2021 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

American college football season

2021 North Carolina Central Eagles football

Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	6–5 (4–1 MEAC)
Head coach	Trei Oliver (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Leone (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Juan Navarro (1st season)
Home stadium	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium
Seasons ← 2019 2022 →

2021 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
South Carolina State $	5	–	0	7	–	5
North Carolina Central	4	–	1	6	–	5
Delaware State	2	–	3	5	–	6
Norfolk State	2	–	3	6	–	5
Howard	1	–	4	3	–	8
Morgan State	1	–	4	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion

The 2021 North Carolina Central Eagles football team represented North Carolina Central University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Trei Oliver, the Eagles compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 4–1, placing second in the MEAC. North Carolina Central played home games at O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 28	7:00 p.m.	Alcorn State*	Center Parc Stadium Atlanta, GA (MEAC/SWAC Challenge, College GameDay)	ESPN	W 23–14	15,215
September 11	6:30 p.m.	at Marshall*	Joan C. Edwards Stadium Huntington, WV	ESPN+	L 10–44	24,521
September 18	6:00 p.m.	Winston-Salem State*	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN+	W 20–13	10,918
September 25	6:00 p.m.	at North Carolina A&T*	Truist Stadium Greensboro, NC	ESPN+	L 14–37	15,009
October 2	4:00 p.m.	at Mississippi Valley State*	Rice–Totten Stadium Itta Bena, MS	YouTube	L 16–17	3,000
October 9	2:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech*	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN+	L 16–27	2,810
October 23	1:00 p.m.	at Morgan State	Hughes Stadium Baltimore, MD	ESPN+	W 28–17	2,213
October 30	2:00 p.m.	South Carolina State	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN+	L 24–27	6,828
November 6	2:00 p.m.	Norfolk State	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	W 38–36 ^2OT	10,027
November 13	1:00 p.m.	at Howard	William H. Greene Stadium Washington, DC	ESPN+	W 45–27	4,597
November 20	2:00 p.m.	Delaware State	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN+	W 34–28	4,525
*Non-conference game All times are in Eastern time

^[1]^[2]

Game summaries

Vs. Alcorn State

Alcorn State vs. North Carolina Central

	1	2	3	4	Total
Braves	7	0	7	0	14
• Eagles	0	7	6	10	23

Date: August 28, 2021
Location: Center Parc Stadium
Atlanta, GA
Game start: 6:07 p.m. CDT
Elapsed time: 3 hours and 27 minutes
Game attendance: 15,215
Game weather: • Weather: TBD • Wind: TBD
Referee: Bobby Wright
TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones (play–by–play), Jay Walker (analyst), Robert Griffin III (analyst), Quint Kessenich (sideline reporter)

Scoring summary

1	10:25	ALCN	Juan Anthony Jr. 20-yard pass from Felix Harper (Cristofer Thompson kick) (10 plays, 65 yards, 4:35)	ALCN 7–0

2	00:23	NCCU	Davius Richard 6-yard rush (Adrian Olivo kick) (8 plays, 57 yards, 2:42)	TIE 7–7

3	10:25	NCCU	Davius Richard 1-yard rush (Adrian Olivo PAT blocked) (9 plays, 75 yards, 4:35)	NCCU 13–7
3	02:19	ALCN	Niko Duffey 4-yard pass from Felix Harper (Cristofer Thompson kick) (6 plays, 28 yards, 2:38)	ALCN 14–13

4	13:39	NCCU	Adrian Olivo 28-yard field goal (8 plays, 64 yards, 3:40)	NCCU 16–14
4	11:21	NCCU	Brandon Codrington 77-yard punt return (Adrian Olivo kick) (5 plays, 8 yards, 2:18)	NCCU 23–14

Pregame line	Over/under
ALCN –15.5	53

Statistics	Alcorn State	North Carolina Central
First downs	18	19
Total yards	325	391
Rushing yards	171	207
Passing yards	154	184
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	28:20	31:25

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Alcorn State	Passing	Felix Harper	17/27, 154 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Stadford Anderson	11 carries, 128 yards
	Receiving	Juan Anthony Jr.	5 receptions, 66 yards, 1 TD
North Carolina Central	Passing	Davius Richard	16/26, 184 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jordan Freeman	9 carries, 72 yards
	Receiving	Ryan McDaniel	6 receptions, 72 yards

