HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University football team will return to Armstrong Stadium on Saturday, where the Pirates will take on Howard in the Battle for the Real HU at 1 p.m.

Saturday's game will kick off three straight home games to close out the season for the Pirates.

The Pirates (5-3, 3-2 MEAC) won their second straight game this past Saturday, beating MEAC newcomer Savannah State 22-5 at Theo Wright Stadium. The Bison (4-5, 3-3 MEAC) have lost two of their last three games after falling 31-0 to South Carolina State this past Saturday.

Since coming in late in the game against North Carolina Central on Oct. 22, freshman quarterback Travis Champion (Moreno Valley, Calif.) has shown what he can do. He went 5-for-5 through the air against NCCU for 47 yards, while also orchestrating the game-winning touchdown drive for the Pirates in overtime.

Champion went on to start this past Saturday at Savannah State, completing 21 of his 32 passes for 197 yards and his first collegiate touchdown – a 14-yard strike to senior wideout Reginald Hicks (Hampton, Va.). Champion is completing 70.3 percent of his passes so far this season.

For the season, senior qaurterback David Legree (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is completing 61.6 percent of his passes (141-for-229) for 1,636 yards and 10 touchdowns. Legree, who threw for 298 yards and a touchdown against North Carolina Central, is second in the MEAC in passing, averaging 204.5 yards per game.

He missed the Savannah State game with a shoulder injury.

Senior wide receiver Dyrri McCain (Norfolk, Va.) is having by far the best season of his Hampton career; through eight games, McCain has caught 36 passes – second-most on the team – for a team-high 548 yards and four touchdowns. He is averaging a team-best 15.2 yards per catch, and McCain's 68.5 receiving yards per game are good enough for fourth-best in the MEAC. McCain has two 100-yard receiving games this season: a six-catch, 123-yard effort against Princeton and a career-high 143 yards on eight catches against North Carolina Central.

Sophomore running back Antwon Chisholm (Belle Glade, Fla.), the reigning MEAC Rookie of the Year, is averaging 4.0 yards per carry, and is currently fifth in the MEAC in rushing with an average of 71.5 rushing yards per game after rushing for 80 yards on 18 carries.

Hampton, guided by first-year offensive coordinator Willie Snead III, is second in the MEAC in total offense (385.6 yards per game) and fourth in scoring offense (27.6 points per game). The Pirates have scored at least 30 points three times this season, including a 30-27 overtime win over North Carolina Central on Oct. 22.

Sophomore linebacker Delbert Tyler (Monroeville, Pa.) is currently tied for third in the MEAC in tackles with 81, averaging 10.1 per game, while linebacker Lyndell Gibson (Virginia Beach, Va.), a Virginia Tech transfer, is seventh in the conference with 76 tackles, an average of 9.5 per game.

Senior defensive back Micah Pellerin (New Orleans, La.) is third in the MEAC in passes defended, thanks to 10 pass breakups and two interceptions on the season. Junior defensive back Destin Route (Atlanta, Ga.) is tied for fifth in passes defended with eight pass breakups and one interception on the season.

The Pirates are 47-39-1 all-time against Howard, and Hampton has won 14 straight meetings – and 16 of the last 18 meetings. Hampton won last year's meeting 31-21 in Washington, D.C., and the Pirates have won five straight against Howard at Armstrong Stadium dating back to 1994. Howard last beat Hampton in 1995, when the Bison took a 34-22 win. From 1969-1980, Howard won 12 straight against the Pirates – before Hampton claimed a 13-7 win over Howard in 1984. Hampton is 17-13-1 all-time against Howard in games played in Hampton, Va.

The Pirates are 189-158-6 all-time against schools currently competing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) following a 23-17 win over Florida A&M on Sept. 8, a 35-31 loss at Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 22, 34-24 loss at Norfolk State and a 30-27 overtime win over North Carolina Central this past Saturday. Hampton is 9-8 against Bethune-Cookman; 23-13 against Delaware State; 8-12 against Florida A&M; 47-39-1 against Howard; 22-35-2 against Morgan State; 23-25-1 against Norfolk State; 25-15-2 against North Carolina A&T; 17-5 against MEAC newcomer North Carolina Central; 4-0 against MEAC newcomer Savannah State; and 11-6 against South Carolina State.

This is only the Pirates' 16th year as a member of the MEAC, as they initially became a member back in 1995. Since joining the MEAC, the Pirates have won the conference championship five times, including three straight in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Live video streaming of Saturday's game will be available; simply visit the football page on www.hamptonpirates.com and click the All-Access Video Streaming link. The cost of viewing the game online is $5.95.

For more information on Hampton University football, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.