Norfolk State travels to long-time rival Hampton University on Saturday for the 42nd annual Battle of the Bay Classic football game. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m. at Hampton's Armstrong Stadium.

The Spartans lead the series 22-18-1, though Hampton has won six of the seven meetings since NSU moved to Division I-AA. Hampton won last season 52-0 at Dick Price Stadium, the third time in series history that the Pirates won by a shutout.

Spartans at a Glance: NSU (1-4 overall, 1-2 MEAC) surrendered 488 yards rushing to South Carolina State, including more than 95 to three different players, as the Bulldogs defeated NSU 39-14 last Saturday at Dick Price Stadium. NSU’s defense was on the field much of the night (38:34) and could not slow SCSU’s offense, which amassed 30 first downs. NSU also had five turnovers, committed 13 penalties for 88 yards and coverted just 1 of 6 third-down opportunities. Brandon Brooks passed for 192 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, and both Emery Sammons (five catches, 93 yards) and Howard Gilmore (two catches, 73 yards, one TD) had solid games receiving. Monte Anthony led the Spartans with 62 yards on 14 carries. Defensively, Kevin Talley had 21 tackles (11 solo) and recovered a fumble, Bevon Miller had 13 tackles and Samuel Lawson had 11. NSU forced three SCSU turnovers.

Pirates at a Glance: Jerome Mathis had seven receptions for a school-record 234 yards in Hampton’s 48-25 win over Gardner-Webb last Saturday as the Pirates improved to 5-1. Mathis, who caught three TD passes, was named MEAC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Princeton Shepherd threw for a career-best 319 yards on just 12 completions, and Alonzo Coleman added 140 yards rushing on 24 carries. Through five games, Coleman, the 2003 MEAC Rookie of the Year, has 617 yards rushing and nine total TDs while running mate Ardell Daniels has 422 yards on the ground. Shepherd has thrown for 1,134 yards and 10 TDs, both tops in the MEAC. Mathis leads the conference with 158.7 all-purpose yards per game to lead Hampton’s offense, which averages 40.8 points per game to lead the MEAC. Defensively, linebacker Justin Durant is second in the MEAC with 62 total tackles. Hampton is 2-1 in the conference.