Morgan State Takes over in the Fourth, Beats NC A&T 17-7
Joseph Towler caught one pass all day. It went 68 yards for a touchdown with 14:23 left in the fourth quarter, and it turned a 7-3 deficit into a 10-7 lead. Morgan State never gave it back.
North Carolina A&T had scored first. Braxton Thomas ran in from 2 yards out with 3:08 left in the first quarter, and for a long stretch that looked like the whole offense. Alex Amaya's 25-yard field goal in the second quarter cut it to 7-3 at the half, and the third quarter was scoreless. Then Cameron Edge found Towler and the lead changed hands for the only time in the game.
Jordan Barnett put it away. He ran 12 times for 114 yards and scored from 22 yards out with 1:03 left, which made it 17-7. Morgan State ran only 21 times for 119 yards in total, so Barnett was nearly all of the ground game.
The stats are not what you would guess from the final. North Carolina A&T outgained Morgan State 328 yards to 286, threw for 240 and did not throw an interception, while Morgan State had one. The Aggies simply ran 35 times for 88 yards, had no sacks, and scored once. Morgan State had two sacks to none for A&T.
What decided it was one big play and one long run, and it is a little unfair to the Aggies that the long ones went the other way. Their 20-of-32 passing day gained 240 yards and went nowhere near the end zone after the first quarter.
Morgan State is 1-0, and North Carolina A&T is 0-1 after leading at the half. Fantasy-wise, Thomas was the top scorer on the losing side at 18 points, which tells you how quiet this one was.