NORFOLK, Va. - The Spartan football team (5-6, 4-3 MEAC), on its first three-game winning streak since 2011, looks to end the season on a winning note and - potentially - earn a share of first place in the MEAC this Saturday vs. S.C. State. It is Senior Day as well as First Responders and Military Appreciation Day at Dick Price Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
 
The Spartans won their second straight road game last week, topping Delaware State 33-17 in Dover for their fourth win in the last five games. SCSU (7-3, 5-2), which also has championship aspirations, has also won four of its last five after a 24-0 win at N.C. Central last Saturday.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• This is the 24th meeting all-time between Norfolk State and South Carolina State. The Bulldogs lead the series 18-4, with one NSU win vacated.
• The Spartans have won the last two games in the series, the first time in series annals that NSU has put together a winning streak against SCSU.
• Both wins came on the road, a 13-10 Spartan win in 2016 and a 17-7 victory last season.
• NSU's last official win over SCSU in Norfolk came in 2007.
 
LAST MEETING
• Juwan Carter passed for 281 yards and both threw and ran for a touchdown, and the Norfolk State defense came up with several big plays in a 17-7 win over S.C. State on Sept. 22, 2018 in Orangeburg.
• Carter threw a 6-yard TD pass to Isaiah Winstead in the first quarter and scored on a 1-yard run in the second.
• SCSU (0-3), which was stymied for much of the game by the NSU defense, cut the deficit in half on an 81-yard TD pass play from Tyrece Nick to De'Montrez Burroughs with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
• But NSU's defense came up with a fumble recovery and two turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter. Josh Nardone added a 29-yard field goal.
 
NSU BY THE NUMBERS
3 - The Spartans have three defensive touchdowns this season and they've all come in the last three weeks. Bobby Price had the latest, an 84-yard interception return in the third quarter at DSU.
12 - Number of Spartan seniors who will be honored this week prior to their final collegiate game.
69 - Passing yards Juwan Carter needs this week to pass Chris Walley's single-season Division I school record of 2,672, set in 2011.
330 - Points scored this year by the Spartans, topping the 2011 team's previous Division I school record of 324.
 
A WIN OVER SCSU WOULD...
A win this week over the Bulldogs would...
• Clinch NSU's first .500 overall season and first winning MEAC record since 2011 (since vacated). The last time NSU had more overall or MEAC wins in a non-NCAA vacated season was 2007.
• Give NSU its first-ever three-game winning streak over SCSU.
• Help the Spartans finish 2019 on a four-game winning streak, a feat no Spartan team has accomplished since, again, that 2011 campaign (or 2007, for a non-vacated season).
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
South Carolina State enters this week's game with a 7-3 overall record, 5-2 in the MEAC, following a 24-0 shutout of North Carolina Central last Saturday in Durham. LaBron Morris rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns for the Bulldogs. SCSU limited the Eagles to just 170 yards of offense and forced three turnovers.
 
SCSU features a balanced offense. Morris has rushed for 593 yards and leads a ground game which averaged 150.8 yards per game. The Bulldogs also throw for 219.7 yards per game. Senior wideout De'Montrez Burroughs has caught a MEAC-leading 13 touchdown passes this season.
 
STANDINGS WATCH
This week's game has MEAC title and Celebration Bowl implications.
• With a win this week and a North Carolina A&T loss, the Spartans can tie for first place in the standings, their first piece of a MEAC title since 2011 (since vacated). N.C. A&T would advance to the Celebration Bowl in this scenario by virtue of wins over NSU and SCSU this season.
• The Bulldogs can earn at least a share of the title with a win over NSU. With a victory this week and a N.C. A&T loss, the Bulldogs would win the title outright and advance to the Celebration Bowl for the first time.