GAME TIME
Morgan State (2-3, 2-1) will attempt to remain in the conference title hunt when they welcome the North Carolina Central Eagles (5-2, 4-0) to Charm City on Saturday. The game will mark MSU's homecoming and is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Hughes Stadium. WEAA, 88.9 FM will be broadcasting the game live. The Bears will look to rebound from a  22-12 loss at Hampton, while the Eagles posted a 33-3 Homecoming win against Savannah State. This will mark the 41st meeting in the series.

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

QUICK HITS
• Graduate student transfer QB Chris Andrews currently ranks No. 4 in the MEAC in total offense (967 yds); No. 3 in passing (876 yds, 8 TDs) and No. 4 in pass effic. (125.8).

• R-senior RB Lamont Brown III ran for 72 yards on 17 carries to help defeat Delaware State in Week 5.

• Senior WR Thomas Martin ranks No. 3 in the MEAC in reception yards (213 yds) and No. 4 in receptions (15).
• Senior WR Ladarious Spearman has 15 catches (No. 5 in MEAC) for 258 yards and 3 TDs.

• Senior LB Greg Gibson ranks No. 3 in the MEAC in tackles and posted a career-high 13 stops with 4 TFL and a fumble recovery vs. Howard in Week 4.

• The Bears rank No. 4 in the league in total offense by averaging 318.4 yards per game.

• Morgan State's Homecoming record is 12-3 since 2001. One of the three losses was to North Carolina Central on Oct. 13 2012 when the Eagles left Cold Spring Lane with a 24-20 victory.

THE SERIES
• Morgan State leads the series against N.C. Central with an overall record of 24-14-2 since the teams first played on Nov. 15, 1930. 

• The Bears have won six of the last nine meetings.

• The last time at Hughes Stadium for N.C. Central was on Oct. 18, 2014. The Bears overcame a late 13-point deficit to defeat the Eagles 21-20 on Andrew King's 15-yard TD pass from Robert Council with 32.4 seconds left in regulation.

LAST TIME OUT VS. NCCU
DURHAM, N.C. (Oct. 24, 2015) - Morgan State had a late rally fall short when QB Seth Higgins was intercepted by the Eagles CB Ryan Smith to help seal a 20-17 N.C. Central win at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. Higgins completed 17 of 26 passes for 226 yards and accounted for a pair of touchdowns. He also led the Bears with 16 carries for 30 yards.

A GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
• N.C. Central finished the 2015 season with a 8-3 overall mark and finished as MEAC co-champions with a  7-1 conference mark. They capped the season by winning their last seven games, including a season finale upset victory against #13 N.C. A&T.

•  The Bears' last home win against NCCU was on Oct. 18, 2014 when they had a 21-20 comeback Homecoming victory. 

•  QB Malcolm Bell is one of the league's leading passers (Ranked No. 2). The talented senior has completed 60 percent (107-of-179) of his passes for 1,467 yards, and a league best 11 TDs and seven picks. Tailback Ramone Simpson will lead the Eagles' ground attack and has 337 yards (No. 7 in MEAC) on 71 carries with 3 TDs so far this season. Bell  will also look to target WRs LaVontis Smith (24 rec., 389 yds, 2 TDs), Jalen Wilkes  (17 rec., 327 yds, 4TDs)  and David Miller (15 rec., 228 yds, 2TDs) in the passing game. 

• Defensively, the Eagles will be led by middle linebacker Reggie Hunter. Hunter has 46 tackles (21 solo) with nine tackles for loss and two sacks. Antonio Brown and Ajudua Henry wreak havoc in trenches. Brown has 31 stops, 8 TFL and four sacks, while Henry has 24 stops and 9 TFL and 5.5 sacks. Sophomore DB Alden McClellon has led the secondary with 45 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks and a forced fumble. 

•  NCCU comes into Saturday's contest with the MEAC's No. 2 ranked leader in scoring offense (29.6), pass offense (230.1), total defense (329.6), and pass defense (166.3).

