Following a thrilling victory over Hampton University, North Carolina A&T is entering Saturday's Aggie-Eagle Classic with new momentum. Despite being undermanned at quarterback because of their matchup against UCF, where the Aggies lost three quarterbacks, North Carolina A&T was able to notch 33 points and a resounding victory that very well could be season-defining. Now, the Aggies look to regain control of their matchup against North Carolina Central, a matchup that once defined the Celebration Bowl representative in the MEAC for several years.

New head coach Shawn Gibbs is the man most responsible for North Carolina A&T's new energy and prospects headed into the matchup. He spoke confidently about the importance of the game to the Aggies' season in media availability earlier this week.

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“ I mean, I don't know if you need any extra motivation to play North Carolina Central, that's our rival,” he said. “That's the game. But they did put 66 on us and they told us to take it back to Greensboro. So, that's what we did. Now we back in Greensboro, so we waiting.”

He reemphasized the matchup's importance, saying, “No, I want us to be…ti whatever. Like it's that type of game, you know? 'cause everybody says that, but [do] you think Ohio State or Michigan is telling either one of those teams don't put too much in this game. No, it's the game. And so we're playing North Carolina Central and it's the game. So we want to be hyped, we gonna be crunk, we gonna be ready to go. That's how you supposed to be in a game like this.”

North Carolina A&T dominated the matchup during their dynasty run in the 2010s, winning four straight matchups from 2017 to 2021. But North Carolina Central has regained control of the matchup, winning the last three and looking for its fourth victory on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on FloSports.