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NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State kicks off its 2014 football campaign this Saturday at the University of Maine, the defending Colonial Athletic Association champion, at 6 p.m. The matchup is a return game from last year's contest won by Maine, 23-6, on Aug. 31 at Dick Price Stadium.

Orono, Maine represents the furthest north that NSU has ever played a football game.
 
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
The Spartans bring back 14 starters and 51 letterwinners from last year's team that went 3-9 overall and 3-5 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The returnees on offense include three of the four quarterbacks to start for NSU last year - Tyler Clark, Malik Stokes and Omari-Ali Timmons - and preseason All-MEAC offensive linemen Justin Myler and Mike Phillips. The Spartans are less experienced at running back, receiver and tight end, having lost 1,000-yard rusher Rolandan Finch and five of their top six pass-catchers from a year ago.

NSU welcomes back nine starters from the 2013 unit that ranked 13th in the nation in total defense. Six of the nine returning starters were named to the 2014 Preseason All-MEAC first, second or third teams, led by MEAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and FCS All-America linebacker Lynden Trail.      
 
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
Defending CAA champion Maine was picked to finish seventh in the preseason CAA poll of head coaches and sports information directors. Four Black Bears were named to the All-CAA preseason team: defensive end Trevor Bates, placekicker Sean Decloux, center Bruce Johnson and linebacker Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga.

Maine has 15 starters back from its 2013 CAA title team that went 10-3 overall and lost in the second round of the NCAA FCS playoffs. The Black Bears lost All-CAA quarterback Marcus Wasilewski and have just five starters back on offense. The defense will be led by Mulumba Tshimanga, the 2013 CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Maine enters the season ranked No. 25 in the preseason Sports Network FCS Top 25 poll and No. 20 in the initial FCS Coaches Poll of the season.
 
THE SERIES
• This will be the second meeting all-time between NSU and SCSU, with Maine leading 1-0
• The teams met for the first time last season, with the Black Bears winning 23-6 at NSU's Dick Price Stadium on Aug. 31, 2013. 
 
NSU PICKED 6TH IN MEAC; TRAIL IS PRESEASON POTY
NSU was picked to finish sixth in the MEAC this season in the preseason poll of league sports information directors and head coaches. NSU received two first-place votes. Defending MEAC co-champions and FCS playoff participants Bethune-Cookman (first) and South Carolina State (second) were picked to finish at the top of the standings. North Carolina A&T, Howard and Delaware State were picked third through fifth, respectively. Following NSU, Hampton was picked seventh, North Carolina Central eighth and Morgan State ninth. Florida A&M and Savannah State are ineligible for the MEAC title in 2014.

LB Lynden Trail was named the preseason MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, the third Spartan to ever earn that honor (LB Kevin Talley in 2004, FS Terrell Whitehead in 2009). Trail and CB Darrin Marrow were first-team All-MEAC preseason picks. TE James Lynch, OL Justin Myler and SS Keenan Lambert were preseason second-team selections. OL Mike Phillips, DL George Riddick, DE/OLB Deon King and LB Marcell Coke were named to the third team. 

NSU VS. THE CAA
NSU is becoming quite familiar with teams from the CAA. This marks the fifth time in the last seven years that NSU will play a team from the CAA. The Spartans are 0-7 all-time against teams currently in the CAA, which does not include an 0-2 mark against cross-town foe Old Dominion, which has left the CAA after 2012 for the ranks of the FBS and Conference USA.
• NSU is 0-1 against Maine, Villanova and Towson.
• NSU is 0-4 all-time against William & Mary, including 0-2 under Pete Adrian (losses in 2008 and '09). 
• The Spartans also have future games scheduled vs. William & Mary (Sept. 13, 2014; also in 2016, '17), Richmond ('16) and James Madison ('17, '18).

NSU VS. RANKED TEAMS
The Spartans are 3-23 against teams ranked in the Sports Network top 25 poll, but has won two straight: 27-24 over No. 12 Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 9, 2013 and a 17-14 win over No. 22 South Carolina State on Oct. 1, 2011. Maine is No. 25 in the TSN poll this week.

ADRIAN, COSGROVE TIES
The head coaches for this week's contest are quite familiar with each other. NSU's Pete Adrian was defensive coordinator for 10 years at Rhode Island, a former Yankee Conference rival of the University of Maine. Black Bears' coach Jack Cosgrove was the UM quarterback for two years and faced Adrian's defenses at URI twice, in 1976 and 1977. URI won both meetings. Last year was their first meeting as head coaches, with Maine winning 23-6.