NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 17, 2021 – Following 11 weeks of intense gridiron battles, two teams are left standing that have shots of claiming at least a share of the 2021 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) football championship.
 
South Carolina State (5-5, 4-0 MEAC) heads into its final game of the regular season already having wrapped up at least a share of the MEAC crown, its 18th MEAC crown overall. Should the Bulldogs defeat Norfolk State on Saturday, SCSU will claim the title outright. The SCSU-NSU game is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Norfolk, Va.
 
North Carolina Central (5-5, 3-1 MEAC) can claim a share of the MEAC title with a win over Delaware State coupled with a SCSU loss to Norfolk State.  Should that happen, it would mark the Eagles’ first football championship since 2016 and its sixth as a member of the MEAC. The NCCU-DSU contest is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday in Durham, N.C.
 
Says SCSU head coach Buddy Pough, ““The last thing you want to do is to go into a possible bowl game with a losing record. We’d be 5-6 (if SCSU loses to NSU), so we’ve got to fight our butts off to not let that happen. That’s what our big mission is, to try to finish up strong.”
 
NCCU head coach Trei Oliver notes, “It’s always good to be in the conversation when you’re talking about championships. Obviously, we need a whole lot of help, but our focus this week will be strictly on Delaware State. So, we’re going to control what we can control, prepare for those guys and then 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening, see what’s going on.”
 
Here’s a glimpse of the games on tap for MEAC teams on Saturday:

Georgetown Hoyas (2-7, 1-5 Patriot League) at Morgan State Bears (1-9, 1-4 MEAC)
Saturday, Nov. 20 • Hughes Stadium • Baltimore, Md. • 12 p.m.
TV: Live on the MEAC Digital Network on ESPN+ • Live Stats

After securing their first win of the season two weekends ago, the Morgan State Bears fell to Albany last weekend.  What happened? Says MSU head coach Tyrone Wheatley, “What happened is that we were hibernating in the first half. I guess can call it victory hangover. That was one of my biggest fears. We talk about it all the time – the process over the outcome. A lot of the guys thought they could just go out and do the same thing. It’s not outcome driven -- it’s process.” On closing the season this weekend against Georgetown, Wheatley says, “Right now, we’re littered with injuries. We’re patching guys together with duct tape, Krazy Glue, Gorilla Glue, you name it. Right now, we’re just trying to finish the season strong. We’d love to finish the season with a win. We’re trying to establish a culture. We’re trying to establish an identify going into the spring.”
 
Wheatley added, “One thing I can always be proud of about with these young men is that although it may be up and down, what they will do consistently is that they will come out and fight. That’s where I can tell where this culture is going -- when the young men can look at each other, hold one another accountable and say we’re not playing up to our standard, this isn’t who we are, and go out and fight.”

Virginia-Lynchburg Dragons (0-8, Indep.) at Howard Bison (2-8, 1-4 MEAC)
Saturday, Nov. 20 • Greene Stadium • Washington, D.C. • 1 p.m.
TV: Live on the MEAC Digital Network on ESPN+ • Live Stats

As Howard prepares to close out its 2021 season, head coach Larry Scott says the season has been a learning experience for his team. He says, “It’s been good and bad, ups and down, but definitely a lot that we can learn from with our very young football team and I think we’ll be better for it. I’m really looking forward to a true off-season where we truly have January and February the way it’s supposed to be as you try to build a football team, especially a young team. I’m really looking forward to finishing up this week the right way. That’s what it’s all about for us – the finish. A season is a journey; it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish. We hope to get a positive note to roll into our off-season and get our off-season going and get this football team better.”
 
Finishing the right way will come against a winless Virginia-Lynchburg team that stands at 0-8, including losses to MEAC members Delaware State (56-6) and Norfolk State (42-14). Yet, Scott says his greatest concentration isn’t so much on the VL Dragons as it is his own team.  He noted, “The opponent in the ring is us. So, it really doesn’t matter who that is, but when you’re truly building something, that is the biggest opponent. I want to see us come out and play well in all three phases of the game. We have yet this year to put together a game where our offense, our defense and our kicking game are all clicking on all three cylinders and playing well together. We want to play good complimentary football.”

Delaware State (5-5, 2-2 MEAC) at North Carolina Central Eagles (5-5, 3-1 MEAC)
Saturday, Nov. 20 • O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium • Durham, N.C. • 2 p.m.
TV: Live on the MEAC Digital Network on ESPN+ - Live Stats

With a possible share of the conference championship on the line, North Carolina Central head coach Trei Oliver says that finishing up the season strong is of greater importance that focusing on the possibility of sharing a title. Towards that end, he says, “It’s about finishing, whether it’s finishing a game or finishing the season. It’s still some meat left on that bone, so as long as there’s time left on that clock, we’ve got to play and play well. Plus, it’ll give you some momentum going into the off-season. Delaware State is a tough group. Defensively, they’re big, athletic and very physical. Offensively, they have some playmakers.  It’s that like every other week in this league. You’ve got to come ready to play.”
 
DSU head coach Rod Milstead says of this week’s opponent, “North Carolina Central is a very dynamic, scrappy football team. We know we’ve got our hands full. Coach Oliver has done a phenomenal job, turning his program around this season. Those guys are hungry. They have a very dynamic running game, their quarterback is finally settling in, they’ve got receivers on the outside catching the ball and their offensive line is very talented. Our task is cut out for us this week, but we’ll be up for the task.”

South Carolina State Bulldogs (5-5, 4-0 MEAC) at Norfolk State Spartans (6-4, 2-2 MEAC)
Saturday, Nov. 2 • William “Dick” Price Stadium • Norfolk, Va. • 2 p.m.
TV: Live on ESPN3 (Rebroadcast on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. on ESPNU) - Live Stats

Just a couple of weeks ago, this week’s battle between the South Carolina State Bulldogs and the Norfolk State Spartans was being looked upon as the game-of-the-year in the MEAC, with both teams undefeated in the conference at that point. Since then, however, the Spartans have lost back-to-back two-point games to North Carolina Central (38-36 in 2 OT) and Delaware State (28-26). Nonetheless, there’s still a lot on the line as a victory by the SCSU Bulldogs would give that program the outright MEAC championship.
 
Says SCSU head coach Buddy Pough on facing NSU, “Both of us are kinda coming off a rough week of sorts. But I’m expecting a knock-down, drag-out game. Norfolk is always a tough place for us to play. We’ve had our issues at Norfolk in all kinds of different ways. I expect nothing less than what generally happens when we go up there to play.”
 
NSU head coach Dawson Odums says of playing the Bulldogs, “They’re a talented football team. It’ll be a good football game. We’ll respond. Whether its 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 or 60, that’s the question. Can we somehow figure out this week how to play for 60 minutes? At the end of the day, winning or losing will be decided on the field in those 60 minutes. We know Saturday will give us that opportunity to play 60 minutes and don’t let up. If we do that, I like our changes.”