Elon vs. NC A&T SU 8/31

[WestCoastAggie]

This will be a good one. I figured I start the poll for this game.

[SonuvaHenx2]

Definitely one to watch - good test for both squads

[DEX]

We've won the last 3 vs Elon but unfortunately I don't see this one going our way. In fact it could get ugly. Lost a lot of starters to graduation and the injury bug has not been kind. Although we have lots of talent it's conceivable we could roll out 9 new starters on defense. We could probably still beat most MEAC opponents but that's a tall order vs a top 25 team such as Elon. Hopefully the guys will prove me wrong.

[hoidOfYolen]

This shouldn't be too close of a game. A&T is certainly a formidable opponent, but they lost a lot at key positions from last year, and Elon is going to get back to our Top 10 ways within a couple weeks of the start of the season, I can just feel it. I'm thinking it will be around 28-17

[bigchocolate]

Aggies win a hard fought home opener. The out come of this game will be determined by the performance of the young OL..These guys were not starters last year but got significant cycles throughout last season.

[WestCoastAggie]

Who ever runs the ball, stops the run and wins the field position battle will win the game. I like our punter and our offensive line and think we'll be able to run the ball. However, we will be really green on defense. That will be mitigated if Mac McCain can play, which for now is looking Questionable. Our inside LBs are going to be really green and better do all they can to stop the run.

Names to look out for on defense:
Antoine Wilder - Sam/Rover (South Carolina Transfer)
Joseph Stuckey - SS/Rover
Najee Reems - FS
Jermaine McDaniel - DE (App State Transfer)
Tre Smalls - DE
Jabari Butler - DB (Penn State Transfer)

Name(s) to know on offense:
Kylil Carter - QB
Korey Banks - RB/WR
Jah'Maine Martin - RB

[WestCoastAggie]

2019 Bluedeathvalley.com Football Preview – Part 1

by Craig R. Turner
bluedeathvalley.com

All the preseason hoopla and hype over the dozens of media polls and paper analysis is now only about a week away from becoming either a highly anticipated reality or sobering wake-up call for every college football team in America.

North Carolina A&T is no exception. After opening the 2018 season with upset road victories over FCS powerhouse Jacksonville State and in-state FBS East Carolina, the Aggies hit an up and down patch in the middle of the season with home losses to bottom dweller Morgan State and a up and coming FAMU squad.

The Aggies appeared to be bound for a second place finish and a at-large berth to the FCS playoffs until the Rattlers experienced a monumental late season collapse losing its final three games which opened the door for A&T to win its second straight outright MEAC title.

That was only a prelude to the Aggies who once again claimed their third HBCU National championship in four years with a dramatic 24-22 win over Alcorn in the Air Force Celebration Bowl. The Aggies lost 26 seniors from a year ago who had been largely instrumental in compiling A&T's remarkable 41-7 record over the last four years. And while losing 7 very critical senior all conference performers from last year, the Aggies are anything but void of talent.

Head Coach Sam Washington will have just 6 starters back on offense and a equally small number on defense. There will be a lot of new faces being mixed in with the returning veterans coming out of fall camp so the Aggies will be somewhat of a mystery heading into 2019 - new quarterback, new running back, new linebackers, and new people up front on both sides of the ball.

With all these new names and numbers, the question is can A&T complete the improbable hat trick of winning both the MEAC and the Celebration Bowl for a third consecutive year? There's major work to be done but the program in recent years has shown it has the resiliency to replace major components year in and year out while still dominating HBCU football. This season should indeed put that supposition to the test. I'm just anxious as all you to see for myself. So let's get to it then.

READ MORE: http://bluedeathvalley.proboards.com/thread/14965/2019-bluedeathvalley-com-football-preview

[Redbird 4th & short]

Too much rebuilding needed for NC A&T in an opener against a tough program from a tough conference. Not sure playing at home will help much in this situation .. Elon beat JMU on road last year when JMU was playing pretty welll .... Elon wins by 2 or 3 TDs.

