2018 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

The 2018 North Carolina Central Eagles football team represented North Carolina Central University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Granville Eastman in his first and only season as interim head coach, the Eagles compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–4, tying for sixth place in the MEAC. North Carolina Central played home games at O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

2018 North Carolina Central Eagles football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	5–6 (3–4 MEAC)
Head coach	Granville Eastman (interim, 1st season)
Offensive coordinator	T. C. Taylor (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Granville Eastman (5th season)
Home stadium	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 North Carolina A&T $		6	–	1					9	–	2
Bethune–Cookman		5	–	2					7	–	5
Florida A&M		5	–	2					6	–	5
South Carolina State		4	–	3					5	–	6
Howard		4	–	3					4	–	6
North Carolina Central		3	–	4					5	–	6
Morgan State		3	–	4					4	–	7
Norfolk State		2	–	5					4	–	7
Delaware State		2	–	5					3	–	8
Savannah State		1	–	6					2	–	8
$ – Conference champion Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

Award watch lists

Award	Player	Position	Year
Buck Buchanan Award[1]	Davanta Reynolds	S	SR

MEAC preseason poll

In a vote of the MEAC head coaches and sports information directors, the Eagles were picked to finish in third place.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team
1	North Carolina A&T
2	Howard
3	North Carolina Central
4	Bethune–Cookman
5	Florida A&M
6	Norfolk State
7	South Carolina State
8	Savannah State
9	Morgan State
10	Delaware State

Preseason All-MEAC Teams

The Eagles had nine players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.^[3] Defensive back Davanta Reynolds was selected as the preseason defensive player of the year.

Offense 1st team Isaiah Totten – RB Nick Leverett – OL 2nd team Josh McCoy – TE Andrew Dale – OL 3rd team Xavier McKoy – WR

Defense 1st team Kawuan Cox – DL Davanta Reynolds – DB 2nd team Randy Anyanwu – DL 3rd team De'Mario Evans – DB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	12:00 p.m.	vs. Prairie View A&M*	Georgia State Stadium Atlanta, GA (MEAC/SWAC Challenge)	ESPN2	L 24–40	10,274
September 8	6:00 p.m.	St. Augustine's*	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	NSN	W 51–14	6,142
September 22	3:30 p.m.	at Duke*	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ACCN Extra	L 13–55	30,477
September 29	4:00 p.m.	Florida A&M	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	L 14–55	8,451
October 6	2:00 p.m.	Howard	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	W 40–35	6,702
October 20	2:00 p.m.	at Norfolk State	William "Dick" Price Stadium Norfolk, VA		W 36–6	13,186
October 27	2:00 p.m.	at Delaware State	Alumni Stadium Dover, DE		L 13–28	1,466
November 3	2:00 p.m.	Edward Waters*	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	W 52–12	11,968
November 8	4:00 p.m.	at Bethune–Cookman	Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, FL	ESPNU	L 25–28 2OT	3,145
November 17	2:00 p.m.	No. 12 North Carolina A&T	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC (rivalry)	ESPN3	L 0–45	11,055
November 24[a]	12:30 pm	at South Carolina State	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC		W 21–17	3,996
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[4][5]

1. Game originally scheduled for September 15, but moved in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

Game summaries

vs Prairie View A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	20	3	3	14	40
Eagles	0	7	14	3	24

See also: 2018 Prairie View A&M Panthers football team and MEAC/SWAC Challenge

St. Augustine's

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	7	0	7	14
Eagles	14	9	14	14	51

At Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	6	0	0	13
Blue Devils	20	7	21	7	55

See also: 2018 Duke Blue Devils football team

Florida A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	24	17	7	7	55
Eagles	7	0	7	0	14

See also: 2018 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

Howard

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bison	5	14	7	9	35
Eagles	7	17	7	9	40

See also: 2018 Howard Bison football team

At Norfolk State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	0	6	6
Spartans	3	9	7	17	36

See also: 2018 Norfolk State Spartans football team

At Delaware State

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

See also: 2018 Delaware State Hornets football team

Edward Waters

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	0	0	12	12
Eagles	14	3	21	14	52

At Bethune–Cookman

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Eagles	6	10	0	6	3	25
Wildcats	2	6	7	7	6	28

See also: 2018 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team

North Carolina A&T

	1	2	3	4	Total
No.12 Aggies	14	10	14	7	45
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2018 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team and North Carolina A&T–North Carolina Central rivalry

At South Carolina State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	7	14	21
Bulldogs	0	10	0	7	17

See also: 2018 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team