2016 DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL — GAME 9 
DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY “HORNETS” (0–8; 0-5 MEAC)                                                         VS.                                        
NO. CAROLINA CENTRAL  “EAGLES”  (6-2; 5-0 MEAC)
SAT., NOV. 5, 2016 (2:00 p.m.)
ALUMNI STADIUM (7,000) - DOVER, DEL.

THE GAME
Delaware State (0-8; 0-5 MEAC) begins a two-game home stand with a contest against MEAC co-leader North Carolina Central. The Hornets are coming off a 41-10 loss to Bethune-Cookman last weekend. DSU trailed  7-3 after a field goal by Wisdom Nzidee early in the second quarter, and was only down 13-3 at halftime. The Hornets were outscored 28-0 in the second half. Freshman Mike Waters, starting in place of injured Brycen Alleyne (foot), led Delaware State with 96 yards rushing on 27 carries in the game. Wide receiver Aris Scott (sr.) had his best game of the season, catching five passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Defensive back Brock Nichols, playing in his home state of Florida, led all players with 10 tackles (seven solo) in the contest. The Hornets are hoping that Alleyne is back in action this week. Entering this week's action, Alleyne is fourth in the MEAC in rushing yards at 65.3 per game (457 total). He's also third in the league in all-purpose yards (123.7 pg) and fourth in kickoff returns (20.7 avg.). In addition, Alleyne is tops on the Hornets with four touchdowns (three rushing) and third on the team with 21 receptions.  Junior Daniel Epperson has started the last six games at quarterback for the Hornets. For the season, Epperson has completed 79-of-151 passes (52.3%) for 866 yards and five touchdowns, but has been intercepted 11 times. He ranks 10^th in the MEAC in passing yards per game (108.5), entering this week. Scott has taken over the DSU lead with 24 receptions (282 yards), while Mason Rutherford has a team-high 355 receiving yards on 23 grabs. On defense, inside linebackers Malik Harris (jr.) and Brian Cavicante (fr.) lead the Hornets with 62 and 48 tackles, respectively. Harris is also the team leader with two sacks and is second on the squad with 7.5 tackles-for-loss. Outside linebacker Rashawn Barrett (sr.) has 47 tackles and tops the team with nine stops behind the line-of-scrimmage. 

NC Central (6-2; 5-0) enters this week in a tie with North Carolina A&T for first place in the MEAC with 5-0 records. The league co-leaders are scheduled to meet on Nov. 19 in Durham, N.C. NCCU has been idle since a 21-17 victory at Morgan State on Oct. 22. The Eagles trailed 17-14 before scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 3:59 left to play. NC Central's starting quarterback Malcolm Bell, a 2016 preseason All-MEAC First Team selection, left that game with a head injury in the second quarter. This season, Bell has connected on 114-of-190 passes (60%) for 1561 yards. He's tied for the MEAC lead with 12 touchdown passes, but is second in the league with 10 interceptions. Bell is second in the conference in passing yards per game (195.1) and pass efficiency (139.3 rating). NCCU's top rusher is Ramone Simpson, who is sixth in the MEAC with 422 yards and seventh in yards per game at 52.8. Lavontis Smith tops the Eagles with 28 receptions to tie for seventh in the MEAC, while Jalen Wilkes is third in the league with five touchdown catches and sixth in yards per game at 44.6. North Carolina Central is second in the MEAC in scoring at 28.5 points per game and is third in the league in total offense at 364.1 yards per contest. Defensively, the Eagles are allowing 325.1 yards per game to rank second in the MEAC. Linebacker Reggie Hunter is tops on the team and 15^th in the conference in tackles at 6.8 per game (54 total). NCCU defensive lineman Antonio Brown is third in the MEAC with 10.5 tackles for loss. He's also among the league leaders in forced and recovered fumbles.           

THE SERIES
This will be the 23rd meeting between the Hornets and Eagles.NC Central has won three straight and seven of the last eight meetings to open up a 16-6 series lead. NCCU won last year's contest 43-10 in Durham, N.C. The Hornets only trailed 17-10 at the break, but were outscored 26-0 in the second half in the 2015 contest. DSU also hurt its cause by committing four turnovers, surrendering a special teams touchdown and coming up empty on three of five chances in the red zone. The teams met six times from 1945 to 1950 as members of the Central Intercollegiate Association (CIAA), and nine times from 1971 to '79 during North
Carolina Central's first stint in the MEAC.