daytona Beach, Fla. - Oct. 1, 2016) NCCU used a dominant second-half performance to finish with 489 yards of total offense in a 31-14 victory over Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Florida, snapping a six-game losing skid to the Wildcats.

LAST WEEK
NCCU 52, Edward Waters 12 (Durham, N.C.) - NCCU kept its homecoming festivities going as the Eagles dominated on the gridiron defeating NAIA foe Edward Waters College 52-12 inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. NCCU created 559 total yards, the 10th most in school history. The Eagles finished with 379 rushing yards, their highest rushing total since 2003, and their fourth straight contest with at least 200 ground yards.

Bethune-Cookman 30, Morgan State 28 (Baltimore, Md.) - Jimmie Robinson ran for a career-best 208 yards and three touchdowns as Bethune-Cookman defeated Morgan State, 30-28. As winds circulated around Hughes Stadium throughout the contest, and gusts reaching upwards of near 30 miles per hour, Bethune-Cookman looked to the ground game to get things going against the elements. Quarterbacks David Israel and Jabari Dunham shared time behind center for the Wildcats, but it was a season-high 314 yards on the ground that led the Maroon and Gold to its sixth straight win against the Bears.

THE COACHES
NCCU: Granville Eastman (Saint Mary's, 1992) is in his first season as a college head coach. With 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to his credit, Eastman joined the NCCU staff in January 2014, serving as assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and safeties coach until his promotion to interim head coach on Dec. 8, 2017. Prior to joining NCCU, Eastman spent nine seasons (2005-13) as the defensive coordinator at Austin Peay State University in Clarkesville, Tennessee. During his 11 total seasons at APSU, he coached defensive backs and linebackers, and also served as special teams coordinator (2003-04) and interim head coach (winter 2013). Eastman coached four seasons (1999-2002) at Tiffin University in Ohio, including the last three seasons as defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator, while working with defensive backs and defensive line during his tenure. A native of Toronto, Canada, Eastman secured his first coaching position at York University in his hometown, where he spent two seasons (1994-95) working with defensive backs. He then served as a defensive graduate assistant for three seasons (1996-98) at Arkansas State University, earning a master's degree in sociology in 1999. Eastman was a two-time all-city defensive back at Stephen Leacock High School in Toronto before attending Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where he was a three-year letterman as a defensive back. Twice Saint Mary's played in national title games while he was there. Eastman earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Mary's University in 1992.

B-CU: Terry Sims (Knoxville, 1994) was introduced as the 15th head coach at Bethune-Cookman University on Dec. 22, 2014. 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.

NCCU FOOTBALL ON ESPN TV NETWORKS
Since 2011, when NCCU became official members of NCAA Division I (FCS), the Eagles have played in 10 games on ESPN TV networks (7 ESPNU, 2 ESPNews, 1 ESPN2). NCCU has a 4-6 record in those games, but the Eagles were 2-1 last season.

EAGLES TURN 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 77 games, NCCU has scored 38 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including two this season, three in 2017, three in 2016, six in 2015, five in 2014, nine in 2013 and 10 in 2012. In that time, the Eagles have made trips to the end zone on 14 punt returns, six kickoff returns, three blocked field goal returns, 11 interceptions and four fumble recoveries.

LEVERETT RECOGNIZED FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
NCCU offensive lineman Nick Leverett is one of only 22 college football players selected for distinguished recognition on the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, as announced by Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association. The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® has been one of the most esteemed honors in college football for more than 25 years, celebrating the remarkable accomplishments of college football student-athletes on the field, in the classroom and in the community. A native of Concord, North Carolina, Leverett is a two-time All-MEAC offensive lineman and team captain, a three-year graduate with a degree in criminal justice and a 3.37 overall grade point average, a campus leader, and an active participant in community service. Two other NCCU football student-athletes have earned distinction on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® in recent years, Jordan Reid (current NCCU running backs coach) in 2013 and Carl Jones in 2016.

NINE NCCU EAGLES VOTED TO PRESEASON ALL-MEAC TEAMS
Nine NCCU Eagles were voted to the Preseason All-MEAC Football Teams. Earning All-MEAC First Team honors for NCCU are Preseason MEAC Defensive Player of the Year senior defensive back Davanta Reynolds, sophomore running back Isaiah Totten, junior offensive lineman Nick Leverett, and junior defensive lineman Kawuan Cox. Three NCCU Eagles on the Preseason All-MEAC Second Team are senior tight end Josh McCoy, sophomore offensive lineman Andrew Dale, and senior defensive lineman Randy Anyanwu. Receiving Preseason All-MEAC Third Team honors are junior wide receiver Xavier McKoy and senior defensive back De'Mario Evans.

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY EAGLES SPORTS INFORMATION