Nov. 4, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THE GAME: North Carolina Central Univ. "Eagles" vs. No. 3 Cal Poly "Mustangs"

THE KICKOFF: Saturday, November 8, 2008 - Kickoff at 4:05 p.m. (PST)

THE SITE: Alex G. Spanos Stadium (11,075 capacity) - San Luis Obispo, California

2008 RECORDS: North Carolina Central (2-6 overall); Cal Poly (6-1 overall, 2-0 Great West)

THE EVENT: NCCU travels to California for the first time in 20 years, when the Eagles played Cal State Sacramento in the second round of the NCAA playoffs on Nov. 27, 1988. This will be the last of NCCU's seven road games taking the Eagles to five different states, including Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, South Carolina and California. In contrast, just three seasons ago in 2005, NCCU played 12 football games and never left North Carolina. This will be the second game this season that NCCU plays a nationally-ranked opponent on the road. The Eagles played James Madison on Sept. 6 when the Dukes were ranked No. 8. JMU is now ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division I-FCS. Cal Poly is ranked No. 3. Saturday's contest will be Homecoming for the Mustangs.

THE SERIES: This will be the first meeting between Cal Poly and NCCU.

ABOUT CAL POLY: Cal Poly is located in San Luis Obispo, California, a little more than a three-hour drive northwest of Los Angeles, and boasts an enrollment of 19,222 students. The Mustangs are in their 90th season of football since 1915 and the 15th season of playing in the Football Championship Subdivision. In 2007, Cal Poly finished with a 7-4 record to earn a national ranking in the top 25 poll (No. 24 by Sports Network) for the fourth consecutive season. The Mustangs, members of the Great West Conference, are currently ranked No. 3 in both the FCS coaches and Sports Network media polls.

LAST WEEK FOR NCCU: (NCCU 34, Edward Waters 14 - Durham, N.C.) North Carolina Central University amassed a season-high 393 yards of total offense during a 34-14 Homecoming victory over Edward Waters College in front of a sellout crowd of 11,625 inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C. NCCU red-shirt freshman quarterback Michael Johnson and junior receiver Will Scott connected for three touchdowns, while the Eagles rushed for a season-best 212 ground yards to spark the offensive unit. The Eagle defense recorded four interceptions, including a 32-yard touchdown return by sophomore corner back David Ingram, along with a fumble recovery and four sacks to keep the visiting Tigers in check with 216 yards of total offense (61 rush, 155 pass). Johnson completed 9-of-21 pass attempts for 181 yards and three touchdowns with four interceptions. The first-year signal caller found Scott for scoring strikes of 32, 36 and 32 yards. Scott finished the contest with four catches for 119 yards and a career-best three trips to the end zone. The NCCU ground attack was topped by sophomore Tim Shankle with 95 yards on 12 carries, while sophomore Tony McCord added 73 yards on 14 attempts and sophomore Justin Campbell added 52 yards on seven rushes. NCCU senior lineman Eric Smalls topped the defensive squad with five tackles, including a sack, and his first career interception. Sophomore safety Jeffery Henderson recorded five takedowns (four solo) with a pass break-up. NCCU senior kicker Brandon Gilbert made four extra-point attempts to extend his streak to 101 straight, becoming the first Eagle to reach the century mark in consecutive PAT kicks.

LAST WEEK FOR CAL POLY: (Cal Poly 49, Idaho State 10 - San Luis Obispo, Calif.) Senior slotback Ryan Mole rushed for three touchdowns and senior slotback James Noble tied a school record with his 32nd career touchdown run as No. 3/ 4 Cal Poly defeated Idaho State 49-10 in a non-conference football game Saturday night in Alex G. Spanos Stadium. The game, played in a steady light rain in the first three quarters, was witnessed by 7,014 fans. Mole finished with 140 yards on just eight carries, scoring on runs of 4, 8 and 71 yards, as the Mustangs improved to 6-1 on the season with their fifth straight victory. In addition to Mole, sophomore fullback Jordan Yocum also cracked the 100-yard mark rushing, gaining a career-high 116 yards on eight carries and scoring twice on runs of 39 and 42 yards. Cal Poly broke a school Division I record with 459 rushing yards. Senior wide receiver Ramses Barden caught a touchdown pass for the 16th consecutive game, adding to his school record and moving to within one of Jerry Rice's NCAA FCS mark of 17 set while he played at Mississippi Valley State from 1981-84. Senior quarterback Jonathan Dally completed five of 12 passes for 88 yards and the one score to Barden. Cal Poly accumulated 557 yards in total offense, while Idaho State gained 56 rushing yards and 222 passing yards for 278 total yards.

