The Aggies will play in the NCAA playoffs for the fifth time in school history and for the first time since 2003. The Aggies are 1-4 all-time in the playoffs with their only win coming in 1999 when they defeated No. 1 Tennessee State. It was nine years ago, when the Aggies were in the midst of a 27-game losing streak. Now the Aggies will head to the postseason in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 1991 and 1992 seasons.

“This truly means this program has gained a lot of respect around the country which is tremendous when [you] think about where we were when we took over this program,” said N.C. A&T coach Rod Broadway who is in his sixth season. “Being selected is an honor for our university, our alumni, our fans, our athletics department and our program. Richmond is a tremendous program who routinely gets to the postseason, so they know what this is all about. But we’re going to go out there and fight and see what happens.”

A&T’s football roster features one of the best running backs in the nation in Tarik Cohen who is ranked in the top-3 nationally in rushing yards (1,518), rushing yards per game (138.0), yards per carry (7.6) and rushing touchdowns (18). He is also a Walter Payton Award candidate for FCS offensive player of the year. True freshman receiver Elijah Bell leads the Aggies in receiving yards with 554. Senior Denzel Keyes and Bell are first and second in the MEAC in touchdown receptions with nine and eight respectively.

Defensively, the Aggies are led by senior defensive lineman Marquis Ragland and redshirt junior linebacker Jeremy Taylor. Ragland has 44 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss, while Taylor leads the team in tackles (75), tackles for loss (10.5) and interceptions (4).

 Richmond will be making their third straight playoff appearance and their 11th overall.