NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State football team returns from its bye week to play its second straight home game this Saturday when the Spartans host Howard University on Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Dick Price Stadium.

OPENING KICKOFF
• Norfolk State dropped to 1-1 in the MEAC and 1-6 overall after a 28-7 loss to Delaware State on Oct. 15 at Dick Price Stadium.
• Quarterback Otto Kuhns passed for 258 yards and one touchdown, a 42-yarder to Chris Butler in the fourth quarter. Kuhns was also NSU's leading rusher, with 45 yards, giving him 303 yards of total offense.
• Kuhns ranks third in the MEAC, averaging 180 passing yards per game. The receiving trio of Da'Quan Felton (fifth), Tremayne Talbert (seventh) and Butler (eighth) all rank in the top 10 in the conference in receiving yards.
• Howard improved to 2-5 on the season, 1-0 in the MEAC, with a 35-17 win over Delaware State last Saturday at Greene Stadium in Washington, D.C. Howard's previous win was over Division II Morehouse, 31-0, on Sept. 17.
• Howard rushed for 272 yards as a team against DSU. More than half of that came on two long touchdown runs, a 75-yarder by Kasey Hawthorne and a 74-yarder by Jarett Hunter. 
• The Bison enter the weekend with the MEAC's No. 2 offense in terms of total yardage (375.1 ypg) and rushing offense (149.9). Howard also leads the conference in pass offense, at 225.3 yards per contest. HU quarterback Quinton Williams, a senior, averages 213.7 yards per contest and has thrown eight touchdown passes.

SERIES HISTORY
• Howard leads the series with NSU 18-9, with three NSU wins vacated. NSU has scored 94 points in the last two games, a pair of wins at Howard in 2019 and 2021, and the Spartans have won three straight in the series overall.
• The Spartans racked up 536 yards of total offense in a 45-31 win over the Bison in the last meeting, on Oct. 23, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Juwan Carter passed for 332 yards and completed a school-record 21 consecutive passes and Cameryn Brent rushed for two touchdowns and 99 yards for NSU.

BUTLER FINDS A HOME
• NSU redshirt sophomore Chris Butler has bounced back and forth between receiver and running back during his Spartan career, but seems to have found a home at wideout. 
• The native of Glen Allen, Virginia, has nine catches for 159 yards and a touchdown in his last two games. He hauled in six passes for 88 yards, both career highs, in the win at Morgan State.
• In his last outing, Butler had three catches for 71 yards and one TD, a 42-yard catch, against Delaware State. It was his first career touchdown.
• Butler current ranks eighth in the MEAC with 247 receiving yards this season.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
• Injuries have paved the way for more players to get opportunities to prove themselves. One such player is sophomore defensive back Pierre Royster. 
• Royster got the start at Morgan State and registered two tackles for loss, including a sack. Against Delaware State, the local product from Lake Taylor notched seven tackles, a new career high.