MEAC Media Center | Weekly Football Coaches Video Conference
NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 10, 2021 – There are just two weeks remaining in the 2021 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) football season, and this Saturday’s action will have four games on tap: two conference games and two non-conference tilts.
The two games directly impacting the MEAC standings will both kick off at 1 p.m. on the MEAC Digital Network on ESPN+ -- Norfolk State will travel to Dover, Del. to take on Delaware State as both teams look to bounce back from losses suffered this past weekend, while North Carolina Central will be on the road to face Howard.
Morgan State, fresh off its first win of the season this past Thursday (Nov. 4), 20-14 over the Hornets, has completed the conference portion of its schedule and will hit the road this Saturday for a non-conference game against Albany. South Carolina State will play host to North Carolina A&T State in non-conference action; that game will kick off at 1:30 p.m. on the MEAC Digital Network on ESPN+.
This weekend’s action will have an effect on the league race, which will culminate on Saturday, Nov. 20 and determine the MEAC’s representative in the Cricket Celebration Bowl (Saturday, Dec. 18, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga., 12 p.m. on ABC).
Click here to read the MEAC’s tiebreaker procedures and scenarios.
Here’s a glimpse of this Saturday’s games:
Norfolk State Spartans (6-3, 2-1 MEAC) at Delaware State Hornets (4-5, 1-2 MEAC)
Saturday, Nov. 13 • Alumni Stadium • Dover, Del. • 1 p.m.
TV: MEAC Digital Network / ESPN+
Norfolk State had its six-game winning streak snapped this past Saturday at North Carolina Central, while Delaware State is also coming off a loss – 20-14 to Morgan State on Thursday, Nov. 4 in front of a live ESPN2 audience. Both programs are looking to get back into the win column, and the Spartans control their own destiny as the conference race enters its final weeks.
“It’s gonna be another physical battle,” first-year Spartans’ head coach Dawson Odums said. “It’s MEAC play, you’ve gotta buckle up your chin strap no matter where you’re at. This is our seventh road game of the season, we’re going into a tough environment. … We’re going to have to play extremely well; (Delaware State is) a good football team. The ball hasn’t bounced their way, but when it has bounced their way, you see it.”
“Norfolk is a well-coached football team,” Hornets head coach Rod Milstead added. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. They’re very consistent in what they do. They’re very methodical in what they do offensively. They’ve got a quarterback (in MEAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Juwan Carter) who’s probably the most seasoned quarterback in the MEAC … and their defense is playing together and playing well. We’re gonna have to come out and play our A game with Norfolk.”
North Carolina Central Eagles (4-5, 2-1 MEAC) at Howard Bison (2-7, 1-3 MEAC)
Saturday, Nov. 13 • Greene Stadium • Washington, D.C. • 1 p.m.
TV: MEAC Digital Network / ESPN+
North Carolina Central picked up a big win in defeating Norfolk State 38-36 in double overtime this past Saturday to celebrate Homecoming, while Howard is coming off a loss on the road, dropping a defensive battle at South Carolina State. The Eagles still have a shot at a share of the MEAC title if they win their last two games, a task that will start this weekend in the nation’s capital.
“They look very similar to us when I took over (at NCCU),” Eagles head coach Trei Oliver said of Howard. “A bunch of young guys and I think Coach (Larry) Scott is doing a heck of a job at Howard, how he’s building a program. I think he’s doing it the right way.”
Added Scott: “You turn on the film … that North Carolina Central team is a heck of a football team. They got a lot of athletes, they’re flying around, you can tell they love playing football. I think they’re – and I’m gonna go out on a limb here – if they’re not one of the best teams in the conference, they will be shortly. It’s gonna be a heck of a challenge for us.”
North Carolina A&T State Aggies (4-5, 3-3 Big South) at South Carolina State Bulldogs (5-4, 4-0 MEAC)
Saturday, Nov. 13 • Oliver C. Dawson Stadium • Orangeburg, S.C. • 1 p.m.
TV: MEAC Digital Network / ESPN+
With a perfect 4-0 mark in league play, and coming off a tough 15-12 win over Howard this past weekend, the Bulldogs will return home this Saturday for a non-conference contest against North Carolina A&T State before next weekend’s regular season finale against Norfolk State. In a showdown of former conference foes, Bulldogs head coach Buddy Pough sees a lot of familiarity in the Aggies from Greensboro.
“Same A&T, same South Carolina State,” Pough said. “It’ll be a dogfight between the two of us. You know, Coach Sam Washington and his outfit, they’ve had some ups and downs … this year, and I’m sure it’ll be similar to what we’ve had in the past. It’s always about a one-score game between the two of us; we haven’t beaten them in a while, so we look forward to the opportunity.”
Morgan State Bears (1-8, 1-4 MEAC) at Albany Great Danes (1-8, 1-6 CAA)
Saturday, Nov. 13 ? Tom & Mary Casey Stadium ? Albany, N.Y. ? 1:30 p.m.
TV: FloFootball
Both Morgan State and Albany are coming off their first wins of 2021; the Bears defeated Delaware State on ESPN2 on Thursday, Nov. 4, while the Great Danes are coming off a 20-7 home win over New Hampshire this past Saturday. The Bears are finished with the conference portion of their schedule, and Albany is the first of two non-conference opponents to close out the season.
“It’s gonna be a physical game,” Bears head coach Tyrone Wheatley said. “But that’s November football. As the leaves turn gold and yellow, you know, red and yellow, they start to hit the ground, so will the bodies.”
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 51st year of intercollegiate competition with the 2021-22 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of eight outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University.