[Professor]

I have A&T by 7. I think the Aggies will rise to the occasion. They have been doubted many times before and came out on top

[KPSUL]

Elon has a lot of talented players returning; but a new head coach and several other new position coaches creates some question marks. I'm picking Elon in a close game. This is an almost must win for Elon. They have a challenging OOC with this one, The Citadel and P5 Wake Forest. They may also have the toughest conference schedule in the CAA.

[whoanellie]

some really great points by ALL, the local NBC news affiliate WXII has already started to hype the game. Coach Washington spoke about the local rivalry. fwiw, I will be there. If the Elon D plays well it will be a great sign for us.

[phoenix3]

Elon is reasonably solid in most areas. The two areas that are the greatest unknowns are Linebackers and the O-Line. We lost two all conference level linebackers from last year, but appear to have promising replacements with playing time from last year. We lost the most experienced corps on the team in the OL, two of which are in pro camps right now. So, our OL will be very young as a group, with only one senior starter.

A&T lost a lot, but offensively, Carter and Martin could give Elon fits. Two running threats on the field at one time could be A&T's key to the win.

That being said, I still see an Elon win in a relatively low scoring game. Ie., less than 40 points total.

[WestCoastAggie]

https://twitter.com/bhallwfmy/status/1166459464406450177

It seems both teams will be running nickel packages to start the game. I also wouldn't take these depth charts as bibles either.xcoffeex

[unknown3]

Hmm

[AggieManiac704]

going to be a close one

[WestCoastAggie]

Noel Ruiz hits a 52 yarder to win the game.

[ElCid]

Epic finish hitting it after missing 2 earlier.

[DEX]

Epic finish hitting it after missing 2 earlier.


52 yarder as the clock runs out! We need to renew this series.

[longtimemocfan]

Good win NC A&T watched a good bit of this game. A&T has a lot of talent considering what they lost from last year.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[caribbeanhen]

great game to watch, seems the best team won....

[kdinva]

fine win for A&T!

[phoenix3]

Great game!! Didn't go the way I wanted but a very enjoyable experience otherwise. Awesome game day atmosphere. Band phenomenal, as usual. Lots of hard hits, circus catches and great drama! Also, a very clean game sportsmanship wise. I really love going to A&T.

Elon's O line showed their inexperience. Cheek was on the run half of our offensive plays. Our D seemed apprehensive at the start but really seemed to stay with it and learn, never gave up. It'll take us a game or two to get things in order, but I think (hope) we'll be fine by the start of conference play.

[Redbird 4th & short]

congrats to NC A&T .. I had picked Elon to win this game. Glad Im not the gambling type !!

[Derby City Duke]

Good win Aggies!

[WestCoastAggie]

Great game!! Didn't go the way I wanted but a very enjoyable experience otherwise. Awesome game day atmosphere. Band phenomenal, as usual. Lots of hard hits, circus catches and great drama! Also, a very clean game sportsmanship wise. I really love going to A&T.

Elon's O line showed their inexperience. Cheek was on the run half of our offensive plays. Our D seemed apprehensive at the start but really seemed to stay with it and learn, never gave up. It'll take us a game or two to get things in order, but I think (hope) we'll be fine by the start of conference play.

Thanks for pointing that out phoenix3! Coach Washington has been completely honest about wanting to eradicate the dead ball penalties this season. For the most part we did, except for your score in the 2nd half. #8 Stuckey had some 15-yard penalties that he will have to atone for this week. Your team plays disciplined ball and Coach knew we couldn't make mistakes like that and win.

We also are going to work on minimizing those special team KO Return and Punt Return penalties. We knew the new blindside block penalties would be an issue but we still need to adjust, which we did begin to do at the end of the game.

[Professor]

It was a great game and atmosphere. This series has a lot of potential. 16500 showed up

[WestCoastAggie]

https://fbschedules.com/north-carolina-at-elon-schedule-football-series-for-2023-2024/

[Professor]

See you in 2023 Elon