After earning a share of the MEAC championship in 2014 with a 7-5 record, N.C. Central is poised to have another strong year with head coach Jerry Mack in his second season at the helm.
But if the Eagles want to start 2-0 in 2015, they will have to compete against the FBS on the road—where they were 2-4 a season ago.
N.C. Central will travel less than five miles across Durham to face off against Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium in the fourth Bull City Gridiron Classic Saturday at 6 p.m. The game marks the home opener for the Blue Devils in their newly-renovated stadium, but the Eagles will attempt to spoil the festivities for the home crowd.
“We have to be disciplined and we’ve got to make sure we are [executing] out there,” Mack said in a teleconference Tuesday. “[Duke is] a very talented football team. They did a good job against Tulane last week—a pretty convincing win. The biggest thing for us is we’ve got to make sure we’re disciplined and we’re playing our brand of football, which is high energy and effort as well.”
N.C. Central (1-0) has never won against Duke (1-0), and the last meeting between the two squads ended in a 45-0 shutout at Wallace Wade Stadium in the 2013 season opener. But even though only two years have passed, a lot has changed in Durham for both teams. Just one of the six Blue Devils that scored touchdowns in 2013—redshirt senior Braxton Deaver—will see the field for head coach David Cutcliffe Saturday, and Mack will be leading the Eagles for the first time into the tilt.
In last week’s season opener, N.C. Central put on a dominating performance against Division II opponent Saint Augustine's. The Eagles shut out the Falcons 72-0 within the friendly confines of O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium, taking complete control of the game by racking up 447 yards of total offense.
The running back corps was dominant in the victory. Six different backs ran the ball—with five players averaging more than 4.0 yards per carry—including redshirt freshman Dorrell McClain, who finished the game with 11.3 yards per carry.
The return of four starters on the offensive line is a huge part of the success on the ground for N.C. Central this season. First team All-MEAC selection Clevonne Davis, redshirt junior Carl Jones and 320-pound bruisers Zachary Giles and Sterlin Houston are set up to push opposing defenses off the line of scrimmage at will. As a unit, they will have to work together to push back a Duke defensive front that only allowed 25 rushing yards on 23 attempts against Tulane.
“Despite whoever they were playing, putting up 70-plus points on anybody is pretty impressive,” Duke linebacker Zavier Carmichael said. “They can put up points. They’ve got athletes on offensive side of the ball and we’ll have to shut them down quick…. [Their offensive linemen] are huge players and if they get a handle on you, they’re going to drive you 10 to 15 yards back.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles will not give in easily, either. Although Saint Augustine’s offense possessed the ball for 36:24 last week, N.C. Central’s defense only allowed 166 yards on 68 plays—an average of 2.4 yards per play.
The strength of the Eagles’ defense is in the secondary. Like the Blue Devils, N.C. Central returned four defensive backs in its season opener, including second-team All-MEAC redshirt senior C.J. Moore and FCS All-American junior Mike Jones. In 2014, Jones had a team-high five interceptions to contribute to the Eagles’ plus-12 turnover margin—the third best turnover margin in the FCS. The Baltimore native also shined against the Falcons last week as a punt returner, breaking the single-game school record with 145 yards.
“That’s a compliment to [Jones'] work ethic and what he has been able to do over the summer and also during camp,” Mack said. “He had a pretty good camp and he did some really good things in the return game on Saturday…. Mike had an exceptional day and we’re just hoping it’s a good start—a starting point—to how the rest of the season should go.”
Despite the momentum of the 72-point drubbing in its opener, N.C. Central will have to capitalize on every opportunity in the coming weeks as it moves from Division II to Division I competition. With Duke on the schedule this week and Florida International slated for Sept. 19, the Eagles will look to bear down against FBS competition and seek an upset or two on the road to kick-start their chase for another MEAC championship.
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