Scouting report: Towson vs. Morgan State

MORGAN STATE @ TOWSON
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WNST-1570 AM
Series: Towson leads, 16-6

What's at stake: Saturday's season opener will be a game of bragging rights for these two in-state rivals, whose campuses are separated by just five miles. The host in this series has won 15 of the past 22 games, and the Tigers have won 11 of 13 games against Morgan at Johnny Unitas Stadium. Both teams are looking to start the season strong after disappointing 2010 campaigns. The Bears finished 4-7 and had the last-ranked offense in the 117-team Football Championship Subdivision. The Tigers, meanwhile, were 1-10 a year ago, and finished with the No. 109 offense in FCS.

Key matchup: Junior Tremayne Dameron, who has run for 1,065 yards and 13 touchdowns in his career, leads the Tigers rushing attack against a tenacious Morgan State defense. The Bears welcome back Alonzo Lee as their defensive coordinator after he spent the previous two seasons as North Carolina A&T's head coach. Under Lee's defensive direction, Morgan State led ...

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Coaching change at Howard complicates Eastern Michigan game planning for football opener

YPSILANTI, Mich. - Before heading off for tough road games against Big Ten foes Michigan and Penn State, the Eastern Michigan football team has a chance to gain some early-season momentum.

A pair of Football Championship Subdivision opponents visit Rynearson Stadium in the first two weeks of the season, Howard at 7 p.m. Saturday and Alabama State on Sept. 10. That scheduling gives the Eagles a realistic shot at a 2-0 start, something that hasn’t been accomplished at Eastern Michigan since 1989.

First up is a Howard team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference that went 1-10 last season and cleaned out its coaching staff afterward. That coaching change gives EMU coach Ron English a challenge.

“Really, the issue is you’re not as comfortable because you don’t know exactly what you’re going to see,” English said during Monday’s Mid-American Conference coaches teleconference. English says his staff has tracked down film from when first-year Howard coach Gary “The Flea” Harrell was an offensive coordinator at Bowie State and background on the systems the Bison’s new coordinators coached in previously.



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FVSU Readies for Opening Game against Florida A&M

Fort Valley, GA - In Central Georgia, the Fort Valley State Wildcats look to erase the memory of last season, which ended with a playoff snub and two straight losses.

The road to redemption for the Wildcats starts on Saturday. Leading FVSU onto the field will be former standout Peach County quarterback Antonio Helton as well as his tag-team partners Chris Slaughter and incoming freshman Travis Richmond.

The blue and gold will travel to Tallahasse to face FCS foe Florida A&M in their opening game of the 2011 season.



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NSU report: Unsettled Spartans 'a work in progress'

NORFOLK, VA - Norfolk State can't prove how good it will be during its season opener against Virginia State. It may give glimpses of how bad things could get. If the Spartans trounce the Trojans, they'll be doing what's expected, just as they did last year during a 6-5 campaign. Struggles, though, would be a bad omen.

"It's like when we go play a bigger school," NSU head coach Pete Adrian said. "Do you expect to win? Sure. You have more scholarships. But they can still beat you."



Rutgers felt the same way when NSU visited New Jersey for last year's season opener. The Scarlet Knights won 31-0, but more telling was an offensive line that surrendered three sacks against an inferior opponent. Rutgers went on to allow an NCAA-record 61 sacks and finished a disappointing 4-8.

Norfolk State enters this season with major questions on each of its lines, so while the scoreboard might not be worth watching today - NSU has won the past five games against its Division IIrival by an average of 24.4 points - the line of scrimmage should be.

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SSU opens with Division II Albany State

Macon, GA - First-year coach Steve Davenport wants his Savannah State Tigers to look ahead. They certainly don’t want to stare in the rear-view mirror against today’s 5 p.m. season-opening opponent Albany State in the Music City Classic at Henderson Stadium in Macon.

Davenport, an assistant running back coach at Alabama-Birmingham last season, inherits a 1-10 squad playing in its inaugural season in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Eight of the losses a year ago were by 31 or more points. But he says that’s a past that doesn’t need to be revisited.

Savannah State (0-0) vs. Albany State (0-0)

When: today, 5 p.m.

Where: Henderson Stadium, Macon

TV/radio: No TV/WHCJ 90.3 FM

“We feel good about what we have going on,” said Davenport during a teleconference call with the media. “We have 19 seniors, the most they’ve had here in a while, and they’ve shown tremendous leadership. Obviously, it’s been rough and tough around here, but the day I met those kids, I told them we weren’t going to worry about the past. We’re focused on the present and future.”

