It’s homecoming season, and while the N.C. A&T Aggies have one more week before hosting their homecoming, the Pirates of Hampton University will welcome in A&T this Saturday for an HBCU Showdown. 

For the Aggies, it has not been the ideal first season for head coach Vincent Brown and his coaching staff. The Aggies currently sit at 1-6 and are still searching for their first conference win of the season. 

A&T fell to Richmond University last week 33-10, and now turn their focus to Saturday, where they look to bounce back with a big win on the road.

Brown addressed the media on Monday ahead of this weekend’s game. 

“They [Hampton] do a lot of great things defensively to try and get after you, so it’ll be a great challenge for our guys — I know our guys are still focused, one game at a time, Brown said.” 

Although the Aggies have struggled to get the passing game going all year long, they still have a few bright spots to be excited for going into this week’s game.

Sophomore linebacker Avarion Cole is tied for first in interceptions in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) with three. 

 The Aggies also have a huge help in the return game from senior Taymon Cooke who currently leads the conference in return touchdowns with three. Cooke was also named CAA and FCS player of the week following his 91-yard kick-off return against Richmond.

The Pirates on the other hand currently sit at 3-4 following last week’s blowout loss to No. 7 ranked (FCS) Delaware, but they will look to break their current three-game skid against a struggling A&T team. 

Hampton is led by their dual-threat quarterback, Christopher Zellous, who has 15 combined passing and rushing touchdowns through the first seven games of the year. Zellous was unable to play in the Pirates last game and they surely missed his absence, only throwing for 73 passing yards as a team. 

The Pirates were also without their two leading rushers this year, Elijah Burris and Darran Butts, who each have over 500 rushing yards on the year.

When asked how they plan to stop the high powered Hampton offense, Aggies junior defensive end Henry Daniel credited Hampton’s offensive weapons but stood firm that they must be halted 

“They have big guys up front, they have good running backs and good quarterbacks,” Daniel said. “We have to stop the run.”

The Aggies have won three out of the last five meetings with the Pirates 

Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m. at Armstrong Stadium in Hampton, VA.