The UCF Knights (1-0) are back home for their second game of the year, this time against an FCS opponent in North Carolina A&T on Saturday at the Bounce House. Let’s get to know the Aggies:
Gameday Info
- Kickoff: Saturday, September 6th, 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Acrisure Bounce House
- TV: ESPN+ — Peter Sousa (PxP) and Todd Doxson (Analyst)
- Spread: None at the moment
- Weather: 79°, cloudy and humid at kickoff. Rain earlier in the day, gone by kickoff. — Accuweather
- Series: First meeting
About the Aggies
Last Week: Lost to Tennessee State, 24-21
The good news for the Aggies is they gave up just 252 total yards on the day. The bad news is 193 of it came on TSU’s three touchdown plays: an 82-yard pass and TD runs of 60 and 41. A&T gave up just 59 yards on the 48 other plays.
The Aggies had a chance to send it to overtime,
but Andrew Brown’s 38-yard game-tying field goal attempt was blocked on the final play.
2024: 1-11, 0-8 in the Coastal Athletic Association. Their only win came against Division II Winston-Salem State.
Hard times have befallen North Carolina A&T, a program that has won eight black college national titles, including four in five years from 2015-2019.
First-year Head coach Shawn Gibbs inherits a program that won just two of its last 23 games since joining the CAA in 2023, after two modestly successful seasons in the Big South. He was an assistant at A&T under Rod Broadway and Sam Washington during the program’s run of success in the late 2010s.
Key Players
RB Wesley Graves
- 5-9, 225 lb. Redshirt Senior from Danville, Virginia
- Last week: 69 yards on 14 carries with a 40-yard TD
A veteran who has been at A&T since 2020, Graves patiently waited his turn and led the Aggies in rushing last week with 69 yards (albeit 40 of them were on the opening TD of the game). This is a run-heavy offense, so expect to see him, Jailen Hicks and Shimique Blizzard a lot on Saturday.
LB Josh Iseah
- 6-2, 238 Junior from Charlotte, North Carolina
- Last week: 10 tackles, 3 TFLs, one interception
Iseah stuck around at A&T and broke out last week in the opener with a 10-tackle performance. He hasn’t missed a game in his time with the Aggies but is getting more playing time now. The defense as a unit allowed just 252 total yards in a loss to Tennessee State last week.
The More You Know…
- UCF has a bye next week before playing North Carolina on the 20th
- A&T’s previous head coach was former New England Patriots LB and 1991 All-Pro selection Vincent Brown. He went just 2-23.
- From 2014-2019, A&T went 59-13 with five MEAC titles.
- Last season, North Carolina A&T managed to score 17 or fewer points in eight of their 12 games. They were 118th in FCS in scoring offense at 15.6 points per game.
- North Carolina A&T has a couple of Central Florida kids on the roster:
- TE Anthony Rucker went to Jones High School
- DB Jonathan Kimbrough-Campbell went to Mainland in Daytona
- North Carolina A&T is the largest HBCU by enrollment in the nation. It is also the only Division I HBCU to not be in either the MEAC or SWAC.
