2017 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

The 2017 North Carolina Central Eagles football team represented North Carolina Central University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Jerry Mack. The Eagles played their home games at O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They finished the season 7–4, 5–3 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place.

2017 North Carolina Central Eagles football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
2017 record	7–4 (5–3 MEAC)
Head coach	Jerry Mack (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	T. C. Taylor (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Granville Eastman (4th season)
Home stadium	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium (Capacity: 10,600)

2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 7 North Carolina A&T $		8	–	0					12	–	0
Howard		6	–	2					7	–	4
Bethune–Cookman		6	–	2					7	–	4
North Carolina Central		5	–	3					7	–	4
Hampton		5	–	3					6	–	5
Norfolk State		4	–	4					4	–	7
Savannah State *		3	–	5					3	–	8
South Carolina State		2	–	6					3	–	7
Florida A&M *		2	–	6					3	–	8
Delaware State		2	–	6					2	–	9
Morgan State *		1	–	7					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion * Florida A&M, Morgan State and Savannah State ineligible for postseason due to APR violations Rankings from STATS Poll

On December 8, head coach Jerry Mack resigned to become the offensive coordinator at Rice.[1] He finished at North Carolina Central with a four-year record of 31–15.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	at Duke*		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ACCN Extra	L 7–60	30,477
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Shaw*		O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	NSN	W 41–0	9,141
September 21	7:30 p.m.	South Carolina State		O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPNU	W 33–28	9,012
September 28	7:30 p.m.	at Florida A&M		Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPNU	W 21–14	18,488
October 7	1:00 p.m.	at Howard		William H. Greene Stadium Washington, D.C.	WHBC	W 13–7	1,532
October 14	2:00 p.m.	Gardner–Webb*	No. 25	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	NSN	W 24–17	4,010
October 21	2:00 p.m.	Norfolk State	No. 25	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	NSN	L 21–28	7,431
October 28	2:00 p.m.	Delaware State		O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	NSN	W 42–14	14,117
November 4	1:00 p.m.	at Hampton		Armstrong Stadium Hampton, VA		W 14–6	5,321
November 11	2:00 p.m.	Bethune–Cookman		O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	NSN	L 10–13	5,769
November 18	1:00 p.m.	at No. 9 North Carolina A&T		Aggie Stadium Greensboro, NC (Rivalry)		L 10–24	21,500
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

at Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	0	0	7
Blue Devils	21	26	6	7	60

Shaw

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	0	0
Eagles	3	17	0	21	41

South Carolina State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	14	7	0	28
Eagles	7	7	6	13	33

at Florida A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	14	0	0	7	21
Rattlers	0	14	0	0	14

at Howard

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	6	7	0	13
Bison	7	0	0	0	7

Gardner–Webb

	1	2	3	4	Total
Runnin' Bulldogs	0	3	0	14	17
No. 25 Eagles	3	7	7	7	24

Norfolk State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	7	14	0	7	28
No. 25 Eagles	0	0	7	14	21

Delaware State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	0	7	7	0	14
Eagles	14	14	7	7	42

at Hampton

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	14	0	0	14
Pirates	6	0	0	0	6

Bethune–Cookman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	7	6	13
Eagles	0	0	0	10	10

at North Carolina A&T

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	3	7	0	10
Aggies	7	14	3	0	24

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	25	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	24	RV	RV	NR	RV	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR

References

1. http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/article188884189.html