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NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State (3-5, 3-1 MEAC) looks to stay in the thick of the MEAC championship race this Saturday when the Spartans face Florida A&M (2-6, 2-2). The Spartans are one of six MEAC teams with one loss in conference play. NSU is seeking just its second-ever win over the Rattlers, who will be celebrating Homecoming this week. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
NSU (3-5 overall, 3-1 MEAC), which is coming off its bye week, won for the third time in four games on Oct. 18 with a 21-13 victory over rival Hampton in the Battle of the Bay. Freshman quarterback Terrance Ervin passed for a career-high 335 yards and three touchdowns to lead NSU to its first win at HU since 1996. Isaac White registered career highs with 10 catches for 150 yards and two TDs. Senior Keith Johnson also caught a TD pass from Ervin, a 29-yarder.

The NSU defense held Hampton - the MEAC's top offense coming in - to nearly 150 yards below their average. The Pirates had just 254 total yards and just 109 through the air. NSU allowed just three second-half points, thanks to a sound defensive effort and a blocked field goal by Kevin Williams. Deon King had a career-high 15 tackles, Leroy Parker and Marcell Coke had 10 each, and Williams had six tackles, one sack, a blocked kick and a forced fumble.

NSU's defense continues to rank among the nation's best. The Spartans are second in the MEAC and third nationally in total defense, giving up 249.2 yards per game. NSU is also second in the MEAC in scoring defense, giving up 17.4 points per game.

SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
Florida A&M (2-6, 2-2 MEAC) had its two-game winning streak snapped last week in Greensboro, N.C., falling 40-21 to host North Carolina A&T. FAMU trailed just 20-14 at halftime, but the Aggies scored the first 20 points of the second half to put the game out of the Rattlers' reach. N.C. A&T rolled up 410 total yards against FAMU. Quarterback Kwashaun Quick passed for 233 yards and three scores for the Aggies. Damien Fleming threw for 240 yards and three scores for FAMU, which managed 296 total yards (56 rushing, 240 passing). Fleming had completions to nine different receivers.

FAMU has struggled on offense this year, averaging just 272.1 yards of offense. The Rattlers have, however, topped the 20-point mark in three straight games, which included consecutive wins over Savannah State and Howard. Fleming, now in his fourth year as a starter for FAMU, has thrown for 1,271 yards and nine scores this year, but has also been intercepted nine times. Gerald Hearns leads the Rattlers with 391 rushing yards.

Linebacker Akil Blount has a team-high 53 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss.

THE SERIES
• FAMU leads the series with NSU 13-1. The Spartans' only win was a 33-27 victory at FAMU in 2007.
• The Rattlers are 5-1 against NSU all-time at Bragg Memorial Stadium
• FAMU's last four wins against NSU have been by a total of 31 points.

MEDIA COVERAGE
• Radio: Star 1310 AM (Play-by-Play: Ross Gordon; Color: Maguell Davis)
• Audio Stream: www.star1310.com
• Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/nsu/football 
• Twitter Updates: @NSUSpartans

QUICK HITS FROM HAMPTON
• NSU's 337 total yards and 335 passing yards were both season highs.
• The Spartans were held to 2 rushing yards, a season low.
• Damian Smith had career highs of three catches for 30 yards.
• Deon King (15), Leroy Parker (10) and Kevin Williams (six) had career highs in tackles. Williams also had his first career sack, forced fumble and blocked field goal.
• NSU held Hampton to season lows in total yards (254) and passing yards (109).

MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Pete Adrian won for the 53rd time as NSU's head coach at Hampton, moving past Willard Bailey (1984-92) for second all-time on NSU's coaching victories list. Adrian trails only Dick Price's 62 wins from 1974-83. This year, Adrian also tied Price as the longest-tenured football coaches in NSU history.

ERVIN'S AERIAL ASSAULT
NSU entered the Hampton game on Oct. 18 ranked 118th out of 121 teams in the FCS in passing, averaging 96.3 yards per game through the first seven contests. The Spartans had a break-out game against the Pirates, as freshman Terrance Ervin threw for a career-high 335 yards to earn MEAC Rookie of the Week honors. 
• It was NSU's first 300-yard passing performance since Jake Basmagian's 312 against DSU on Oct. 6, 2012. 
• No NSU QB has had at least 335 in a game since Chris Walley's 363 against ODU on Nov. 26, 2011.
• Ervin's big day also meant a big day for the receiving corps. Isaac White (10-15), Damian Smith (3-30) and Markice Street (3-58) all matched or exceeded career highs in receptions and yards. 

STANDINGS WATCH
The final month of the MEAC season figures to be a wild one, as there are no teams remaining with unbeaten conference records following Bethune-Cookman's 20-14 loss at South Carolina State last Saturday. There are six teams with one MEAC loss, including NSU. North Carolina A&T is the only 4-1 team, while NSU, Bethune-Cookman, S.C. State, N.C. Central and Morgan State are all 3-1. Making matters more confusing is that N.C. A&T does not play NSU or B-CU. B-CU also does not play Morgan State.