Football | 10/8/2017 2:34:00 PM

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GAME TIME
• Morgan State returns home to host Savannah State for Homecoming. The match-up will kick off in Hughes Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 14th at 1 p.m. and will be televised by SPORTSFever Television. 

• The Bears enter the 2017 season under the leadership of Fred T. Farrier who had the interim tag removed and assumed the full-time position as MSU's head football coach.

• MSU fell to 0-5 with a 35-14 loss to South Carolina State last weekend in Orangeburg. Savannah State fell to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in the conference following a 17-10 home loss versus Hampton last Saturday. 

TELEVISION
SPORTSfever will be broadcasting the game live ...  Phil Schoener will handle play-by-play duties with color analyst Emory Hunt and Danielle Podlaski will be the sideline reporter.

SPORTSfever TV CARRIAGE 
• ESPN 3 (Accessible on line to more than 88 million households at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One)

• ESPN College Extra (Live TV available to AT&T Uverse, DirecTV, Bright House Networks, Cox, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS and select NCTC  subscribers)

• WNUV CW 54  (54 over-the-air, Comcast 804, Verizon 514, Dish & DirecTV 54) Baltimore/Annapolis

• WLVT 39.4 (39.3 over-the-air, Comcast 266, Comcast Princeton 136, Service Electric 112, RCN 8, Blue Ridge 153, Verizon 472,) Philadelphia/Lehigh Valley

• WPNT 22 (22 over-the-air, Comcast SD 10/HD 812, Comcast Clarion SD 12/HD 812, Armstrong SD 22/HD 105, Atlantic Broadband SD 8/HD 707, Citizens SD 12/HD 812, Time Warner SD 22/HD 1022, Verizon SD 10/ HD 510, Consolidated SD 10/HD 710, DirecTV 22, Dish Network 22) Pittsburgh

• DELAY/REPLAY Sunday October 15 7 a.m. & Tuesday October 17 8 a.m.

• SPORTS TIME OHIO (Erie Time Warner 21-23/HD308-1308, Armstrong 47/HD177, Sharon Time Warner 76/HD 308-1308, DirecTV 662, Dish Network 431) Erie, Meadville, Sharon, Cleveland, Columbus, Akron, Toledo, Huntington, Charleston, Youngstown & Buffalo

LIVE STATS
www.morganstatebears.com

TICKETS
Season ticket plans—which include a ticket to all five home games, including homecoming start at only $95. Premium seats are now available for purchase by calling 443.885.1522 or visiting MSU Student Center Athletics Ticket Office during business hours (Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or visit  morganstatebears.com/tickets.
  
SOCIAL NETWORKS
Fans can keep up-to-date with all MSU Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/MorganStBears and @MorganStateFootball. You can also become a fan of the Bears on Facebook at Facebook.com/MorganStateBears.

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

QUICK HITS
• After Week 6, the Bears rank No. 1 in pass yards allowed (139.8) and No. 1 in the FCS in total tackles for loss (49).
• R-junior QB Elijah Staley (6-7, 240) transferred from Tyler Junior College (Tex) where he completed 21 of 36 passes for 373 yards, including 5 TDs during the 2016 season.  
• MSU's offense posted 343 yards of offense against N.C A&T (Sept. 23) was the most since 2015 when the Bears recorded 366 yards against Savannah State.
• NT Jai Franklin was named to the 2016 All-MEAC Second Team as a junior. Franklin was a force on the Bears' defensive line where he finished the 2016 season with 50 stops, 13.0 TFL and four sacks.
• SS Carl Garnes was a standout for the Bears secondary a season ago. The Columbus, N.J. native was named to the 2016 All-MEAC Third Team and garnered 35 tackles and a pair of INTs in 10 games played.
• Morgan State has not started a season with five straight losses since 2013, a year they finished 5-7 under Donald Hill-Eley.
• Fred T. Farrier's Bears are predicted to finish 8th in the MEAC's 2017 Preseason Order of Finish. 

THE SERIES
• Saturday's matchup marks the 10th meeting between the two schools.  
• The Bears lead the overall series 9-0 since the series began in 2000.
• Morgan State posted a 42-3 victory in the last meeting in Baltimore in 2015.
• The Bears posted a 35-24 victory last year in Savannah, Ga.

