SAVANNAH, Ga. - Savannah State University's football Homecoming game against North Carolina Central might be the Tigers' most important game this season, according to SSU first-year head coach Earnest Wilson III
 
SSU (1-7 overall, 0-4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) will play North Carolina Central University (3-4, 1-2 MEAC) at 2 p.m. Saturday at T.A. Wright Stadium. The game will be radio-broadcast on WHCJ 90.3 FM.
 
"I'm telling the players that this is all about them," Wilson said. "We estimate 20,000 to 30,000 people coming to town just for Homecoming. We're telling our players this is for them. They're coming to honor you. They're coming to be a part of something.
 
"And in the end, after all the fun and festivities, the final thing is they want to be able to go back Monday morning to their office and tell about how their hometown team and their university team won. And that's what they're really looking to do. And we've got to honor that and go out there and play for them."
 
SSU will attempt to snap a five-game losing streak. The Tigers are coming off a 48-21 loss to Bethune-Cookman University last Saturday in Daytona Beach, Fla.
 
NCCU will enter with a two-game losing streak. Last Saturday, Morgan State spoiled the Eagles' Homecoming with a 34-22 victory at O'Kelley-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C. NCCU lost, 44-3, to South Carolina State on Oct. 10 in Durham, N.C.
 
"Definitely, after dropping two in a row, it is a tough deal," NCCU interim head coach Dwayne Foster said during his weekly news conference, which is available on YouTube.
 
"But our goal is to get back on track by heading down to Savannah, preparing well and getting going that way."
 
NCCU is 5-2-1 in the series against SSU. The Eagles beat the Tigers, 45-33, last season at T.A. Wright Stadium. SSU beat NCCU, 33-30, in 2011 in Durham, N.C. The Tigers also won, 28-21, in 2010 at Memorial Stadium in Savannah.
 
"I think it's going to be a great match-up between linebackers," Wilson said. "They're very strong. Their nose guard is probably one of the strongest around. We've got a freshman going up against him. Their quarterback returns from last year and he's pretty good. They're pretty good, pretty big, on the offensive line."
 
NCCU OUTLOOK
Quarterback Jordan Reid, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound redshirt senior from High Point, N.C., is 104-of-200 passing (52 percent) for 1,109 yards and four touchdowns.
 
Running back Idreis Augustus, a 5-foot-7, 190-pound redshirt sophomore from Springfield, Va., leads the team in rushing with 319 yards and three touchdowns on 73 carries.
 
Wide receiver Lamar Scruggs, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound redshirt senior from Jacksonville Beach, Fla., has 21 catches for 256 yards and a touchdown.
 
Wide receiver and return specialist Adrian Wilkins, a 5-foot-8, 170-pound redshirt sophomore from Forest City, N.C., leads the MEAC in all-purpose yards per game with 124.6. He also leads the MEAC in kickoff return yards with an average of 29.3. Wilkins has 21 catches for 245 yards and a touchdown. He has scored touchdowns on two kickoff returns (100 yards and 91 yards), a punt return (89 yards) and a reception.
 
Linebacker Tazmon Foster, a 5-foot-10, 215-pound senior from Henderson, N.C., leads the MEAC in tackles per game with 11.6 (81 in seven games).
 
NCCU INTERIM COACH'S ASSESSMENT OF SSU:
Foster, during NCCU's weekly news conference, said SSU is better than its record indicates.
 
"Savannah State's a good football team," he said. "We talk about that all the time in terms of their record; they only have one win but they've been in a ton of games where the ball hasn't bounced their way a ton. But at the same time, they're a good football team."
 
Foster said NCCU must shut down SSU senior quarterback Antonio Bostick and senior wide receiver Simon Heyward.
 
Last season, Bostick was 15-of-35 passing for 332 yards and two touchdowns against the Eagles. He was intercepted twice but ran for a team-high 74 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
 
Heyward made seven catches for 220 yards, including an 82-yard touchdown pass from Bostick.
 
"They're the No. 1 passing offense in our conference right now," Foster said. "Bostick puts it around, throws it around, really, really well. The two receivers they have in Heyward and (Cantrell) Frazier, those guys do a great job in space. Heyward had a pretty good game against us last time so we're looking to limit his catches and his touches."
 
Wilson said SSU will continue to spread the ball around.
 
"Most people don't even realize that in three of the last four games we've had over 400 yards of offense each game," Wilson said. "That's what we need to continue to do. But it's time to get in the end zone a lot more. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot. We hope to hit our stride."
 
Foster said NCCU will pay special attention to SSU linebackers Justin Dixon and Marquis Smith. Dixon leads the MEAC in overall tackles (84) and is third in the conference in tackles per game with 10.5 (in eight games). Smith's 79 tackles ranks fifth in the MEAC in tackles per game at 9.9 (in eight games).
 
"Defensively, very active bunch," Foster said. "They have two linebackers who are in the top five in tackles in the conference, and we've got to make sure we get a hat on those guys and get those guys covered up in order to have some success, offensively."
 
Wilson said SSU's defense needs to play the way it played in the second half against Bethune-Cookman.
 
"We held Bethune-Cookman to six points in the second half and they were still playing their first- and-second team. We hope to continue to do that. We're a young team so we just want to continue to improve."
 
FAMILIAR FACE
NCCU linebacker Mulik Simmons, a 5-foot-11, 250-pound freshman, is from Savannah. He played high school football for Bible Baptist, which is located across the street from SSU.