The Fayetteville State Broncos conclude their 2022 regular season in a Week 10 road contest against the Winston-Salem State University Rams. This is the fourth road game of the season and fifth divisional conference game for FSU. The Broncos are currently on a season-long five-game winning streak and are coming off a 28-20 home victory against Shaw University. FSU is currently on a two-game winning streak in the head-to-head, having not lost a game to the Rams since 2018. 

The Game: Fayetteville State University "Broncos" at Winston-Salem State University "Rams"

The Records: Fayetteville State (7-2 overall, 6-1 CIAA, 4-0 Southern Division); Winston-Salem State (3-5 overall, 3-3 CIAA, 3-1 Southern Division)

The Kickoff: Saturday, November 5th, 2022 - Kickoff at 4:00 pm

The Site: Bowman Gray Stadium (17,000 capacity / natural grass field) - Winston-Salem, NC

Media Coverage: TV/Video: Black College Sports Broadcasting Network (Andrew Chapman; play-by-play; Nate Gantt, color analyst)

SCOUTING THE RAMS: WSSU hosts FSU with a 3-5 overall record and are coming off a win last Saturday against Johnson C. Smith (28-7). The Rams rank fifth in the conference in rushing and are led by running back Asa Barnes, averaging 72.4 rushing yards per game with two touchdowns. Under center, starting QB Nicholas Jackson is completing 61.7% of passes with 407 total yards passing and three touchdowns. On the defensive side, WSSU has struggled to pressure opposing quarterbacks, tied for the seventh-most sacks in the conference (15), 5.5 coming from grad student defensive end Karron Jeter. Redshirt sophomore defensive end Trevor Willard leads the team with 9.5 tackles for loss.

ALL-CIAA PRESEASON PLAYERS: The Broncos had four players this year named to the All-CIAA Presea- son team. Second-year transfer quarterback K'Hari Lane earned the honor along with kicker Elton Andrew on the special teams unit. A pair of defensive players in junior defensive end Devin Cowan and graduate student corner- back Brandon Barnes-Brown were also named All-CIAA Preseason players. Barnes-Brown will also participate in the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl on February 4th, 2023

FIVE-TIME SOUTH DIVISION CHAMPS: With last Saturday's 28-20 victory over Shaw, the Broncos have won the CIAA South Division and punched their ticket to a fifth straight conference championship game. All five of the Broncos division titles have come under head coach Richard Hayes, however FSU is still trying to win their first conference title since 2009 (W, 21-10 vs. Bowie State) and fourth overall title in school history (2002, 2003, 2009). Different this season is the mix up at the top of the North Division. After seeing Bowie State in each of the last three championship games, FSU will square off with either Chowan or Virginia Union, the two teams still contending in the north.

UNDER CENTER: The Broncos have deployed a quarterback-by-committee strategy since the October 8th game vs. St. Augustine's. Preseason All-CIAA selection K'Hari Lane, who served as the primary starting QB in 2021, is now third on the depth chart with freshmen Demari Daniels and Caden Davis splitting the majority of snaps. Daniels has been the most efficient of the trio, completing 63.3% (19-30) of his passes and throwing for 6 touch- downs over four games, including a 3 TD performance vs. St. Augustine's. This week's game will be a homecoming for Davis, who grew up in Winston-Salem and attended R.J. Reynolds HS. Caden's father, Antonio Davis currently works at WSSU as a mulitmedia producer.

BARRY ELITE: Wide receiver Barry Elliot is setting FSU records in his first year with the program as a grad transfer from Charleston West Virginia. He has scored at least one touchdown in five of FSU's last six games and recorded his eighth receiving touchdown last Saturday vs. Shaw. His 8 receiving touchdowns in 2022 are the most since Chris Hubert (13) and Tavon Gatlin (11) in the 2015 season, while his 9 total TD's are the most by a Bronco since Stevie Green's 14 rushing scores in 2019. Elliott is a Fayetteville native that attended Jack Britt HS locally.

TWO-MAN WRECKING CREW: Defensive ends Devin Cowan and Cameron Merrell have led an FSU defense that has tallied the second most sacks (32) and allowed the fewest PPG (13.6) in the CIAA. Cowan's 14.0 TFL leads the team, while Merrell and Cowan are tied for the team lead with 8.0 sacks this season. FSU's 32 total sacks have already surpassed the 2021 season total of 30 and are the most by any FSU defensive unit since the 2009 season (46) squad that won the CIAA championship and was allowed 19.1 PPG to opponents.

GROUND & POUND: Running backs Elijah Henry and Derrick Alston Jr. have been a focal point of the FSU of- fense in recent weeks and have stepped up big since starter Syheam McQueen suffered a right-leg injury on 9/29. Henry, a grad student in his final season, has scored a touchdown in three of the last four games and has been heavily utilized in the passing game as a check down option, totaling 147 yards receiving in the last two weeks. Alston, a redshirt freshman, has scored a rushing touchdown in three straight games and compiled 244 of his 287 rushing yards this season during that three-game stretch. Winston-Salem native Mekhi Fenner has also been utilized in the run game with 31 carries for 141 yards.