Game Notes

Watch the Game on ESPN3.Com!

NORFOLK, Va. - The 70th season in Norfolk State football history kicks off on Thursday night, Sept. 2, as the Spartans travel to Piscataway, N.J., to face Division I FBS power Rutgers. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. from Rutgers Stadium, and the game will be carried on ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360).

The Spartans enter the 2010 season with 14 starters returning from last year's 7-4 team, which gave the Spartans their second winning season in three years. Included among the 14 returning starters are seven All-MEAC performers from 2009.

Rutgers welcomes back 14 starters from last season's 9-4 team which won its fourth straight bowl
game. Despite losing two fi rst-round NFL draft picks, the Scarlet Knights have high hopes for the 2010
season with six starters back on both sides of the ball as well as both kickers.

MEDIA COVERAGE
• TV: ESPN3.Com (Play-by-Play: Dave Popkin; Color: Drew Henson)
• Radio: NSU Sports Network, WNSB Hot 91.1 FM, WXTG 1490 AM The Game (Play-by-Play: Chris
Park; Color: Ross Gordon)
• Audio Stream: Click here (or click “Live Audio” link under Inside Athletics tab)
• Live Stats: www.scarletknights.com

THE SERIES
• The teams have played once before, with the No. 13 ranked Scarlet Knights winning 59-0 on Sept.
15, 2007 at Rutgers Stadium.
• After a competitive first quarter, Rutgers scored 42 points in the second quarter to take a 45-0 lead
into halftime. Rutgers scored once each in both the third and fourth quarters to wrap up the win.
• Despite the loss, head coach Pete Adrian pointed to the Rutgers game as a key in propelling the
Spartans to an 8-3 fi nish - their fi rst-ever winning record in Division I play - which included a runner-up
finish in the MEAC.

QUICK HITS
• NSU was given the No. 25 preseason ranking in Lindy's College Football Preview magazine, marking
the first time NSU has achieved a preseason national ranking of any kind.
• NSU is 33-35-1 in season openers.
• The Spartans are 4-1 in season-openers under Pete Adrian.
• This marks the fi rst time since 1990 since NSU has not opened the year at home in the traditional
Labor Day Classic against Virginia State. The LDC will resume in 2011.
• NSU is 3-6 all-time in ESPN-televised games, including a 1-1 mark on Thursday nights.
• This will be NSU's third game against a Division I FBS opponent. The Spartans lost at Rutgers in
2007, and dropped a 38-3 decision at Kentucky in 2008.
• Aside from their success on the field, both NSU and Rutgers are getting it done in the classroom.
NSU has the highest four-year APR score of any MEAC and Division I HBCU football program and
was awarded this summer with the inaugural FCS APR Award for having the highest MEAC football
APR score for 2008-09. Rutgers, meanwhile, has the highest four-year APR average in the nation at
a 992 out of 1,000.