Quarterback A.J. DeFilippis, defensive back Darren Hunter and running back Justin Babb have been providing the senior leadership. DeFilippis, a Benedictine graduate, will ...

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DSU opens new era of high expectations

DOVER -- The Delaware State football team hopes it will be able to begin to erase the stigma of three consecutive losing seasons when it begins a new era under coach Kermit Blount in its season-opener at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., today.

(L) Coach Kermit Blount and (R) Derek Carter, Athletic Director

Blount, who spent 17 years as the coach of Winston-Salem State, is certainly ready to see if his Hornets are ready to respond to all of the changes in their football program since last winter.

"I'm really, really excited right now, probably a little bit of butterflies, but it's a good thing that [today] is here," Blount said. "We've been tackling each other for the past three-and-a-half weeks and I think it's time now for our guys to actually get on the field and compete against somebody else."

Delaware State and VMI are both coming off 3-8 seasons in 2010, but both have high expectations heading into a new season that kicks off at 1:30 this afternoon at Foster Stadium. This will be the first meeting between the schools.

2011 VMI Football Virtual Guide

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Chicago Classic is homecoming of sorts for AAMU's Jackson

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Tony Jackson thought his football career was over. After Alabama A&M completed spring practice, Jackson, who has longed for a career in acting, received a call about becoming an extra in "Good Deeds," one of Tyler Perry's upcoming movies also starring Gabrielle Union.

"I jumped all over it and decided I was done with football," he said. "I was going to pursue an acting career."

After completing the project in late July, Jackson, who graduated in May with a degree in exercise science, got a chance to talk with Perry. He encouraged him to finish his football career.

"He told me if I had a year left to play, I should go ahead and play," Jackson said. "He told me acting would always be there."

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CMU opens season with a victory over South Carolina State

Mount Pleasant, MI - There are plenty of labels or mottos that can be used to describe the 2011 season opener for the Central Michigan football team. But, really, all of that is just sugarcoating what can be labeled an ugly win.

Still, for a team looking to separate itself from its 3-9 record in 2010, the Chippewas will take a win any way they can. On Thursday, it came in the form of a 21-6 win over Football Championship Subdivision opponent, South Carolina State, at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

“It was a win,” CMU coach Dan Enos said. “We didn’t play that well at times but we did what we had to do to win.” Coming into the season, Enos was hopeful to see the Chippewas (1-0) improve on their rushing offense and turnover margin.

Neither of those made a drastic step forward as CMU amassed just 88 rushing yards and lost the turnover battle 2-0, on a pair of Ryan Radcliff interceptions.The game lacked many big plays, as 20 punts were kicked in the contest and 15 possessions lasted just three plays or less.

Things started quickly for CMU, as the Chippewas scored on the opening possession, just four plays into the game. Radcliff used a play action fake and then hit junior Cody Wilson on a 45-yard touchdown pass that put CMU up 7-0 less than two minutes into the game.

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New coach Henry Frazier likes the fact his Eagles never quit in 48-0 loss to Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Henry Frazier felt that coming to Rutgers to take on a BCS opponent would give him a good idea about the players he would be coaching in his first season at North Carolina Central.

While the 48-0 loss wasn’t what he was looking for, Frazier was more than happy with what his Eagles showed. They never quit. They played hard and the mistakes they made can be corrected in plenty of time for next week’s game against Central State in Cleveland.



“My boys played hard, they played with class and they didn’t quit,” Frazier said after the Eagles’ first game as a Football Championship Subdivision team. “From a defensive standpoint I thought we did very well. Rutgers earned every point on our defense. On offense we can’t giveaway points like we did.”

Rutgers got two first-half touchdown runs from highly touted freshman halfback Savon Huggins and the Scarlet Knights defense broke the game open with two touchdowns in a 45-second span in spoiling Frazier’s debut on Thursday night.

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Taylor warns FAMU Rattlers to keep focus against Fort Valley

Tallahassee, FL - Twenty points is all Fort Valley State managed to score in nine previous games against Florida A&M. And the scouting report the Rattlers received earlier this week doesn't indicate FVSU is a major threat turn the tables.

But the things that aren't normally in scouting reports that are major concerns for FAMU as it goes through its final days of preparation to open the season against the Wildcats. Coach Joe Taylor has been reminding his players that sloppy play would only benefit FVSU, a Division II team that will come into Bragg Stadium with Division I transfer Antonio Henton at quarterback.

