Down but not out

Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations and for the Aggies of North Carolina A&T they certainly had a difficult task at hand this past Saturday as they took on the Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium.

The Aggies were optimistic after their season opener, as they defeated cross town opponent in Elon by a score of 24 to 21 which propelled them to the number 11 ranking in the FCS polls. Looking to build on that momentum the Aggies would be taking on a Blue Devil team that was destroyed by the Alabama Crimson Tide 42 to 3 in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta, GA. Making the trip down to Durham, coach Washington’s team would be looking to gain their fourth consecutive victory against an FBS opponent, as the last three came defeating East Carolina, UNC Charlotte, and Kent State.

It was a defensive first quarter for the Aggies as they were able to hold the Blue Devils to just seven points, and finish out the quarter by a score of 7 to 3 with Duke leading the way.

Looking for a spark the Aggies would find one in the second quarter as Redshirt-Senior Running Back Jah-Maine Martin broke loose to make an electrifying 65-yard run that would put the Aggies up 10 to 7 midway through the second quarter.

However after that it would be all Blue Devils for the remainder of the game. Duke would go on to outscore the Aggies 38 to 3. Which would include three touchdowns in the last 3:13 of the first half.

Even after the crushing defeat to the hands of Duke, the Aggies still have plenty to look forward to. They will be will be regaining a few contributors on both sides of the ball including Senior Wide Receiver Ron Hunt and All-American redshirt Junior Franklin “Mac” McCain III, who will be returning after a season ending knee injury a season ago. Also the last time the Aggies were defeated by an ACC opponent was in 2015 when they lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels, that season A&T would go on to win their first Celebration Bowl title.

The Aggies will look to rebound this week as they go back on the road to finish up their 2 game road stretch, as they head down to Charleston, SC to face the Charleston Southern Buccaneers (0-2).