The 102nd Aggie Eagle Classic will take place this Saturday in Durham, North Carolina. This will be the first time since 2018 that the HBCU football rivals will meet in Durham. North Carolina Central University (NCCU) vs. North Carolina A&T is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, rivalry in HBCU sports, especially football. The 2024 edition of the Classic is sure to be exciting this year, as this season will feature all new faces for both schools.
North Carolina Central is looking to extend its two-game winning streak against the Aggies, but this year they will have to do so with a new quarterback running the offense. Walker Harris is the new starting quarterback for the NCCU Eagles and currently has the team at a 1-2 record. Harris was injured during the Eagles’ game against UNC and was listed as day-to-day by NCCU HC Trei Oliver.
The Eagles’ two losses came at the hands of an FCS-ranked Elon team of the CAA Conference and the UNC Tar Heels of the ACC. The NCCU football team’s lone win came at the hands of Alabama State in the Orange Blossom Classic, the team tipped to win the 2024 SWAC in the preseason.
The Aggies will look to end their current losing streak against the Eagles at O’Kelly-Reddick Stadium. This will be the first meeting at O’Kelly-Reddick Stadium in Durham, NC since 2018, where the Aggies took a dominating 45-0 victory.
The Aggies and Eagles have both played ACC opponents in their 2024 non-conference schedule, with both schools taking promising lessons from their matchups with major FBS schools. North Carolina A&T traveled to Wake Forest for the season opener and showed what their offense can do. The Aggies entered Winston-Salem with a solid running game and moved the line of scrimmage forward, creating gaps for their talented backfield featuring Kenji Christian and Wesley Graves. North Carolina A&T’s defense also showed signs of being able to stop the run game while also creating gains in the air.
The Eagles faced another ACC opponent, the UNC Tar Heels, who traveled to Chapel Hill, NC and gave UNC everything they had for three quarters. The Eagles and their new starting quarterback Walker Harris came out early and proved they could move the ball through the air. They also moved the chains with the running game and scored a touchdown on the ground on the first possession of the game, keeping them close to the Tar Heels until the 6th minute of the 4th quarter. The Eagles had allowed just 17 points in a one-possession game when with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter they saw through NCCU’s offensive tactics and went full steam ahead, scoring 28 points in the 4th quarter.
Both schools have shown signs of improvement, which should make for a fantastic HBCU football matchup on Saturday, September 21st at 7 p.m. in the 102nd Aggie Eagle Classic.
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