Nothing would please Taylor more than to see his team score a shutout, and do it with as few mistakes as possible.

"We always tell these guys that before you can learn how to win you've got to learn how not to lose," Taylor said during the team's first weekly news conference Tuesday."

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NCCU overwhelmed in 48-0 loss to Rutgers

Piscataway, N.J. -- In its first journey as a full-fledged member of the Division 1 FCS, North Carolina Central University experienced a few bumps in the road Thursday night.

The Eagles managed only 120 total yards, committed four turnovers and nine penalties in a 48-0 loss to Rutgers at High Point Solutions Stadium before 40,061. It was the first shutout suffered by NCCU since Winston-Salem State claimed a 47-0 win in 2003.

The Eagles were a “re-classified” member of the NCAA’s Division 1 since 2007, meaning they were not eligible for bowl games, statistics were not recognized by the NCAA and players could not receive post-season awards. They were also “provisional members” of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) operating with similar constraints to the NCAA.

Rutgers is now 8-0 against MEAC opponents, defeating Morgan State three times, Norfolk State and Howard twice each and NCCU.

The one-sided loss was brightened by a guaranteed $400,000 NCCU received from Rutgers for playing the game. The Scarlet Knights were selected to finish last in the BigEast by the conference coaches in the pre-season poll.

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Checking in on Alabama State University stadium construction

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- As the first footprints of Alabama State University’s future football stadium begin to surface, it’s hard not to be taken back by the canyon-like crater hiding behind mounds of sand on the far side of campus.

Even in the stadium’s current barebones state, the 50-foot deep, 20-acre wide hole that sits on the site serves as an indicator of just how big the stadium will be.

The 8-story stadium, set to be completed by fall 2012, will seat 30,000 people and will be easily visible from I-85. Once completed, it will be the biggest stadium in the River Region.

“This stadium will be unlike any other stadium in the country and will have significant impact on the Hornet community,” said Kippy Tate, ASU’s vice president of buildings and grounds. “Its all about enhancing the game day experience for the fans.”

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Howard alum Gary Harrell looks to reverse the Bison’s downward trend

Washington, D.C. - If anyone knows how far the Howard football program has fallen, it’s first-year Coach Gary Harrell. As a 5-foot-7 wide receiver, he helped lead the Bison to an 11-1 record and the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in 1993. Since 1999, though, Howard has had only two winning seasons and is coming off a 2010 campaign in which a win over Division II Lincoln was its only victory.

So it’s no surprise that Harrell has one word on his mind: redemption.

“It’s not just redemption toward the other schools in our conference, it’s redemption for ourselves, getting back to the way we play at Howard University, getting back to our tradition,” said the 39-year-old Harrell, who had a brief stint with the New York Giants. “This is the job I’ve been praying for, been preparing myself for, to be the head coach at Howard University, to be in charge of leading this program in a different direction.”

Harrell still owns the Howard record for career receptions and is known around campus as “The Flea,” the nickname he earned as a player because of his size and tenacity.



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Elko blends in just fine with Delaware State Hornets' mission

QB Nick Elko
(Photo Courtesy: Mike Baker)

Nick Elko will be the starting quarterback for the Hornets in their season opener Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Virginia Military Institute

Dover, DE - Being a white quarterback in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, made up of historically black colleges, doesn't faze Nick Elko, who says he's just one small part of the team at Delaware State University.

Besides, he said, it's not like he's the first white player to ever put on the Hornets' uniform. "When I first came in to Delaware State I thought about it, but it is what it is," Elko said. "I mean, I like it, I feel accepted, and it's just normal for me. It's really no big deal."

That's the way preseason MEAC offensive player of the year Justin Wilson sees it. Elko and Wilson have been working together the past three seasons and have developed a close bond during that time.

"We've always had that chemistry since Day One," Wilson said. "We have different signals that we do [on the field] and all that so we're fine with it. Elko's a really good quarterback and he'll get to show it this season."

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Rutgers/NCCU Gameday: Scarlet Knights host North Carolina Central in season opener

Rutgers vs. North Carolina Central Eagles
Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway
TV: ESPN3.com
Radio: 1450-AM, 710-AM, 97.5-FM

THE STORYLINES

1. Has Rutgers’ offensive line improved enough to make it through a game against an FCS opponent without yielding a sack? Norfolk State, a MEAC school like N.C. Central, recorded three sacks in last year’s opener against the Scarlet Knights — which should have been an immediate tip off to how much the unit would struggle that season. In allowing an NCAA record 61 sacks, Rutgers gave up at least one in all 12 games in 2010. The good news/bad news: Four of those O-line starters are back, but the return to a pro-style offense is supposed to help. N.C. Central, with five returning defensive starters, doesn’t have a player who recorded more than two sacks last season. A sack-free performance should be possible.



