2019 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team

The 2019 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team represented South Carolina State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 18th-year head coach Oliver Pough who became the program’s all-time winningest coach during the season, surpassing former Head Coach Willie Jeffries.[1] The Bulldogs played their home games at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. They are a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

2019 South Carolina State Bulldogs football
MEAC co-champion
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
2019 record	8–3 (6–2 MEAC)
Head coach	Oliver Pough (18th season)
Home stadium	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium (Capacity: 22,000)

2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 24 Florida A&M *		7	–	1					9	–	2
No. 20 North Carolina A&T +		6	–	2					9	–	3
South Carolina State +		6	–	2					8	–	3
Bethune–Cookman		5	–	3					7	–	4
Norfolk State		4	–	4					5	–	7
North Carolina Central		3	–	5					4	–	8
Howard		2	–	6					2	–	10
Morgan State		2	–	6					3	–	9
Delaware State		1	–	7					2	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions * Florida A&M ineligible for conference title due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from STATS Poll

S.C. State was awarded the MEAC Co-Championship together with the North Carolina A&T Aggies.[2]

Both teams finished with 8–3 overall records and 6-2 within the MEAC, however due to Florida A&M being ineligible for postseason play, and by virtue of North Carolina A&T’s victory over South Carolina State, the Aggies received the MEAC’s bid to the Celebration Bowl. As a “bubble team” in consideration for the 2019 FCS Playoffs S.C. State was not chosen, thus ending their season.[3]

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2018 season 5–6, 4–3 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place.

Preseason

MEAC poll

In the MEAC preseason poll released on July 26, 2019, the Bulldogs were predicted to finish in sixth place.[4]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	North Carolina A&T	304 (12)
2	Bethune–Cookman	237 (1)
3	Florida A&M	204 (2)
4	Howard	166
5	North Carolina Central	161 (1)
6	South Carolina State	152
7	Norfolk State	119 (1)
8	Morgan State	87 (1)
9	Delaware State	46

Preseason All–MEAC teams

The Bulldogs had two players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.[5]

First Team Offense Alex Taylor – OL Second Team Offense Mike Terry – C Third Team Offense Tyrece Nick – QB

Second Team Defense Tyrell Goodwin – DL Paul Mckeiver – DL Third Team Defense Bruce Johnson – DL Decobe Durant – DB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:00 p.m.	No. 9 Wofford*	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	W 28–13	8,187
September 7	4:00 p.m.	Lane*	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	MEAC All Access	W 34–0	6,237
September 14	6:00 p.m.	at South Florida*	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPN3	L 16–55	31,368
October 5	7:00 p.m.	at Delaware State	Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	ESPN3	W 38–24	985
October 12	2:00 p.m.	Florida A&M	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	L 38–42	15,792
October 19	1:30 p.m.	Morgan State	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	W 24–10	12,121
October 26	4:00 p.m.	at Bethune–Cookman	Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, FL	ESPN3	W 27–19	12,204
November 2	1:30 p.m.	No. 16 North Carolina A&T	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC (rivalry)	ESPN3	L 20–22	11,183
November 9	1:30 p.m.	Howard	Oliver C. Dawson stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	W 62–21	8,515 [6]
November 16	2:00 p.m.	at North Carolina Central	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	W 24–0	3,043 [7]
November 23	1:00 p.m.	at Norfolk State	William "Dick" Price Stadium Norfolk, VA	ESPN3	W 20–17 ^OT	1,453 [8]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

[9][10]

Game summaries

No. 9 Wofford

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 9 Terriers	3	0	3	7	13
Bulldogs	7	7	7	7	28

Lane

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dragons	0	0	0	0	0
Bulldogs	14	10	3	7	34

at South Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	3	0	6	7	16
Bulls	7	17	17	14	55

at Delaware State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	10	7	14	7	38
Hornets	0	3	7	14	24

Florida A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	7	7	14	14	42
Bulldogs	0	14	3	21	38

Morgan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	3	0	0	7	10
Bulldogs	0	10	7	7	24

at Bethune–Cookman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	20	0	0	27
Wildcats	0	13	6	0	19

North Carolina A&T

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Aggies	0	16	6	0	22
Bulldogs	3	7	0	10	20

Howard

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bison	0	7	7	7	21
Bulldogs	20	14	21	7	62

at North Carolina Central

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	7	10	0	24
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0

at Norfolk State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Bulldogs	7	0	7	3	3	20
Spartans	0	3	7	7	0	17

References

1. https://thetandd.com/news/local/buddy-and-his-bulldogs-s-c-state-celebrates-coaching-milestone/collection_842b5150-1831-5ec3-8d85-92bdeb555c11.html
2. https://thetandd.com/sports/bulldogzone/football/s-c-state-football-bulldogs-win-in-ot-claim-share/article_c2ad2784-a548-5a2f-9913-99645f3f16c8.html
3. https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/furman-is-in-s-c-state-is-out-and-wofford/article_e1e2e9da-0eea-11ea-a2cc-4ffdb6ce493e.html
4. "MEAC Announces 2019 Football Predicted Order of Finish". meacsports.com. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
5. "MEAC Announces 2019 Preseason Football All-MEAC Awards". meacsports.com. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
6. https://meacsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=7Gx48kkB20iPlOppZhxXHy%2f5Zy4VtNXkGzuHdKHXRgm%2bRUI8wAQbMRDksw4hjZQAfrW2Eyv4Cq9uiXCV8c7awt3Y4M6bQgjUAkgcjYFsXSHdAKQzyR0W%2fzBrlKJqYfU4MUYqDAvKlM8cmUe2Cpl4Ag%3d%3d&path=football
7. https://meacsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=7Gx48kkB20iPlOppZhxXHy%2f5Zy4VtNXkGzuHdKHXRgnBVjBKxcgjlZqY6UsrREKam8U%2fmewzE6xT9GuY2D1HcQ19WOjNWx7mvMPiRPIcRu8gFp3mrvmveRWe8FxjiELTOcP5vG2wemMdrAPk8ndgXQ%3d%3d&path=football
8. https://meacsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=7Gx48kkB20iPlOppZhxXHy%2f5Zy4VtNXkGzuHdKHXRgkKkFt2Qzebi2MWZxopvHmRl02%2fe1mihGGdrOzVSf67B2ucNmdP359YqBRllRivtQ6wPBzUlyyo151Jk28WQ420Zq7fgfKLfRM5Y45ZjyZYBQ%3d%3d&path=football
9. "2019 Football Schedule". South Carolina State University Athletics. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
10. "2019 SC State Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 27, 2019.