Gamenotes (PDF)

GAME TIME
The Morgan State Bears (5-4, 4-1 MEAC) will face the North Carolina A&T Aggies (7-2, 4-1 MEAC) on Saturday (Nov. 8) in their first trip to Greensboro since Sept. 27, 2012. The Bears are looking to maintain its momentum following a hard fought 38-35 win at Hampton, while the Aggies are coming off a bye week. Morgan State is in a 5-way tie for first place in the MEAC standings. Game time at Aggies Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will mark Military Appreciation Day and Senior Day for the Aggies. The game will be broadcast live by Morgan State's flagship station WEAA, 88.9 FM.
 
THE BEARS-AGGIES
• Saturday's matchup marks the 80th meeting between the two schools.  The Bears lead the overall series 42-34-3.
• MSU has won seven of the last eight meetings, including a 5-game winning stretch from 2006 to 2010.
• MSU's last win against N.C. A&T was a barnburner. Down 23-21 with 1 second remaining, PK Chris Moller hit a 27-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bears a 24-23 victory at Hughes Stadium.
• N.C. A&T's last win against the Bears was on Oct. 1, 2011 when they dropped the Bears 24-3 at Hughes Stadium. The last time the Aggies dropped the Bears at Aggie Stadium was on Oct. 7, 2000 in a 33-6 victory.
 
QUICK HITS
• MSU will enter the 2014 season with a number of veterans... the Bears' roster has 64 returning players and 17 returning starters on its roster ... there are 34 who started at least one game or were considered a starter last year ... the roster also includes a number of veterans - 16 seniors and 13 juniors.
• The Bears return its top receiver from last season in Thomas Martin ... Martin, a Naples (Fla.) product, has started in every game and has 13 receptions for 226 yards with three TDs.
• The Bears return an experienced trio of quarterbacks (Robert Council, Seth Higgins and Moses Skillon) ... Council has completed 58-of-130 passes for 791 yards with 7 TDs, he also has 508 rushing yards and 6 TDs.
• Seven (7) starters return from the 2013 defense: Andrew Mitchell (DL), Cody Acker (LB), Christopher Robinson (LB), Ta'Quon Jackson (LB), Bill Hill (LB), Peterson Janvier (FS) and Nate Ayers (SS).
• Cody Acker, a 2013 Third Team All-MEAC selection, returns as one of the league leaders with 97 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, in addition to an interception for a touchdown.
• Coach Hull added six assistants to his initial coaching staff ... the new coaches are: John Morgan (AHC), Fred Farrier (OC), Dwayne Foster (OL), Ken Lucas (RB), Brawley Evans (DB/RC), and Jamari McCollough (WR).
 
FIRST AND 10
• Morgan State and North Carolina A&T are meeting for the 80th time since 1930.
• MSU as won five of its last seven games, including its last three MEAC games.
• Morgan State RB Herb Walker Jr. was selected as the MEAC Offensive Player of the Week, announced Monday. MSU teammates Antonio Jefferson and Clarence Swain were selected as the Defensive Player and Offensive Lineman of the Week, respectively.
• Lee Hull and the Bears sit in atop the MEAC in a 5-way tie for 1st place.
• RB Herb Walker Jr. became the first Bears to go over 1,000 rushing yards Devin James posted 1,337 yards in 2008 as a sophomore.
 
 
BEARS OPEN 116th SEASON OF FOOTBALL SINCE 1898
MSU enters its 116th season of football, and the first under head coach Lee Hull.
 
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
The Aggies finished with an overall mark of 7-4 during the 2013 season.
• They return 54 letterwinners to go along with 15 starters from a team that won four of its final five games of the 2013 season.
• N.C. A&T will enter this weekend's contest fresh off of a bye week. The Aggies last outing was an impressive 40-21 home victory versus Florida A&M. Kwashaun Quick threw tthree touchdown passes to Denzel Keyes. Quick was 16-of-26 for 233 yards.
• Quick, a 6-0, 188 pound junior QB, has led the Aggies to a 7-2 record and he ranks No. 5 in the MEAC in passing. He has completed 55.9 percent of his passes (87-138) for 1,072 yards, including 7 TDs and 4 INTs.
• Tarik Cohen (2013 MEAC Rookie of the Year) is the league's No. 2 leading rusher by accounting for 966 yards on 157 carries (6.2 avg) with 9 TDs. He's also the Aggies seond leading receiver with 20 receptions for 220 yards, including a TD.
• Wideouts Desmond Lawrence, Darren Bullock and Denzel Keyes have led the Aggies as  favorite receiving targets. Lawrence has 308 yards on 30 catches with a pair of TDs, while Bullock has 18 receptions for 174 and a TD, and Keyes has 17 catches for 265 yards and four TDs.
• The Aggies have one of the top defenses in the nation. The defense ranks No. 5 in the FCS in scoring defense (16.2), is No. 6 in pass efficiency defense (100.4), and is T-No. 7 in turnover margin (1.00).
• A&T's defense has been led by junior LB Landis Shoffner and D'Vonte Grant. Shoffner has 67 tackles, and Grant has 66 stops with 11.5 TFLs, with a pair of forced fumbles and 2 sacks. The Bears' offense will also have to account for a pair of ballhawks in the form of Tony McRae and Donald Mattocks. McRae ranks T-No. 1in the MEAC in passes defended (14) and Mattocks leads the league in picks (6).
• Rod Broadway is in his fourth year as N.C. A&T's head coach. He has led the Aggies to back-to-back winning seasons, the most for the program since posting winning seasons in 2000 and 2001.
 
MSU IN THE CIAA
Morgan State was a power as a former member of the CIAA. The Bears posted 173 wins between 1929 and 1959 when Edward P. Hurt was the head coach and the Bears won 14 CIAA championships. Earl Banks added to the championship collection by winning four titles during the 1960s.
 
MOVING THE BALL
MSU has shown a great ability to sustain drives early in the season. Through nine games, the Bears have 12 drives of 10-plus plays, 10 of which ended with scores and resulted in a total of 54 points. The Bears also rank No. 1 in the MEAC in 3rd Down Conversions (41%), and No. 6 in first downs (171).