2018 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

2018 North Carolina Central Eagles football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
2018 record	5–6 (3–4 MEAC)
Head coach	Granville Eastman (interim, 1st season)
Offensive coordinator	T. C. Taylor (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Granville Eastman (5th season)
Home stadium	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium (Capacity: 10,600)
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 North Carolina A&T $		6	–	1					9	–	2
Bethune–Cookman		5	–	2					7	–	5
Florida A&M		5	–	2					6	–	5
South Carolina State		4	–	3					5	–	6
Howard		4	–	3					4	–	6
North Carolina Central		3	–	4					5	–	6
Morgan State		3	–	4					4	–	7
Norfolk State		2	–	5					4	–	7
Delaware State		2	–	5					3	–	8
Savannah State		1	–	6					2	–	8
$ – Conference champion Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 North Carolina Central Eagles football team represented North Carolina Central University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year interim head coach Granville Eastman. The Eagles played their home games at O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They finished the season 5–6, 3–4 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for sixth place.

Previous season[]

The Eagles finished the 2017 season 7–4, 5–3 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place.

On December 8, head coach Jerry Mack resigned to become the offensive coordinator at Rice.^[1] He finished at North Carolina Central with a four-year record of 31–15.

Preseason[]

Award watch lists[]

Award	Player	Position	Year
Buck Buchanan Award[2]	Davanta Reynolds	S	SR

MEAC preseason poll[]

In a vote of the MEAC head coaches and sports information directors, the Eagles were picked to finish in third place.^[3]

Predicted finish	Team
1	North Carolina A&T
2	Howard
3	North Carolina Central
4	Bethune–Cookman
5	Florida A&M
6	Norfolk State
7	South Carolina State
8	Savannah State
9	Morgan State
10	Delaware State

Preseason All-MEAC Teams[]

The Eagles had nine players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.^[4] Defensive back Davanta Reynolds was selected as the preseason defensive player of the year.

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	12:00 p.m.	vs. Prairie View A&M*	Georgia State Stadium Atlanta, GA (MEAC/SWAC Challenge)	ESPN2	L 24–40	10,274
September 8	6:00 p.m.	Saint Augustine's*	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	NSN	W 51–14	6,142
September 22	3:30 p.m.	at Duke*	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ACCN Extra	L 13–55	30,477
September 29	4:00 p.m.	Florida A&M	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	L 14–55	8,451
October 6	2:00 p.m.	Howard	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	W 40–35	6,702
October 20	2:00 p.m.	at Norfolk State	William "Dick" Price Stadium Norfolk, VA		W 36–6	13,186
October 27	2:00 p.m.	at Delaware State	Alumni Stadium Dover, DE		L 13–28	1,466
November 3	2:00 p.m.	Edward Waters*	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	W 52–12	11,968
November 8	4:00 p.m.	at Bethune–Cookman	Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, FL	ESPNU	L 25–28 2OT	3,145
November 17	2:00 p.m.	No. 12 North Carolina A&T	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC (rivalry)	ESPN3	L 0–45	11,055
November 24[a]	12:30 pm	at South Carolina State	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC		W 21–17	3,996
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries[]

vs Prairie View A&M[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	20	3	3	14	40
Eagles	0	7	14	3	24

Saint Augustine's[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	7	0	7	14
Eagles	14	9	14	14	51

at Duke[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	6	0	0	13
Blue Devils	20	7	21	7	55

Florida A&M[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	24	17	7	7	55
Eagles	7	0	7	0	14

Howard[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bison	5	14	7	9	35
Eagles	7	17	7	9	40

at Norfolk State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	0	6	6
Spartans	3	9	7	17	36

at Delaware State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	0	6	13
Hornets	14	7	0	7	28

Edward Waters[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	0	0	12	12
Eagles	14	3	21	14	52

at Bethune–Cookman[]

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Eagles	6	10	0	6	3	25
Wildcats	2	6	7	7	6	28

North Carolina A&T[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No.12 Aggies	14	10	14	7	45
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0

at South Carolina State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	7	14	21
Bulldogs	0	10	0	7	17

References[]