NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State football team will look to end its three-game slide when the Spartans (3-4, 1-3 MEAC) play their final MEAC road game of the season this Saturday at defending conference champion North Carolina A&T (6-2, 3-1). Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Saturday at BB&T Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
MEDIA COVERAGE
• TV/Live Video: ESPN3 (Live), ESPNU (Tape-Delayed, 1:15 a.m. Sunday, 11/4)
• Radio: WNSB 91.1 FM (12:30 p.m. pre-game): Play-by-Play: Ross Gordon/Color: Matt Michalec
• Twitter Updates: @NSUSpartans / @NSU_FB
 
OPENING KICKOFF
• NSU dropped to 3-4 overall, 1-3 in the MEAC after a 32-3 loss at Savannah State last Saturday.
• N.C. A&T, the defending MEAC champion, had an off week following its 35-10 win at Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 20.
• NSU's homecoming tour concludes this week as N.C. A&T welcomes the Spartans for its own homecoming. NSU is in the midst of playing on four straight homecoming Saturdays - at FAMU (10/6), its own (10/20), at SSU (10/27) and at N.C. A&T (11/3).
• In addition to being live streamed on ESPN3, this week's game will be aired at 1:15 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4 on ESPNU.
 
LAST MEETING
• No. 9 ranked North Carolina A&T outscored the Spartans 21-0 in the second half to pull away for a 35-7 win over NSU on Nov. 4, 2017 at Dick Price Stadium in the teams' last matchup.
• The Aggies held NSU to minus-4 yards rushing while gaining 203 on the ground themselves.
• Marquell Cartwright ran for 104 yards and a TD and Lamar Raynard passed for 277 yards for N.C. A&T.
• Juwan Carter passed for 146 yards, including an 8-yard TD to Isaiah Winstead, in the loss.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• North Carolina A&T leads the series with NSU, 30-9, with two Spartan wins vacated (2010, '11).
• The Aggies won 35-0 in the teams' last meeting in North Carolina in 2016.
• The Aggies have won four in a row on the field in the series, winning those games by a cumulative score of 127-19.
 
NSU BY THE NUMBERS
3.5 - Career-high tackles for loss last week by LB Nigel Chavis, which included a pair of sacks.
5 - Number of punts, out of six attempts, by Taylor Goettie which traveled at least 40 yards last week. He averaged 42.5 yards on the day.
8 - Passes defended this year by safety Bobby Price - one interception plus seven pass deflections.
10.0 - Number of tackles for loss by the Spartan defense in each of the last two games.
11 - Number of turnovers for NSU during its three-game losing skid (3 each vs. FAMU and SSU, 5 vs. NCCU.
 
A WIN OVER N.C. A&T WOULD...
A win this week over N.C. A&T would...
• Move the Spartans back to .500 on the season with three games to go.
• Be NSU's first win in Greensboro since 2007 (Spartans have lost the last three).
• End N.C. A&T's outside shot of an outright MEAC regular-season title, and also put the Aggies' hopes of an FCS playoff at-large berth in peril.
 
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Preseason MEAC favorite North Carolina A&T has had an up-and-down season. The Aggies got out the blocks fast, winning against FCS No. 6 ranked and perennial playoff participation Jacksonville State, then defeating FBS foe East Carolina during a 3-0 start. The Aggies have dropped two games to conference opponents, however, including a 16-13 loss to Morgan State which did not count in the MEAC standings, and a 22-21 loss to MEAC leader Florida A&M. Both losses came at home on field goals in the closing seconds.
 
The Aggies bounced back from the FAMU loss to win 35-10 at Bethune-Cookman two weeks ago, and enter this week's game ranked 17 in the FCS polls.
 
N.C. A&T again boasts the top-ranked defense in the MEAC against the run (82.1 ypg allowed) and overall (282.8 ypg allowed total). Cartwright has rushed for 634 yards this season, second in the MEAC, and Raynard has thrown 14 touchdown passes. Zachary Leslie has seven TD receptions.