5 things to know about N.C. A&T

DURHAM – An FCS team is all that stands in the way of Duke and a 3-0 start.

If Coach Mike Elko feels that his Blue Devils are overlooking North Carolina A&T entering this weekend’s matchup, all he has to do is turn on tape of the start of last season’s game against the Aggies, when they marched 20 plays for a touchdown.

“Last year they took the opening drive and went 20 plays right down the field to take a 7-nothing lead on us,” Elko said. “So we’ve got a lot of respect for this team.”

Here are five things to know about N.C. A&T ahead of Saturday night’s game:

N.C. A&T gave up 28 points in the opener, a rivalry game loss to N.C. Central, and then lost 43-3 last weekend at North Dakota State.

Giving up 71 points in the first two games hides the fact that the Aggies are only allowing 271 yards of offense per game – N.C. Central had 269; NDSU had 273.

And within that is the fact that N.C. A&T has played two games with low possession totals.

N.C. Central had nine full possessions, scoring touchdowns on four of the first six and then punting three straight times. The Eagles’ first two drives were touchdown marches of 12 plays each, taking 8:14 and 7:13 off of the clock.

Of the six touchdowns NDSU scored, one was a fumble return and another was a one-play, 1-yard possession. Of the other four touchdowns, only one came on a drive of at least 55 yards.

So the Aggies haven’t given up many yards, but it’s not necessarily because their defense has been efficient.

How do you give up so many points without giving up so many yards?

One part of it is giving up a combined 17-for-27 third-down conversion clip.

N.C. Central converted 10 of 16 third downs and NDSU converted 7 of 11.

The Aggies have also allowed a touchdown every time an opponent has reached the red zone (inside the 20-yard line). N.C. Central and NDSU were both 4-for-4 on red zone trips.

Jamison Warren caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Zachary Yeager in the last couple of minutes in N.C. A&T’s opener against N.C. Central.

That’s the only touchdown of the season for the Aggies.

N.C. A&T added two second-quarter field goals in that opener at Bank of America Stadium, and then was held to three points last weekend at North Dakota State.

Inconsistency plagued N.C. A&T last season – after scoring 18 and 17 in the first two games of the season, the second being Duke’s 45-17 win, the Aggies scored 38.7 points per game in their next three games.

That average didn’t hold, though – N.C. A&T didn’t score more than 30 points in any of its last six games, including a shutout loss to Kennesaw State.

The Aggies have six transfers from Power 5 schools and six others from Group of 5 schools – both numbers that aren’t that surprising in the age of the transfer portal.

Karon Prunty is a 6-2, 180-pound cornerback who’s third on the team with 12 tackles so far this season. He’s a third-year player who originally went to Kansas.

Ger-Cari Caldwell came from South Carolina – he’s a 6-4, 195-pound wide receiver who’s had two catches for 16 yards so far this year.

N.C. A&T has 58 players with hometowns listed in the state – certainly not unexpected for an in-state public school, but worth noting nonetheless with Duke facing off against the Aggies.

“Any time we get a chance to play an in-state program, that creates a little bit more buzz and a little bit more atmosphere,” Elko said. “We’re certainly excited to host them this week.”

Duke has already posted through social media that there are no remaining seats for the game.