Despite Saturday’s 42 point loss to N.C. Central University (NCCU), the Aggies actually have the upper hand record wise in their matchup against the University of Maine on Sept. 27.

The Maine Bears enter this contest 0-4 after their 45-17 loss to Georgia Southern University. This gives the Aggies hope because they have had success that Maine hasn’t so far. The Aggies have a win in conference play.

Although they have a better conference record, N.C. A&T’s Head Coach, Shawn Gibbs, knows the Bears are still a threat and it’s up to the Aggies to do their job on both sides of the ball.

“Their record is 0-4, but it’s not indicative of who they are as a football team,” said Gibbs.

Gibbs also mentioned that the key to better performance is solid fundamentals, energy, and effort each day. Those improvements may not always show up on the scoreboard or stat sheet, but it certainly impacts the game.

“We gotta become fundamentally sound at every position, and then once we do that we’ll start seeing a whole lot of improvement,” said Gibbs.

The breakdown of fundamentals is the reason fans experienced the discouraging 62-20 loss against NCCU where the Eagles gained over 700 yards against the Aggie defense.

In the post game conference, Coach Gibbs emphasized the need for defense to fill in gaps each play.

“… I don’t care who the running back is, if it was me and we’re not in the proper gaps we’re gonna have trouble stopping them,” said Gibbs.

N.C. A&T’s defensive end, Kamari Blankumsee, understands the effort it takes to win because he spent two years at Fort Valley State University with a winning record each year.

Now with the Aggies, he leads the squad in solo tackles with 16 on the year so far and he knows he and his teammates can do better.

“I just feel like we leaving something left in the tank … we gotta practice better … this a opportunity a lot of people don’t have so I feel like we gotta take advantage of it,” said Blankumsee.

Players and coaches aren’t the only ones that believe the largest public HBCU football team is capable of more. Marcus Williams attended N.C. A&T during one of the Aggies most dominant periods (2015-2017) and he understands that winning in the CAA is tough, but it gives the Aggies more room to grow.

“I think we got a little bit of good pressure… to kind of push us to the limit of what we need to do. So I think that pressure should put us over the top.” said Williams.

That pressure builds considering the University of Maine hasn’t won a game yet. Many are expecting the Aggies to come out on top.

Micah Cannon, a student and host of the “Aggie Pride Show” on A&T’s radio station has high expectations for the Aggies despite the difficult season the Aggies have had.

“We should beat them … it’s important to reestablish some of that momentum and go into the next couple of weeks with just some positive energy,” said Cannon.

While fans expect more, so do the Aggies themselves. Coach Gibbs likes the Aggies chances regardless of the match up.

“We’re not gonna back down to anybody. We’re gonna put our foot forward and we’re gonna swing and fight as hard as we can for as long as we can,” said Gibbs.

The battle against Maine begins at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Alfond Sports Stadium in Orono, ME.