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NORFOLK, Va. – Behind five interceptions from its defense and 529 offensive yards, Norfolk State pitched a homecoming shutout on Saturday afternoon, romping past Morgan State 48-0 before 20,178 fans at Dick Price Stadium.

Quarterback Juwan Carter passed for 314 yards while accounting for four touchdowns, and Rayquan Smith rushed for 142 yards for NSU (3-6, 2-3 MEAC). Cornerback Devyn Coles had two of the Spartans' five picks, and senior Nhyre' Quinerly returned the final interception of the day for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Spartans started quickly behind Carter and their opportunistic defense. On NSU's first drive of the day, Carter threw an 80-yard touchdown bomb to Da'Kendall James less than three minutes into the game. Brandon Savage and Coles had interceptions on the next two MSU drives, and Josh Nardone kicked a 30-yard field goal following the second turnover for a 10-0 NSU lead halfway through the first quarter.

Another Coles interception late in the first quarter led to a 4-yard touchdown run by Kevin Johnson as NSU held a 17-0 lead after the first quarter.

Spartan linebacker Cephas Harden got into the turnover action on the first play of the second quarter when he intercepted a D.J. Golatt pass. That set up a 25-yard TD pass from Carter to Justin Smith where the wideout broke four tackles en route to the end zone.

Morgan's best scoring opportunity of the half came on their next drive, as Nicholas O'Shea set up for a 41-yard field goal try. But the hold was botched and the kick was never attempted, with Coles tackling holder DeAndre Harris for a loss and turnover on downs.

The Spartans promptly drove 67 yards for another TD, this one a 14-yard run by Carter that gave the Spartans a 31-0 advantage heading into the half.

Carter threw an 8-yard TD pass to Tylan McElhenie at the 6:45 mark of the third quarter. In the fourth, Nardone kicked another 30-yard field goal and Quinerly returned an interception 48 yards for the game's final score with 14:43 left in the fourth quarter.

The only question became whether NSU would hold onto its first shutout since topping Morgan State 30-0 in 2012. The answer was an emphatic yes. NSU forced the Bears (1-8, 1-5) to punt on the next possession after Quinerly's pick-six, and the Spartan offense proceeded to run out the final 12:26 of the game with a 20-play, 70-yard drive, all on the ground. The possession – and game – ended with Carter taking a knee at the Bears' 12-yard line.

Carter completed 16-of-28 passes for 314 yards and the three touchdowns. Smith and McElhenie both made four receptions, Shawn McFarland had three and James amassed 120 receiving yards on just two receptions. Rayquan Smith grinded out 142 yards on 30 carries as NSU finished the day with 215 rushing yards. It was Smith's second straight 100-yard game.

Saturday marked NSU's second time scoring at least 40 points in the last three games, and the 48 points are tied for the most the Spartans have ever scored against the Bears. NSU topped MSU 48-6 in 1997.

Golatt and Harris combined to complete 8-of-26 passes for just 75 yards and the five interceptions for the Bears, who were limited to 153 total yards – the fewest by an NSU opponent since Delaware State (114) in 2014.

Nigel Chavis led the NSU defense with 12 tackles, 1.5 for loss. Quinerly had nine stops, the pick-six and a pass breakup. Safety Bobby Price also broke up three passes. Two of NSU's five interceptions came after pass deflections, coming from defensive ends Ricky Thomas and De'Shaan Dixon.

The Spartans will look to carry their momentum into a road matchup next Saturday at North Carolina Central. Kickoff is 2 p.m. in Durham, N.C.