•  NCCU is one of only four FCS teams that have scored in every trip to the red zone. The Eagles have 16 touchdowns and seven field goals on 23 appearances inside the 20 yardline.

AREA TIES
• The Bears have only student-athlete from the state of North Carolina is Brian Gentry. The sophomore wideout is from Kennersville, N.C. and attended East Forsyth HS. 

• North Carolina Central has five student-athletes on the roster from the DMV -  Mike Jones (Milford Mill Academy) and Tavon Lofties (Fork Union MA) are both from Baltimore; Tarrance Wells is from Oxon Hill and graduated from South Cobb HS; Marc Bronson attended Gwynn Park HS and is from Brandywine; and Tre'Von King is from Washington D.C. and attended Dunbar HS.

A WIN WOULD ... 
...give Fred T. Farrier  his 22nd career win as a head coach.
... give Fred T. Farrier his 3rd win as MSU's interim head coach.
... mark Fred T. Farrier's 3rd win against an MEAC opponent
... mark its third straight home win at Hughes Stadium.
... mark the Bears 25th win against N.C. Central since 1930.
... improve Fred T. Farrier's record as MSU's interim head coach against North Carolina Central to 1-0.

KEY MILESTONE IN REACH
1 – Receptions needed by Thomas Martin to tie Robert Surratt (68 rec.) for No. 12 on the school's all-time career receiving list.
21 – Rushing yards needed by RB Lamont Brown III to tie Robert Council (2010-14) for 14^th place on the Morgan State career rushing list with 1,293 yards.
72 – Receiving yards needed by WR Thomas Martin to reach 1,000 career years.

PRESEASON PICKED LAST 
Morgan State, who finished T-4th place a season ago, was picked to finish seventh (7th) to co-defending MEAC champions and Preseason #1 North Carolina A&T, #2 Bethune-Cookman and #3 N.C. Central.

PRESEASON ALL-MEAC PLAYERS
Five (5) Morgan State football players were named to the 2016 MEAC preseason team, which was voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Redshirt senior cornerback Delonta Hall was named first-team All-MEAC, while senior running back Orlando Johnson was a second-team selection. Redshirt senior tight end Willie Gillus III, junior offensive lineman Joshua Miles and junior defensive lineman Jai Franklin were third-team picks.

BEARS OPEN 118th SEASON OF FOOTBALL SINCE 1898
MSU enters its 118th season of football, and the first under interim head coach Fred T. Farrier.

RETURN MEN 
The 2016 Morgan State Bears return 66 letterwinners, including 15 starters - 9 on offense, 8 on defense and 1 on special teams.

CAMPAIGNING FOR SUCCESS 
The Bears enter the 2016 season looking to post their first winning season since going 7-6 in 2014.

NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Bears will open the 2016 campaign against two of its first three non-conference matchups. MSU opens the season at home against Holy Cross (Sept. 3), followed by a road game at Marshall (Sept. 10). The Bears round out non-conference in a season-finale matchup at Army (Nov.19).

BEARS NAME TEAM CAPTAINS
The MSU Bears wrapped up the preseason by naming the team captains for the 2016 season. The leadership group is comprised of four seniors and a junior ... offense - Thomas Martin (Naples, Fla.), Dominique Woods (Skyline, Texas) - defense -  Greg Gibson (Houston, Texas), Ayodeji Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) and special teams - Willie Gillus III (Suffolk, Va.).

BEARS OPEN 40th SEASON IN MEAC
The Bears will open its 40th season in the MEAC when they host the Howard Bison on Sept. 24.

• The Bears opened the 2015 MEAC schedule with a 21-13 victory against Howard at the 18th Annual Chicago Football Classic at Soldier Field. 

• 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.

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.

HOME AT THE CAVE
Morgan State opened its 2016 season with a home-opener against Holy Cross on Sept. 3. The Bears 2016 schedule features five home games in Hughes Stadium, including a meeting with MEAC co-champion Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 5 in Baltimore.

Game Tickets: Season tickets for all five contests at Hughes Stadium are on sale now. For Morgan State football ticket information click here.
 
Click here for the 2016 Football Schedule
 
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