Washington, DC—The Howard University football team will finally get to play at Greene Stadium, its home turf when it hosts Norfolk State University for the 2015 homecoming at 1:05 pm.  And it could not have come at a better time for the road-tested Bison.
    
Howard (0-4, 0-2 in the MEAC) will be looking for its first win of the season against Norfolk State,  whom the Bison have not played in two years due to the conference schedule setup.  Howard came away with a 37-36 overtime victory the last time the two played in 2012 in Norfolk, VA.  The Bison hold a 16-8 advantage in the series.
    
The Spartans (1-3, 1-0 in the MEAC) are coming off an impressive 24-14 win over Hampton at home this past Saturday.  Norfolk State trailed 14-3 before reeling off 21 straight points and blanking the Pirates in the second half.
    
"Norfolk State is a worthy opponent," said Howard head coach Gary "Flea" Harrell.  "They start fast.  They have a quarterback in (Greg) Hankerson, who is very good at improvising and their Front Seven is outstanding.  They are very well coached and it should be a great matchup."
    
The Bison have struggled to score points this season, but they have shown promise the past two weeks against Hampton and Morgan State.  Howard started Jamie Cunningham against Hampton and at the beginning of the game against the Bears, but he was pulled in favor of red-shirt freshman Kalen Johnson.  Johnson, who started the first two games of the season against Appalachian State and Boston College, appeared to get his rhythm against Morgan State and had some success with the passing game.
    
He was helped by the running of freshman  Donnell Pleasant, who rushed for a career-high 90 yards and also helped the short passing game by leading all receivers with a career-best 9 catches.  First-year wide-outs Guy Lemonier and Jalen Avery also proved to be formidable targets for Johnson.
    
"We were able to move the ball and get in the Red Zone, especially in the second half," noted Harrell.  "But we made bad penalties and did not cash in on the opportunities.  We have to be able to finish games."
    
While the offense has had its problems, the defense has shown marked improvement.  After surrendering huge chunks of yardage in the first two games, the young unit has played better, including shutting out the Bears in the second half.  Linebackers Jalen Day, David Lee and Elijah Anglin and defensive backs Craig Johnson, Kenneth Russ and Travon Hunt have combined for some sterling play of late.
    
"You can see on film that they have gotten better each week," commented Norfolk State head coach Latrell Scott.  "They played a tough schedule early against some FBS opponents like us, but you can see how they improved when they played Hampton and the MEAC champion Morgan State.  It is their first home game and it is going to be a great crowd."

GAME NOTES: You can catch all the action on the HU Bison Sports Network by logging onto.  Trevin Jones will handle the play by play and Michael Lindo the color commentary.