NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State (6-4, 2-2 MEAC) caps the 2021 season today when South Carolina State (5-5, 4-0) visits Dick Price Stadium for Military Appreciation and Senior Day. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and Hot 91.1 FM, and a re-broadcast will air on ESPNU at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
 
OPENING KICKOFF
• NSU will honor 12 senior players before the game.
• In their last time out, the Spartans saw Delaware State rally from a 26-0 halftime deficit by scoring 28 unanswered points - 21 in the fourth quarter - to top NSU 28-26 last Saturday in Dover.
• The loss dropped the Spartans out of MEAC title contention and by default awarded the Celebration Bowl bid to South Carolina State.
• NSU scored first on a 3-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown by Christian Ruffin in the first quarter. J.J. Davis and Cameryn Brent scored on short touchdown runs and Juwan Carter threw a 3-yard TD pass to Justin Smith to stake the Spartans to a big early lead.
• But Jared Lewis threw three TD passes in the second half - two on fourth down - to help DSU rally.
• Davis rushed for 115 yards on 20 carries, his third straight game over the century mark. The redshirt freshman now leads the MEAC with 854 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
               
SERIES HISTORY
• This is the 25th meeting all-time between NSU and SCSU. The Bulldogs lead the series with NSU 19-4, with one Spartan win vacated.
• SCSU beat NSU 20-17 in overtime at Dick Price Stadium on Nov. 23, 2019 in the teams' last matchup. Dillon Bredsen kicked a tying 29-yard field goal on the final play of regulation, then hit a 27-yarder in OT to give SCSU the win.
 
SENIOR SALUTE
• Today, NSU honors 12 seniors who played an integral role within the NSU football program over the last five years. Collectively, the group put their names in the record books this year by notching the first winning season in school history since 2011.
• Seniors being recognized today include: Cameryn Brent, Juwan Carter, Josh Culberson, Zac Denton, De'Shaan Dixon, Marcque Ellington, Matt Hodges, Chris Myers, Josh Nardone, Jalen Powell, Justin Smith and Anthony Williams.
 
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
• J.J. Davis may be listed as a freshman, but he doesn't play like it. The transfer from the University of Cincinnati - who redshirted with the Bearcats in 2019 before transferring to NSU - holds the MEAC rushing lead through 10 games, with 854 yards.
• That is the most yards by a Spartan since Rolandan Finch had 1,113 in 2013.
• What's more impressive: Davis has done his damage on 113 attempts while sharing carries in a talented NSU backfield. He is averaging 7.6 yards per carry, third-best in the nation.
 
NO. 1 AND STILL COUNTING
• QB Juwan Carter wraps up his memorable NSU career today as the school's all-time leader in total offensive yards and passing yards. He broke Aaron Sparrow's career mark for passing yards at North Carolina Central on Nov. 6.
• With one game left to play, Carter has 9,962 yards of total offense, 9,031 through the air.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
 • S.C. State enters this weekend 5-5 on the year after a 27-17 loss to North Carolina A&T. The Bulldogs outgained the Aggies 379-221.
• Kendrell Flowers rushed for 160 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries for SCSU. He is third in the MEAC with 639 rushing yards this season.
• The Bulldogs won their first four MEAC games, and since they defeated second-place N.C. Central, they have wrapped up at least a share of the MEAC title and the conference's berth in the Celebration Bowl next month.
• SCSU's wins over NCCU, Delaware State and Howard came by a combined 12 points.
 
DIXON GETS SHRINE BOWL INVITE
Defensive lineman De'Shaan Dixon has received an invitation to participate in the 97th East-West Shrine Bowl on Feb. 3, 2022.
• Dixon becomes the second Spartan ever invited to the Shrine Bowl behind former Spartan and NFL defensive back Don Carey, who played in the 2009 game following his career at NSU.
• The game is one of the oldest and more prestigious all-star games for graduating college seniors. This year's contest will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and be televised live on the NFL Network.
• This season, Dixon has totaled 45 tackles, 11.5 for loss, including 9.0 sacks, four quarterback hurries and four pass breakups. Dixon, a preseason first-team All-MEAC selection, currently leads the MEAC in sacks and TFL.
 
SMITH CLIMBS THE LADDER
Senior WR Justin Smith is currently eighth in school history in receiving yards (1,655). He needs just seven yards to pass Marty Conner for seventh place. Smith is also tied for sixth in NSU history with 15 TD catches and 10th with 96 career receptions.
 
SCORING SPREE
• The Spartans are averaging 34.4 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.
• The Spartans scored at least 40 points in three straight games (vs. Hampton, Va.-Lynchburg, Howard), a feat which has happened just twice previously in school history and not since 1993.
• NSU has rushed for 2,219 yards this year, third-most in school history, and can move into first with 146 against SCSU.

CHARITY INITIATIVES IN PLACE FOR SENIOR DAY
NSU will permit any fan who brings two non-perishable food items or a new, unwrapped toy to be admitted to the game free of charge. Food items collected will aid NSU's holiday food drive benefiting the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.  Toys collected will be donated to the MEAC's Toy Drive Challenge, a friendly competition among conference schools to see which University can collect the most gifts for Toys for Tots during the holiday season.