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GAME TIME
Morgan State (0-2, 0-0) opens Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play on Saturday when the Bears host the Howard Bison (0-3, 0-1) in the first home night game since 2010. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ET) at Hughes Stadium and will be broadcast live by the SportsFever Television Network and streamed live worldwide on ESPN3. The game will also be audio streamed on WEAA.org and on Facebook Live. The Bears are coming off a bye week with their last game a 62-0 loss at Marshall. Howard looks to rebound from a 34-7 loss against Hampton at the AT&T Nation's Football Classic at RFK Stadium. This will mark the 77th meeting in the series.

ORANGE OUT PLANNED
Orange will be the color of the day when Morgan State football hosts oward in its MEAC opener. Fans are encouraged to wear their favorite orange 'Bears gear for an 'Orange Out' against the Bison. 

TELEVISION: SportsFever Network/ESPN3 - Phil Schoener (Play-by-Play); Emory Hunt (Analyst)

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. 

THE SERIES
• Morgan State leads the series against the Howard with an overall record of 40-33-3.

• The Bears have won 9 of the last 11 meetings against the Bison since 2005, including a stretch of 7-straight from 2005 to 2011.

QUICK HITS
• Graduate student transfer QB Chris Andrews made 10 starts in three seasons at Wagner College, and currently ranks 4th in the MEAC is passing (312 yards, TD).

• Senior RB Orlando Johnson ranks 2nd in the MEAC in scoring (12 pts), 2nd in kick returns (24.0 avg) and 7th in rushing (91 yds).

• WR Ladarious Spearman has 9 catches (4th in MEAC) for 120 yards (4th) and a TD.

• WR Thomas Martin ranks No. 3 in the MEAC in reception yards (127 yds, 8 rec.).

• LBs William White and Malachi Washington have posted a sack apiece - the only sacks for the Bears.

• LB Damare' Whitaker led the Bears in 2015 with 66 stops, 6 TFL and 2.5 sacks. He currently ranks T-5th with 18 tackles thru two games.

• Senior WR Thomas Martin is 175 yards shy of 1,000-career receiving yards; he is also 10 receptions away from tying Robert Surratt (68 rec.) for No. 12 on the school's all-time career receiving list.

• Senior captain Greg Gibson recorded a career-best 12 tackles with a tackle for loss in Week 2 at Marshall.

A GLANCE AT THE BISON
• Howard finished the 2015 season with a 1-10 overall mark and was 1-7 in MEAC play, including a 0-6 home record.They capped the season with a tough 32-31 loss at Delaware State.

•  The Bison's last win was on Oct. 31, 2015 during a 55-9 home drubbing of Savannah State.

•  The Bison return QB Kalen Johnson who passed for 1,174 yards, 8 touchdowns and 9 INTs as a rookie a season ago. Also back is TE Justin Chaney and an O-line that is led by two-time All-MEAC OT Toree Boyd. Tailback Anthony Philyaw will lead the Bison ground attack and leads the MEAC with 248 yards (4.1 avg) on 60 carries with a TD so far this season. Johnson will look to target WRs Jalen Avery (11 rec., 78 yds), Guy Lemonier  (8 rec., 95 yds)  and Kyle Anthony(8 rec., 84 yds, 2 TDs) in the passing game. 

• Defensively, the Bison will be led by reshirt senior linebacker Devin Rollins. The 5-11, 240-pound Miami native has 18 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Junior linebacker David Lee (20 tackles, 4.5 TFL, SK) will also make an impact for the Bison. The secondary is led by junior strong safety Craig Johnson who ranks among the league leaders with 23 tackles and sophomore free safety Alonte Dunn (20 stops, INT).

•  The Bison defense has yielded 138 points (46 avg) and 1,381 yards of total offense in its first three games. 

•  Gary "Flea" Harrell (Howard, '94) enters his 6th season at the helm of the Bison.

LAST TIME OUT VS. HOWARD
CHICAGO, Ill. (Sept. 26, 2015) - Redshirt senior quarterback Moses Skillon threw two touchdowns as MSU defeated Howard 21-13 at the 18th annual Chicago Football Classic at Soldier Field. Skillon played the biggest role in the victory by completing 16 of 29 passes for 211 yards as the Bears' offense compiled 419 yards to help post MSU's first win of the season. Lamont Brown III was named the Chicago Football Classic MVP by leading the Bears on the ground with 11 carries for 75 yards (6.8 avg). The Bears posted seven tackles for loss; seven hurries, three sacks and limited Howard's offense to a pair of field goals.

HOWARD TIES
Morgan State's coaches and staff members are very familiar with Howard and vice versa.

• Howard head coach Gary "Flea" Harrell served as Morgan State's quarterbacks coach from 2008-2009.

• Howard's Associate head coach/offensive coordinator B.T. Sherman (2009-2013) and defensive line coach Herbert Parham (2002-2013) previously were on MSU's coaching staff under head coach Donald Hill-Eley.

• Howard's kicking coach Mike Andrews was an All-MEAC kicker at Morgan State and had a short stint in the NFL as a punter/placekicker for the Chicago Bears.

UNDER THE LIGHTS
Morgan State will not only have its first home night game since 2010, but it will also mark the Bears' first home matchup against the Howard Bison in seven years. The Bears will open Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play when they host their Beltway rival on Sept. 24 at Hughes Stadium. The actual kickoff time is set for 7 p.m.  

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, 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
 
Follow Morgan State Athletics on Twitter (@MorganStBears) and Facebook (Facebook.com/MorganStateBears), in addition to www.MorganStateBears.com. The Morgan State Bears mobile application is also available for free download from the App Store and Android Market.