It's been 26 years since the S.C. State Bulldogs have been to the NCAA football playoffs. Getting a bid in 2008 put the campus in a buzz.

Bulldog colors blanketed student attire during the days ahead of Saturday's game.

The 13th-ranked Bulldogs will face three-time defending champion Appalachian State at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, N.C. The game kicks off at noon Saturday.

The only meeting between the two came in 1984, when the Mountaineers won 24-0.

Students and athletes at S.C. State feel 2008 will be different.

Cooling on a bench in front of the cafeteria, Quamane Edwards, a sophomore who plays safety for the Bulldogs, calls the team's first playoff appearance in two decades "special."

"It's a tremendous thing. We worked hard all year for this," Edwards said. "As long as we play the game the way we have been taught and play as the brothers we are, I think we got a good chance."

Some passing Lady Bulldogs were eager to add to the buzz.

Casiana Sheperd and Keosha Gaines, both majoring in nursing, expressed their excitement with an unprovoked outburst, "Go Bulldogs!"

Casiana guaranteed a Bulldog win based on the team's strong defensive presence all year. "I've been to all the home games. The defense is nationally ranked and I think the Mountaineers will underestimate S.C.'s defensive play being we are a smaller school."

Quinton Adderberry, who plays in the Marching 101 band, repeated an analysis given by a sports anchor on ESPNU, who cited both teams' end-of-year statistics and said the squads are equally matched on both sides of the ball.

Near the library, senior Dwayne Washington said it's a good look for S.C State and all HBCUs, noting it's not often schools from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference get to play bigger schools such as Appalachian State. "I think we got a good chance. I know we are going to beat them."

Seeing other students giving their take, Bulldogs defensive end Cedrick Lloyd said he feels real good about Saturday's game.

"I'm a senior and have been with the team for five years," Lloyd said. "Our coach gave us a good game plan every week the entire season. If we go out and execute it Saturday, the campus will really be buzzing like bees next Monday.

Rodney Brown is a student in the Mass Communications Department at Claflin University. He is an intern in the T&D newsroom for fall 2008.

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