Make no mistake about it — Saturday night’s 66-24 dismantling of archival North Carolina A&T by North Carolina Central was personal for Trei Oliver in an HBCU FCS matchup.
Saturday night, in the bowels of O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium, Oliver recalled his first game against NC A&T as a head coach in Greensboro back in 2019.
“I am definitely pleased to see this,” Oliver said. “My first year here was the worst loss in school history. So for us to come back a couple years later for the most points they’ve ever had scored on ‘em. You know, that kind of rights the ship a little.”
That was a 52-0 loss to North Carolina A&T to close out the 2019 season in what would be its last game as a MEAC member before the HBCU left for the Big South and landed in the CAA. But NCCU has now won three consecutive games over its rival, which fell to 1-3 on the season.
Oliver was asked why his team continued to throw the ball well into the fourth quarter as third-string quarterback Joshua Jones threw a touchdown pass to Aleni Mageo with less than two minutes to go.