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GREENSBORO — When you're in charge of an operation that has lost 27 consecutive football games, there are few easy questions. And so it wasn't stunning to N.C. A&T coach Lee Fobbs when a fan, given a microphone in what was termed a news conference, recently asked why the Aggie populace should believe the upbeat rhetoric of August 2008.

The matter-of-fact tone of Fobbs' response spoke more to diplomacy, practicality and recent history than it did to the current state of affairs. There really are some reasons to anticipate the end of the fourth longest losing streak in Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) history. And maybe a little more.

NUMBERS: This is Fobbs' third year on the job, and the depth chart is beginning to reflect stability. This year, the Aggies have 19 seniors — more than they had in the previous two seasons combined, according to official rosters provided by the NCAA.

"As we're beginning to move forward in recruiting, we're beginning to build classes," Fobbs said. "That's the whole issue in building a program."

Specifically, the offensive staff believes it has 13 linemen who could play credibly. That's up from seven a year ago. The potential defensive line rotation has expanded from six players to 10. The starting secondary returns intact from 2007.

"We're stronger at every position — from offensive line to defensive line to quarterbacks," defensive end Tyre Glasper said. "We're not throwing people in there just because we have to."

The improvement from 2006 to last year wasn't overwhelming. How can it be when the record doesn't improve? But there were some signs of growth. The defense went from 114th out of 116 teams to 89th in yardage allowed per game, and the running game, led by Michael Ferguson, advanced from 105th to 67th nationally.

The Aggies, who led for less than three minutes in all of 2006, were in position to win five games a year later, but couldn't finish the job.

SCHEDULE: A&T has seven games at Aggie Stadium this season, and while that may sound typical, it's a first for this program. The Aggies play four times on an opponent's home field, and two are in consecutive weeks in September.

N.C. Central moved the teams' Oct. 4 meeting to Charlotte, having determined its on-campus facility wasn't big enough to accommodate the demand. A&T didn't object.

Expansion — of both the FCS membership and the permissible schedule — explains the abundance of home games. A&T is one of only 38 programs that have been continuously in the classification since 1980. A degree of seniority means, for example, that the Aggies can host a non-conference opponent such as Coastal Carolina, which joined in 2003. The Chanticleers come to Greensboro on Sept. 27.

Arguably the best thing about the schedule is the way it starts. The Aggies face Division II Johnson C. Smith, 3-7 a year ago, in the opener Saturday night at Aggie Stadium. It's precisely the sort of game created by the new NCAA rule allowing a 12th regular-season contest. The teams haven't played since 1993, and the Aggies have won 14 straight in the series since the Golden Bulls won 15-11 in 1973.

OFFENSE: Fobbs, who served as his own offensive coordinator in his first two seasons at A&T, got the go-ahead to make an outside hire for the position in 2008. The boss now has more time to devote to details and practice planning, and he thinks the Aggies got more out of this preseason than either of the first two during his tenure.

The new coordinator, John McKenzie, says he'll open things up. That's another popular claim in August that often slides off the board by October, but for now it's interesting.

"The exciting part of the new offense is that it gives you more freedom to do what you see," quarterback Herb Miller said. "We'll throw the ball more, and we'll still have the No. 1 running back in the MEAC."

That's Ferguson, who stands 906 yards from the school's career record of 2,812, established by current Minnesota Viking Maurice Hicks from 2000-01. The standard would be nice, Ferguson said, but only if it is accompanied by considerable improvement in a recently vacant win column.

"We've got to go out there and get it done," Fobbs said, "and we'll get it done this year."

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com