# 2017 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

The 2017 North Carolina Central Eagles football team represented North Carolina Central University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Jerry Mack in his fourth and final season as head coach, the Eagles compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 5–3, tying for fourth place in the MEAC. North Carolina Central played home games at O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
On December 8, Mack resigned to become the offensive coordinator at Rice University. He finished his four-year tenure at North Carolina Central with a record of 31–15.

## Schedule

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

## 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 — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | — | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — |