It’s been six years since North Carolina A&T has visited O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium on the campus of North Carolina Central.
That long spell ends Saturday night when the Aggies head to Durham to face an Eagles team coming off of an inspired performance at North Carolina the previous week.
NCCU head coach Trei Oliver says he is excited for the opportunity to play a rivalry game on campus.
“This is a big rivalry; it means a lot to a whole lot of people,” Oliver said during Monday’s MEAC coaches’ conference. “I’ve been on both sides of the fence, so as a coaching staff, we won’t make it any bigger than what it is, but at the same time, our guys will understand the importance of this game.”
The Eagles (1-2) trailed the Tar Heels 17-10 going into the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game before Carolina, an ACC favorite, scored 28 points to put the game out of reach. In that game, many young players saw time for Central, and Oliver believes that experience will be good for them.
“I’m not scared to play young guys. We have some talented freshmen, and all they needed was an opportunity,” he said. “We don’t want to play too many of them too early, but it’s good for those guys to get quality reps, especially against non-conference opponents.”
With an important non-conference opponent coming this weekend, Oliver is confident his team will rise to the occasion.
“As a competitor, this is what you want. The beauty of it is, this is our first time playing those guys in O’Kelly-Riddick since 2018,” he said of A&T. “We haven’t had an opportunity to get ahold of them down here in the Nest, so we’re looking forward to hosting them.”