The 102nd Aggie Eagle Classic is going down this Saturday in Durham, North Carolina. This is the first time the HBCU football rivals have matched up in Durham since 2018. North Carolina Central University (NCCU) versus North Carolina A&T is one of, if not the biggest rivalry in HBCU Sports, especially in football. The 2024 edition of the Classic is sure to be exciting this year with all of the new faces for both schools this season.
North Carolina Central is looking to continue its two-game win streak over the Aggies, but this year they’ll have to do it with a new quarterback in the command of the offense. Walker Harris is the new starting quarterback for the NCCU Eagles and has the team sitting currently at a 1-2 record. Harris was injured during the Eagles matchup against UNC and has been listed as day-to-day by NCCU HC Trei Oliver.
The Eagles’ two losses have come from an FCS-ranked Elon team of the CAA Conference and the UNC Tar Heels of the ACC. NCCU football’s only win came against Alabama State in the Orange Blossom Classic, the team picked in the preseason to win the SWAC in 2024.
The Aggies are looking to come into O’Kelly-Reddick Stadium and end its current losing streak to the Eagles. This is the first matchup at O’Kelly-Reddick stadium in Durham, NC since 2018, where the Aggies put up a dominating 45-0 win.
The Aggies and Eagles have both faced ACC opponents in their 2024 nonconference schedule, with both schools having promising takeaways from their matchups with big-time FBS schools. North Carolina A&T took a trip to Wake Forest for its season opener and showed glimpses of what their offense can be. The Aggies showed up to Winston-Salem with a solid run game and moved the line of scrimmage up front, creating holes for their talented backfield of Kenji Christian and Wesley Graves. The North Carolina A&T defense also showed signs of being able to stop the run game while making plays on the ball in the air as well.
The Eagles took on a different ACC opponent, the UNC Tar Heels, taking a trip to Chapel Hill, NC, and giving UNC all it could handle 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. While also moving the chains with the run game and scoring a touchdown on the ground on the first possession of the game, playing the Tar Heels close until the 6-minute mark in the 4th quarter. The Eagles had only allowed 17 points in a one-possession game with 3 minutes left in the 3rd when UNC was able to figure out the NCCU schemes on offense and started firing under all cylinders, scoring 28 points in the fourth quarter.
Both schools have shown signs of improvement that should make for an amazing HBCU football matchup on Saturday, Sept. 21 in the 102nd Aggie Eagle Classic at 7 pm.