2. How much of heralded true freshman running back Savon Huggins will we see — especially with North Carolina waiting in nine days?  Huggins will get his share of playing time and may even start. He might get enough carries to flirt with 100 yards rushing in his collegiate debut, too. But don’t expect to see the wraps taken off Huggins just yet. It’s too soon. This is one of those games where the coaches want to get Huggins just enough of a feel for game action without revealing too much. It’s even possible, if the game is lopsided, that redshirt freshman Jawan Jamison will wind up with the most carries of all the tailbacks — almost all after halftime. It may be the only time this season that happens

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SC State heads to Michigan with a record 13 freshmen

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - The South Carolina State Bulldogs boarded a plane in Columbia Wednesday afternoon and took off for what will prove to be a major challenge to open up the season Thursday night.

The team headed to Mount Pleasant, Michigan to play the Central Michigan Chippewas. Thursday's 7:00 p.m. game will be the first in the 2011 NCAA football season.



A record number of freshmen are traveling with the team for this game. 13 true freshmen made the trip and it's expected that 6 or 7 will see playing time and a couple may even start.

Head Coach Buddy Pough's team is coming off a 9-3 season in which they shared the MEAC title and made a third straight appearance in the playoffs.

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Norfolk State football preview: Schedule switcheroo

Norfolk, VA - The Norfolk State football team expects a better conference record than it had last season. The MEAC coaches think the Spartans will finish in the upper half of the conference.

Because of the league’s two-team expansion, though, meeting expectations wouldn’t indicate the Spartans made significant strides from last season.

While players head into the season as they always do, with championship hopes and dreams of grandeur, a long-term analysis typically requires a measuring-stick approach. The offseason changes to the MEAC have created a new ruler.



Gone from Norfolk State’s schedule is its annual game against Florida A&M, a contest that, since head coach Pete Adrian’s arrival, has been a game between upper-half programs. In three of the past four years, the game has come down to one score or less.

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FAMU's Terry Johnson glad to be back on field

Tallahassee, FL - Terry Johnson experienced joy and pain all during his first day on the Florida A&M practice field.

The day started joyfully because he was starting his college football career. But a few plays into his first practice, things turned painfully sad enough to bring tears to his eyes. Johnson twisted his knee while backpedaling into position to make a play.

It was his last time on the field until this past spring after having to undergo surgery.




"That really tore me apart because I really wanted to play my first year," said Johnson, a highly touted two-sport athlete out of Rickards High School, where he also starred on the basketball team. "Then, again, everything happens for a reason."

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Broadway ready to play

Greenboro, NC - Another coaching era has started at N.C. A&T. This time, Rod Broadway, who left Grambling State, has been charged with trying to resurrect one of the most underachieving programs in the MEAC.

N.C. A&T has gone a combined 25-66 since Bill Hayes was fired after the 2002 season. The Aggies were 1-10 last season, with losses to rivals Winston-Salem State and N.C. Central, and the Alonzo Lee era ended abruptly after only two seasons.

"Well if you keep replacing the same part on your car, and it still keeps breaking down, then that part might not be the problem," Broadway said of the task ahead. "What we're trying to do is find the root of the problem, make it better, so that the entire athletics department can be successful."

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B-CU's foe will be familiar

Daytona Beach, FL - Bethune-Cookman and Prairie View A&M have never met before on the football field. But neither team is likely to surprise the other when they open the season Sunday in Orlando in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge.

Mark Orlando, B-CU's offensive coordinator last year, is now the offensive coordinator at Prairie View. And Panthers assistant coach Prince Pearson is a cousin of B-CU head coach Brian Jenkins.

"When you coach long enough you encounter different scenarios," Orlando said. "And meeting your previous school in your first game is a little different."

With Orlando running B-CU's offense last year, the Wildcats were second in Football Championship Subdivision in scoring at 38.17 points per game. While Orlando brings his no-huddle spread offense to the Southwestern Athletic Conference school, B-CU has replaced him with another guru of the spread in former Toledo, Clemson and Syracuse offensive coordinator Rob Spence.

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