“Happy days are here again,” might well have been the refrain in the South Carolina State locker room Saturday after the Bulldogs’ 49-14 triumph over MEAC foe Florida A&M in an ESPNU televised contest.

It was a jubilant Bulldog locker room after SC State romped past the Rattlers, whose defense gave up a record 611 total yards to Coach Buddy Pough’s team.

Just one week removed from a bitter 20-13 double overtime loss at Norfolk State, the Bulldogs got three touchdowns from seldom-used fullback Evans Capers in exploding for their highest offensive output of the season.

Capers, a senior of Bluffton, SC who had never made it into the end zone, had scoring runs of four, two and one yards in the victory which evened SC State’s record at 3-3 and put Pough’s team at 2-1 in the MEAC.

The Bulldogs’ 611 total yards included 405 yards on the ground. Sophomore tailback Will Ford, one of three SC State runners to gain over 100 yards in the game, led the ground attack with 142 yards and one touchdown on just 13 attempts. The total was a season-high for the Travelers Rest native.

Tailback Jonathan Woods, a redshirt sophomore of Copperas Cove, Texas, had 126 yards and one score in 17 carries and senior quarterback Cleveland McCoy of Hollywood, SC, had 126 yards on the ground in just 11 attempts.

McCoy, who has been in a year-long slump, also had his best passing game of the season, completing 14 of 19 attempts for 178 yards and two scores. His scoring tosses went to tight end Octavius Darby and Ford for 13 and 20 yards, respectively.

SC State, after another slow start, rolled to a 35-7 halftime lead and scored twice in the third period to build a 49-7 cushion before a late score by the Rattlers made closed the gap.

The Rattlers, who dropped their second consecutive game, fell to 2-4 on the year and 1-3 in the MEAC.

The two Florida A&M scores came on Anthony Edward’s one yard run early in the second quarter and a final-period three-yard run by Mykel Benson.

SC State hits the road next week when they travel to Hampton to take on the three-time MEAC Champion Pirates, who dropped a close 20-19 loss to Norfolk Saturday.

The contest, homecoming for Hampton, has been picked up as an MEAC wildcard telecast by ESPNU and will be shown on tape-delay at 10 p.m.

The Rattlers will try to rebound Thursday when they host Norfolk State, who is tied for the MEAC lead with Delaware State, in an ESPNU live telecast at 7 p.m.