The current debate over whether the Heritage Bowl should be revived or not has been building for years.
Actually, since Dennis Thomas became the MEAC Commissioner as he’s pushed the conference into accepting this game.
As expected, South Carolina State continues its climb up the national Football Championship Subdivision rankings. In four separate polls (Sports Network, FCS Now , FCS Coaches and Any Given Saturday), the Bulldogs are ranked seventh nationally.
With one week remaining, S.C. State could potentially move up further in the rankings with key matchups this Saturday involving Montana vs. Montana State, Villanova vs. Delaware and Richmond vs. William and Mary.
A conference-record 18th straight victory and a 13th MEAC title was earned Saturday by S.C. State. Malcolm Long threw four touchdowns, two to wide receiver Oliver ‘Tre’ Young who became the career receptions leader in the contest. Running back Will Ford rushed for 107 yards, leaving him 155 shy of first place on the MEAC All-Time rushing list.
Oliver ‘Tre’ Young’s 65-yard kickoff return has the Bulldogs at the Morgan State 10. The Bulldogs had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Blake Erickson.
Meanwhile, William and Mary leads New Hampshire 20-17 with 1:20 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After a 60-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Morgan State was nullified after it was ruled an incomplete pass, Morgan State’s Kendall Jamison picked off Derrick Wiley’s pass at the 6-yard line as the third quarter ends.
In other scores, fifth-ranked William and Mary led eight-ranked New Hampshire 17-10 and sixth-ranked Appalachian State holds a 21-0 advantage over seventh-ranked Elon in the second quarter. A win by the Mountaineers and William and Mary would help S.C. State’s case for a first-round home playoff game.
There’s still 21 minutes remaining in the game, but the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season title and automatic playoff berth belongs to South Carolina State. Thanks to Hampton’s 25-0 victory over Florida A&M, the Bulldogs have earned a share of the MEAC title and the playoff berth based on its 35-20 victory over the Rattlers four weeks ago. As long as S.C. State holds on for the victory, they will claim a second straight outright title for the Bulldogs.
The Long to Tre show went short this time as they hooked up for a 13-yard touchdown passs. It’s Long’s fourth touchdown of the game, tying him with Marvin Marshall and Reese McCampbell (who accomplished this feat twice). For the game, he’s 15-22 for 267 yards.
After recovering a fumble in the first half, S.C. State’s Markee Hamlin caught an overthrown pass by Carlton Jackson and returned it to the Morgan State 35. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs could earn the outright MEAC title as Hampton leads Florida A&M 19-0 with 4:30 remaining in the fourth quarter.
S.C. State goes into the lockerroom with a 27-7 advantage. But it took nearly 10 minutes to play the final 7.8 seconds. The situation was the Bulldogs were flagged for pass interference on a catch by Edward Morton-Green as time expired. Because the Bears declined the penalty, which would have given them an untimed down because it was a defensive penalty, time ran out and Morgan State could not set up for a 42-yard field goal. It’s the second time in four weeks a team has hurt themselves by misinterpreting the rules.
The Bulldogs turn a fumble recovery by Markee Hamlin into a 19-yard field goal by Erickson.
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