THE COACHES: Mose Rison is in his second season as head coach at NCCU after finishing the 2007 campaign with a 6-4 record. Rison was announced as the school's 19th head football coach on Feb. 6, 2007, assuming the role of head coach for the first time in his 25-year coaching career. Rison served as assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the Eagles historic 11-1 campaign in 2006. He continues calling plays as the offensive coordinator and working with the quarterbacks. With Rison directing NCCU's offense, the 2006 Eagles scored 371 points (30.9 per game), the most in school history. Under Rison's tutelage, freshman quarterback Stadford Brown was named as the "SBN Sports Doug Williams Offensive Player of the Year," the 2006 CIAA Offensive Player of the Year and CIAA Rookie of the Year. A 1978 graduate of Central Michigan University, Rison spent the 2005 season as the Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Coordinator at Davidson College, where the Wildcats averaged more than 200 yards passing per game running a West Coast offensive system. He has also held positions at Livingstone College (Offensive Coordinator, 2004), the University of Arizona (Wide Receivers/Passing Coordinator, 2003), Stanford University (Wide Receivers, 1995-2000), Rutgers University (Wide Receivers/Tight Ends, 1991-94), the U.S. Naval Academy (Wide Receivers, 1988-90), and Central Michigan University (Wide Receivers, 1981-87). During his tenure at Stanford, Rison coached in three bowl games, including the 2000 Rose Bowl. Rison, the cousin of five-time NFL All-Pro receiver Andre Rison, spent two seasons (2001-02) in the National Football League coaching ranks as the wide receivers coach with the New York Jets, helping to develop Laveranues Coles and Santana Moss. He has also held NFL summer internships with the Baltimore Ravens (2000), Chicago Bears (1999), New York Jets (1993) and Detroit Lions (1988). A standout running back for Central Michigan from 1974-77, Rison helped the Chippewas to a 13-1 record and a Division II national title as a freshman. He rushed for 1,283 yards and scored 12 touchdowns as a senior to earn all-conference and team MVP honors. Rison and his wife, Marilynn, have two children, Dominique (22) and Tara (19). Dominique lives in Charlotte, N.C. and attends Johnson & Wales University. Tara is a sophomore at North Carolina Central University majoring in business.

Rich Ellerson is in his eighth season as head coach at Cal Poly. He currently holds a 54-32 record at Cal Poly and an overall college coaching record of 58-39 in nine seasons. A 1977 graduate of the University of Hawaii, Ellerson has led the Mustangs to two Great West Football Conference championships, an NCAA Division I-AA playoff berth and 40 wins in the last 58 games. Ellerson guided the Mustangs to five consecutive winning campaigns for the first time since Joe Harper coached Cal Poly to 13 above-.500 seasons in a row from 1968-80. In 2007, for the second year in a row, Cal Poly finished 7-4 and claimed third place in the Great West Football Conference. Cal Poly was first in the nation in total offense, fifth in rushing offense and sixth in scoring offense en route to a No. 24 final ranking by The Sports Network. The team scored 30 or more points seven times, broke or tied 18 all-time school records and has won seven or more games five years in a row, the longest such streak in school history.

EAGLES ON THE ROAD AGAIN: For the seventh and last time this season, NCCU will hit the road. NCCU's seven total road games this season will take the Eagles to five different states, including Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, South Carolina and California. The Cal Poly trip will be NCCU's first journey to California in 20 years, when the Eagles played Cal State Sacramento in the second round of the NCAA playoffs on Nov. 27, 1988. In contrast, just three seasons ago in 2005, NCCU played 12 football games and never left North Carolina.

McCONICO HEADING HOME TO CALIFORNIA: Senior linebacker Troy McConico is the only student-athlete on the NCCU football roster from California. A native of Richmond, Calif., graduate of Pinole Valley High School (Pinole, Calif.) and transfer from Contra Costa Community College (San Pablo, Calif.), McConico currently tops the Eagles with 49 tackles. As the oldest of nine brothers and sisters, McConico is sure to have plenty of family and friends at the game.

GILBERT INCREASES SCHOOL SCORING RECORD: NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert made fou extra-point kicks at Edward Waters on Saturday, Nov. 1 to increase his school scoring record to 261 career points.

GILBERT CONTINUES EXTRA POINT STREAK: NCCU senior place-kicker Brandon Gilbert has made 101 consecutive extra-point kicks, dating back to Sept. 5, 2005 versus North Carolina A&T when a celebration penalty forced a lengthy try. In fact, Gilbert has not missed an extra-point kick against a Division II opponent during his collegiate career. He is 144-of-146 in PAT kicks, with both misses coming against Division I-AA teams (at Delaware State on Sept. 11, 2004, vs. North Carolina A&T on Sept. 5, 2005).

CAL POLY IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: As a team, Cal Poly is ranked No. 1 in sacks (4.50), tackles for lost yardage (7.75), passing efficiency (211.07) and scoring offense (44.8), No. 4 in total offense (476.0), No. 7 in rushing offense (243.33), No. 5 in turnover margin (+1.33) and No. 37 in passing offense (232.67). Individually, Jonathan Dally is No. 1 in passing efficiency (211.07) and No. 11 in total offense (281.00), Ramses Barden is No. 1 in receiving yards per game (147.20), No. 12 in receptions per game (7.00) and No. 6 in scoring (10.00), and Sean Lawyer is No. 4 in sacks (1.00).

LISTEN TO NCCU FOOTBALL ON WRJD 1410 AM OR VIA THE INTERNET: Every game of the 2008 North Carolina Central University Eagles football season will be covered by WRJD 1410 AM. Play-by-play announcer Chris Hooks will call all of the live action, starting with the pre-game show a half-hour prior to kickoff. Fans may also listen to the broadcast via the internet by visiting the NCCU Athletics web site at www.NCCUEaglePride.com. Archived audio game broadcasts, interviews and highlights can be found at iTunes.com by searching for NCCU Athletics.