A GLANCE AT THE TIGERS
•  Savannah State finished 2016 with an overall mark of 3-7 and finished third in the conference with a 3-5 record.
• SSU is currently riding an 8-game losing streak. The Tigers last victory was when they defeated Norfolk State 31-14 at home on Nov. 5, 2016. 
• Savannah State runs a Multiple offense and a Multiple defense.
•  Head coach Erik Raeburn's (Mount Union, '94) offense is averaging 231.6 yards of total offense (128.4 rushing; 103.2 passing). They have scored 3 rushing TDs and one passing. The Tigers average 3.2 yards per rush and 4.9 per pass, including 10.8 per catch.
•  SSU's offense is led by freshman QB D'Vonn Gibbons. The 6-2, 205-pound Stone Mountain (Ga.) product has completed 28-of-57 passes (49.1%)  for 251 yards, a TD and 3 INTs. He also ranks third on the team with 59 carries for 155 yards and 2 TDs.
•  Junior RB Rashad Saxton is averaging 47.2 rushing yards with a TD. The 5-8, 170 pound redshirt-senior has 236 yards on 42 carries (5.6 avg) and has four receptions for 19 yards.
• Derek Kirkland (6-2, 200) and Tino Smith (6-2, 215) lead the Tigers air attack. Kirland has 11 catches for 114 yards (10.4 avg) and Smith has 10 ctaches for 68 yards.
• SSU is allowing 445.0 yards of total offense (rushing 213.2; passing 231.8). The Tigers have also forced 11 turnovers (5 INT; 6 FR). Opponents are averaging 6.9 yards per play. The Tigers have recorded 31 TFL.
• SSU's D is led by a pair of DBs in senior Juwuan Tobert and sophomore Donald Rutledge. Tolbert, (5-10, 185) ranks No. 6 in the league with 44 tackles (8.8 pg), while Rutledge (6-1, 205) ranks No. 8 with 38 stops. 
• SSU has one of the best kick return specialists in the league in Jamichael Baldwin. The 5-9, Conyers, Ga. native is ranked No. 6 in the league by averaging 18.9 yards on 14 returns.
• SSU's Darrell "Vanquez" Bonner (5-10, 175) ranks among the league leaders with three interceptions (T-No. 2) and seven passes defended (No. 2).
• SSU sophomore kicker Giovanni Lugo (6-0, 190) ranks No. 2 in the MEAC in punting. He's currently averaging 41.1 yards per punt.

NOTABLE NATIONAL NOTES
Here are a few 2017 FCS national statistics of note on offense, defense and special teams that pertained to the Bears:
• Malachi Washington currently ranks in the T-No. 21 in the FCS in tackles for loss (8.0).
• The Bears rank T-No. 1 in tackles for loss (49).
• The Bears rank No. 2 in passing yards allowed (139.8).
• The Bears rank No. 19 in pass efficiency defense (111.23).
• The Bears rank T-No. 31 in sacks allowed (6).
• The Bears rank No. 39 in total defense (341.6)
• The Bears rank No. 41 in first down defense (94).

BEARS CONTINUE 41st SEASON IN THE MEAC 
• Morgan State will continue its 41st season of MEAC action when they face Savannah State on Saturday, Oct. 14.
• The Bears opened the 2017 MEAC schedule with a 49-17 loss against #15 N.C. A&T at Hughes Stadium. 
• 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.

HUGHES STADIUM
The 2017 season will represent the 80th campaign for Hughes Stadium to be home of the Bears. 
• Morgan State is 36-34 (currently) since 2001 in Hughes Stadium, including a 4-0 home record during their historic championship run in 2014.
• Before a loss to Hampton on Oct. 17, 2015, the Bears had won eight straight games at Hughes Stadium dating back to a 32-21 victory against Florida A&M on Oct. 5, 2013.
• The Bears have started 0-2 at home this season with loss to UAlbany and #15 N.C. A&T. 

HOMECOMING LIFT
Morgan State will face Savannah State on Oct. 14 for Homecoming. 
• Morgan State's Homecoming record is 12-4 since 2001.
• Two of the four losses were to North Carolina Central. The Eagles posted a 24-20 victory on Oct. 13 2012 and last year departed Cold Spring Lane with a 21-17 win (Oct. 22, 2016).
• MSU was the place to be on Oct. 13, 2001 as students and alumni celebrated Homecoming 2001 in the newly renovated Hughes Stadium. It marked the Bears first homecoming game at Hughes Stadium in three years. Head coach Stanley Mitchell's Bears defeated Savannah State 26-0 with over 14,000 fans in attendance.

MORGAN STATE LEADS THE NATION IN TACKLES FOR LOSS
Morgan State leads the nation in tackles for loss (49) averaging 9.8 per game. Sophomore linebacker Rico Kennedy ranks No. 3 in the MEAC with 8.5 TFLs and junior defensive end Malachi Washington ranks No. 5 with 8 TFLs. The Bears also rank No. 2 in the nation in passing yards allowed, holding opponents to an average of 139.8 yards per game. Morgan State is 19th in the nation in passing efficiency defense (111.23) and 39th in total defense allowing 341.6 yards per contest.

RAYMOND CHESTER NAMED BLACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME FINALIST
The Black College Football Hall of Fame announced that former Morgan State University tight end Raymond Chester is among 22 finalists on the ballot for induction as part of its eighth annual enshrinement ceremony, on February 10, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. For more click here.

ABOUT MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is celebrating its 150th year of excellence in higher education. A Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution, Morgan offers more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.