GAME CENTRAL

SSU Tigers (0-7, 0-4 MEAC)
at
North Carolina Central Eagles (3-4, 2-1 MEAC
O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium (Durham, N.C., 2 p.m.)

On Game Day

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Tiger Bites
- The Tigers and Eagles will meet for the 10th time with  N.C. Central leading the series 6-2-1. SSU's last victory over NCCU was in 2011, 30-33.
 
- After the first seven games, the Tigers have already surpassed their 2013 season totals in several defensive categories: SSU has nine interceptions compared to eight a year ago; has forced 11 fumbles compared to six last season; and has 11 fumble recoveries compared to six last year and.
 
- SSU linebacker Marquis Smith is ranked 2^nd nationally and leads the MEAC in tackles for loss averaging 2.2 per game. Smith is 7^th nationally and 2^nd in the MEAC in sacks averaging 1.17 per game, and he is 20^th nationally and 4^th in the conference in forced fumbles, averaging .33 per game.
 
- SSU has been outscored 84-28 in the first half of conference games this year . However, the Tigers have outscored their conference opponents 27-26 in the second half.

 - SSU first-year quarterback, Michael Knox, saw his first collegiate action against Bethune-Cookman. Knox ran and threw for a touchdown and finished the day with 117 yards passing.
 
- The Tigers only conference win since entering the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2011 was over N.C. Central. On September 24, 2011, SSU defeated the Eagles, 33-30, in Durham. The win was the Tigers' first game in the new conference. The Tigers are currently 1-36 in MEAC play.
 
- Savannah State is one of three conference teams still winless in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play. Hampton (0-3) and Howard (0-4) are still fighting for their first conference wins.
 
- Michael Wallace was promoted to defensive coordinator prior to preseason camp. Wallace was the Tigers defensive coordinator from 1995-97.
 
 - Junior wide out Cantrell Frazier has accounted for four of the 10 offensive touchdowns for the Tigers this season. The Fulton County, Ga. native has caught three touchdowns and ran for one.
 
The Game
Savannah State
A football rivalry is growing between Savannah State and North Carolina Central, and the 10^th game in the series will be played Saturday.
 
SSU and NCCU have split the last four games, with the Tigers winning in 2010 (28-21) and 2011 (33-30), and the Eagles victorious in 2012 (45-33) and 2013 (24-10).
 
The teams will meet again at 2 p.m. at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C. The game will be radio-broadcast on WHCJ 90.3 FM.
 
Bragging rights also are on the line considering both teams joined the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2010. SSU became a first-time member, while NCCU rejoined after withdrawing in 1979. The Eagles are one of seven founding member institutions in the MEAC.
 
Perhaps the only thing missing from the rivalry between SSU (0-7 overall, 0-4 MEAC) and NCCU (3-4, 2-1 MEAC) is good, old-fashioned disdain for each other. SSU second-year head coach Earnest Wilson III believes it's an essential ingredient for a rivalry.
 
"I think it takes a little while because you've got to remember, I've heard this many times, a rivalry is when each school has bad blood for each other. That's No. 1," he said. "But No. 2, I won one, they won one. I won one, they won one. We beat them before and that was our first MEAC win but I don't think it's a rivalry until we show some consistency in beating them."
 
Having lost the last two meetings is what disturbs Wilson. He hopes to change that trend when the Tigers and Eagles face off in the Prince Hall Shriners Diabetes Classic.
 
"They're a good football team," Wilson said of NCCU, which was tied for first place in the MEAC with Bethune-Cookman until the Eagles lost, 21-20, at Morgan State last Saturday. "They've got some young guys playing. He (NCCU first-year head coach Jerry Mack) has an awful lot of young guys playing. They're a well-coached team. They've got, I think, an All-American safety on the team. Offensively, they have a quarterback that was the backup but he's taken the spot as the starter and he's won games. They've got some good players."
 
SSU is coming off a 48-20 loss to Bethune-Cookman last Saturday at T.A. Wright Stadium in Savannah. The Tigers beat NCCU, 33-30, the last time the teams met in Durham, N.C.

Savannah State Game Notes: Click Here
Savannah State Media Guide: Click Here

North Carolina Central
The Eagles' offense is No. 1 in the MEAC, averaging 379.3 yards of total offense per game. SSU ranks last in the MEAC in total defense, allowing 454.7 yards per game.
 
NCCU quarterback Malcolm Bell, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound redshirt sophomore from Richmond, Va., is 113-of-179 passing (63.1 percent) for 1,283 yards and eight touchdowns. He has been intercepted three times. Bell is the Eagles' second-leading rusher with 234 yards and a touchdown on 60 carries.
 
Running back Andre Clark, a 5-foot-10, 230-pound senior from Mauldin, S.C., leads NCCU with 453 yards rushing and nine touchdowns on 94 carries.

Wide receiver Adrian Wilkins, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound redshirt junior from Forest City, N.C., has made 39 catches for 477 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Quentin Atkinson, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior from Raleigh, N.C., has 29 receptions for 383 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, linebacker Jeremy Thompson, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound redshirt sophomore from Durham, N.C., has made a team-high 52 tackles. Free safety C.J. Moore, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior from Raleigh, N.C., has 51 tackles.
 
Cornerback Michael Jones, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound sophomore from Baltimore, Md., is second in the MEAC in passes defended with a team-high three interceptions and five pass breakups.

NCCU Athletics Website: Click Here
NCCU Media Guide: Click Here
NCCU Game Notes: Click Here