BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell returns to action after an idle week, hosting North Carolina Central on Saturday, October 1. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. at Barker-Lane Stadium.

The game was originally scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff, but was adjusted to avoid the threat of severe weather due to Hurricane Ian.

WATCH / FOLLOW
Watch the Camels take on NCCU on ESPN+, and listen online at GoCamels.com or through The Varsity Network app. Live stats are also available at GoCamels.com, and follow on Twitter @GoCamelsFB for live updates.

LAST TIME OUT
Holton Ahlers tossed three touchdown passes to lead East Carolina to a 49-10 win over Campbell at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Playing in front of the largest crowd in Campbell football history (43,036), the Fighting Camels ran up 403 yards of total offense, the second most by a CU team against an FBS program all-time (422 at Old Dominion, 11/16/2013).

Ahlers completed 17-of-20 passes for 263 yards, while Keaton Mitchell ran for 185 yards on 13 carries – an average of 14.2 yards per attempt. Rahjai Harris added two TDs on the ground for ECU, which finished with 572 yards of total offense and scored 42 unanswered points.

Hajj-Malik Williams completed 23-of-38 passes for a career-high 300 yards and one score for the Camels, who led 10-7 after the first quarter.  Julian Hill led CU with 5 receptions for 67 yards, while Ezeriah Anderson added four grabs for 67 yards and Jalen Kelsey 3 catches for 79 yards and one score.  NaQuari Rogers led the Camels with 35 yards on 13 carries.

LEADING THE CAMELS
Williams is completing nearly 59 percent of his passes for 220.3 yards per game with three touchdowns. The QB has combined with running back Bryant Barr for 287 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while tight end Julian Hill has hauled in 14 catches for 207 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Linebacker CJ Tillman owns a team-high 16 tackles with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while Gabe Holmes, Jonathan Jones and Aaron Maddox have each collected 15 stops.

SCOUTING NCCU
NC Central is 4-0 on the season coming off a 59-14 victory over Virginia-Lynchburg last weekend. The Eagles also own victories over preseason Big South favorite North Carolina A&T, 28-13, and then-No. 25 New Hampshire, 45-27, on the road.  

Davius Richard leads the Eagles with 188.8 passing yards per game and seven touchdowns, also topping NCCU's rushing attack with 249 total yards and five touchdowns. Devin Smith, one of seven Eagles with receiving touchdowns so far this season, has picked up 219 yards on 16 catches.

Max U'Ren paces the NCCU defense with 20 tackles, including 2.5 stops for loss with a forced fumble. Khalil Baker has also posted four interceptions, along with 14 tackles.

Saturday will mark the first modern era (since football returned to Campbell in 2008) matchup between the Camels and Eagles.

PETERSEN NAMED TO FCS PUNTER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Campbell's Corey Petersen has been added to the FCS Punter of the Year Watch List, presented by the Augusta Sports Council.

Petersen, a Traralgon, Australia native, is averaging 38.9 yards per punt so far this season, racking up a high of 56 yards on 10 tries. Petersen has forced four fair catches, while pinning opponents inside the 20 four times.

Petersen was named to the Big South's preseason all-conference team in July.

The Augusta Sports Council, also home to the Ray Guy Award (awarded to the best collegiate punter in the FBS), created the FCS Punter of the Year Award in 2019 to honor the best collegiate punter playing in the FCS. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage and percentage of punts not returned with particular emphasis placed on net punting average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team's success.

QB WILLIAMS MAKES HISTORY
CU quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams became Campbell's all-time passing yards leader in his 2022 season opener, also passing the 1,000 career rushing yards milestone.

Playing in his 20^th career game, Williams passed for 175 yards and a touchdown, adding 19 rushing yards against The Citadel. The Atlanta, Ga. native is now the second CU player to reach 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing yards in a career (Daniel Smith 2017-18).

Williams now owns 4,079 yards passing and 1,133 rushing in his Campbell career (22 games).

The QB rushed for a pair of touchdowns in CU's loss at William & Mary in week 2. It marked the fifth time in the redshirt junior's career that he ran for two touchdowns, and the first since September 2020 at App State (at Gardner-Webb, 10/26/19; Kennesaw State, 11/9/19; at Charleston Southern, 11/23/19; at App State, 9/26/20).

The redshirt junior passed for a career-high 300 yards with a TD at East Carolina.

SLADE SIGNS WITH USFL'S BREAKERS
Former Campbell standout Darion Slade has signed with the New Orleans Breakers of the USFL.

A three-time All-Big South Conference performer, Slade played in 44 career games for the Camels, making 221 tackles, third all-time in CU history. The Winston-Salem native added four career interceptions with 9.5 tackles for loss, 17 pass breakups, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles across six seasons (2016-21).

In 2021, the safety ranked 10th in the Big South in tackles per game (6.8), collecting 61 stops for the season, including 5.0 for loss with two fumble recoveries, two interceptions, a pass breakup and a defensive touchdown.

He was the only player in the Big South with at least 60 tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, despite playing in only nine games.

The USFL regular season schedule will run April-June 2023. The Breakers went 6-4 in 2022 in the league's first season.

FIRST TIME OPPONENTS
Campbell will face off against a whopping eight first time opponents over the course of the 2022 season, including in each of its first four contests, and all six of its nonconference foes.

Since the 2018 campaign, which coincided with the program moving to the Big South, CU had already faced 14 first time opponents heading into the 2022 season, with that number set to balloon to 22 by the end of this year.

New opponents on the schedule in 2022 are The Citadel (September 1), William & Mary (September 10), East Carolina (September 17), North Carolina Central (October 1), Jackson State (October 22), North Carolina A&T (October 29), Bryant (November 5) and Delaware State (November 19).

Of Campbell's 2022 opponents, the Camels have met Charleston Southern the most in their relatively brief history (since 2008), with just five all-time meetings.

NEXT UP
The Camels' matchup against the Eagles will be the first of three straight home games after playing two of its first three contests on the road. Next week, CU hosts Charleston Southern in its Big South opener on October 8. The date will also serve as Campbell's annual homecoming game.

For tickets and more information, visit GoCamels.com/Tickets.

GRADS ON THE GRIDIRON
Campbell's 2022 roster features 21 student-athletes who have already earned their undergraduate degrees and will be playing college football this fall while pursuing additional diplomas. That number is the fourth-most in the FCS, trailing only Chattanooga (25), Southeastern Louisiana (23) and Southern Illinois (23).

The list includes 2021 All-Big South selections in offensive tackle Tyler McLellan (social work major) and return specialist Josh McNeely (exercise and sport science), 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District linebacker Keshawn Thompson, as well as five Camels who earned their degrees at other institutions before transferring to Campbell.