NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State football team (5-2, 1-0 MEAC) looks to remain perfect in the MEAC and extend its winning streak to six games when the Spartans host Morgan State (0-7, 0-3) this Saturday on Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Dick Price Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, Blazin' Hot 91.1 FM and on SiriusXM Radio.
 
OPENING KICKOFF
• In their last time out, Juwan Carter passed for 332 yards and completed a school-record 21 consecutive passes at one point to lead Norfolk State to a 45-31 win at Howard last Saturday at Greene Stadium.
• Cameryn Brent ran for 99 yards and two scores on 10 carries, including the clinching 57-yard TD with 1:33 left.
• The win was the Spartans' fifth straight, matching their longest win streak in the last 10 years.
• Justin Smith caught seven passes for 147 yards, both career highs.
• Stuart Anderson Jr. blocked a third-quarter Howard punt that Christian Ruffin returned 4 yards for a touchdown. It was NSU's first blocked punt returned for a touchdown since Hadji Gaylord vs. Old Dominion in 2015.
               
SERIES HISTORY
• NSU leads the all-time series with Morgan State, 19-12 with three other wins vacated.
• With 19 wins, the Spartans have beaten MSU more than they have defeated any other MEAC school.
• On the field, NSU is 18-4 against MSU since moving to Division I in 1997 (with three wins later vacated).
• The Spartans defeated Morgan State 48-0 on Nov. 2, 2019 at Dick Price Stadium in the teams' last meeting. NSU intercepted five passes in the game and finished with 529 total yards, 314 coming through the air off the arm of Carter.
 
STREAKING SPARTANS
• With a win against Morgan State, NSU would match the second-longest win streak in school history, at six games. The Spartans also won six straight games in both 1949 and 1982.
• The school record for longest winning streak is eight, set by the 1984 CIAA championship team.
 
TRUSTY TRENCHMEN
• NSU has won the MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week award following its last six games.
• LG Jalen Powell started the streak following the Wake Forest game and just received his second such award after the Howard victory. C Colby Byrd won it following the Elizabeth City and VUL games, and RG Justin Redd won it after St. Francis and Hampton.
 • The group has helped the Spartans lead the MEAC and rank 13th nationally in rushing so far, at 216.7 yards per game.
• NSU rushed for more than 300 yards in back-to-back games for the first time since 2010 with 322 vs. ECSU and 323 at St. Francis.
 
SMITH CLIMBS THE LADDER
Senior WR Justin Smith moved into eighth place in school history in receiving yards (1,598) after his big game at Howard. He needs just 64 yards to pass Marty Conner for seventh. With one more receiving touchdown, Smith would move into a tie for sixth in NSU history with 15, a mark shared by Howard Gilmore and Tyrone Sellers.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Morgan State enters this week's game still in search of its first win of the season. The Bears fell to 0-7 on the year, 0-3 in the MEAC, after a 28-17 setback at home last week against North Carolina Central. The Bears led 10-7 at halftime, but were outscored 21-7 in the second half. MSU rushed for 180 yards in the game, 82 by Jabriel Johnson. Quarterback Neil Boudreau threw for 193 yards and one touchdown. The Bears are averaging just 10.3 points per game this year. Boudreau has thrown six touchdown passes and Romello Kimbrough has rushed for three TDs.
 
CHASING THE SPARROW
NSU quarterback Juwan Carter recently surpassed former Division II All-American Aaron Sparrow's school records for total offense and completions, and is closing in a few others. Carter is just 376 passing yards shy of Sparrow's mark of 8,758 that has stood since 1995.
 
NSU IN WEEKLY MEAC HONORS
NSU hasn't just dominated the weekly MEAC OL award. The Spartans have won a total of 15 weekly conference honors. Here are the other winners:
• DB Christian Ruffin (Rookie of the Week) and Stuart Anderson (Co-Special Teams POTW) both earned honors after the Howard win, where they combined on a blocked punt return for touchdown. Anderson blocked the punt, and Ruffin returned it 4 yards for a TD.
• NSU quarterback Juwan Carter was named the MEAC Offensive Player of the Week after the Wake, ECSU and Hampton games, throwing for a combined nine touchdowns in the three games (five vs. ECSU, a career high).
• RB J.J. Davis was named MEAC Rookie of the Week twice: after rushing eight times for 121 yards and two touchdowns (including a 72-yarder) vs. ECSU, and rushing 14 times for 93 yards vs. SFU.
• DL Chris Myers was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week after the ECSU win after registering two of NSU's eight sacks and helping hold the Vikings to negative-49 rushing yards.
• DB Justin Toler was selected Co-Defensive Player of the Week after notching two interceptions at HU.
 
SCORING SPREE
The Spartans have scored at least 40 points in three straight games, a feat which has happened just twice previously in school history and not since 1993. The Spartans are averaging 35.9 points per game, well ahead of their school Division I-era record pace of 28.9 set in 2019. The overall school record for scoring offense in a season is 36.0 in 1995. The 1994 season (34.5) was the only other time a Spartan team averaged more than 30 points per game for an entire season.