At Marshall

Game Two – North Carolina Central Eagles (1–0) at Marshall Thundering Herd (1–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	0	3	10
Thundering Herd	6	24	7	7	44

at Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, West Virginia

Date: Saturday, September 11, 2021
Game time: 6:30 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 81 °F (27 °C) • Wind: None
Game attendance: 24,521
Referee: Patrick Foy
TV announcers (ESPN+): Jake Griffith (play-by-play), Dave Wilson (analyst)
Pregame line: Marshall –43.5

Game information
First quarter (9:19) MRSH – Grant Wells 10 yard rush, Grant Wells pass failed (Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards, 2:08; Marshall 6–0) Second quarter (14:05) MRSH – Talik Keaton 14 yard pass from Grant Wells, Andrew Sanders kick (Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 4:14; Marshall 13–0) (8:57) MRSH – Rasheen Ali 3 yard pass from Grant Wells, Andrew Sanders kick (Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 3:46; Marshall 20–0) (3:23) NCCU – Mookie Collier 4 yard pass from Davius Richard, Adrian Olivio kick (Drive: 3 plays, 10 yards, 1:36; Marshall 20–7) (2:04) MRSH – Talik Keaton 46 yard pass from Grant Wells, Andrew Sanders kick (Drive: 5 plays, 62 yards, 1:19; Marshall 27–7) (0:25) MRSH – Andrew Sanders 27 yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards, 0:51; Marshall 30–7) Third quarter (4:40) MRSH – Knowledge McDaniel 3 yard rush, Andrew Sanders kick (Drive: 10 plays, 90 yards, 3:02; Marshall 37–7) Fourth quarter (7:28) MRSH – Ethan Payne 8 yard rush, Shane Ciucci kick (Drive: 13 plays, 99 yards, 4:57; Marshall 44–7) (0:53) NCCU – Adrian Olivio 21 yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 71 yards, 6:35; Marshall 44–10)

Game information

First quarter

(9:19) MRSH – Grant Wells 10 yard rush, Grant Wells pass failed (Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards, 2:08; Marshall 6–0)

Second quarter

(14:05) MRSH – Talik Keaton 14 yard pass from Grant Wells, Andrew Sanders kick (Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 4:14; Marshall 13–0)
(8:57) MRSH – Rasheen Ali 3 yard pass from Grant Wells, Andrew Sanders kick (Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 3:46; Marshall 20–0)
(3:23) NCCU – Mookie Collier 4 yard pass from Davius Richard, Adrian Olivio kick (Drive: 3 plays, 10 yards, 1:36; Marshall 20–7)
(2:04) MRSH – Talik Keaton 46 yard pass from Grant Wells, Andrew Sanders kick (Drive: 5 plays, 62 yards, 1:19; Marshall 27–7)
(0:25) MRSH – Andrew Sanders 27 yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards, 0:51; Marshall 30–7)

Third quarter

(4:40) MRSH – Knowledge McDaniel 3 yard rush, Andrew Sanders kick (Drive: 10 plays, 90 yards, 3:02; Marshall 37–7)

Fourth quarter

(7:28) MRSH – Ethan Payne 8 yard rush, Shane Ciucci kick (Drive: 13 plays, 99 yards, 4:57; Marshall 44–7)
(0:53) NCCU – Adrian Olivio 21 yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 71 yards, 6:35; Marshall 44–10)

Statistics	NCCU	MRSH
First downs	9	38
Plays–yards	60–177	100–700
Rushes–yards	28–71	42–237
Passing yards	106	463
Passing: comp–att–int	14–32–0	42–58–2
Time of possession	27:24	32:36

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
NC Central	Passing	Davius Richard	14/32, 106 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Jamal Currie-Elliott	9 carries, 34 yards
	Receiving	Tyler Barnes	3 receptions, 40 yards
Marshall	Passing	Grant Wells	34/47, 347 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Knowledge McDaniel	7 carries, 67 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jayden Harrison	4 receptions, 81 yards

References

^ "North Carolina Central Eagles Schedule 2021". ESPN. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
^ "2021 Football Schedule". North Carolina Central University. Retrieved November 27, 2023.

v t e North Carolina Central Eagles football
Venues	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium (1975–present)
Bowls & rivalries	North Carolina A&T
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
National championship seasons in bold