Sunday, August 26, 2007

SCSU Bulldogs want MEAC title to celebrate school's 100th year of football


By Lou Bezjak
Buddy Pough can’t think of a better gift for S.C. State’s 100th season of football than a conference title and a playoff berth.

The Bulldogs, who shared a conference title in 2004, haven’t won an outright MEAC crown since 1994 and haven’t made a playoff appearance since 1982.
S.C. State’s last postseason appearance was in the 1997 Heritage Bowl, which ended in a 34-28 loss to Southern.

“I think you get a great chance to do something special, to give a special gift to the university,” Pough said. “Let’s hope we get it done.” Building a championship program is what Pough had on his mind when he took over for legendary coach Willie Jefferies.

The program was in a state of transition by the end of Jefferies’ second stint with the Bulldogs. S.C. State had three losing seasons in Jefferies’ final four years.
Enter Pough, an Orangeburg native who played for Jefferies and was an assistant under Bill Davis in the 1970s.

Pough hasn’t disappointed, either. He hasn’t had a losing season in five years and has won nine games twice.

“Half of my life has been here in Orangeburg, so it’s special any time you get to be in charge of something and understand the significance,” Pough said.
The football facilities continue to improve with a new scoreboard and new turf at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

More improvements are on the way, and the athletic program should be helped by games against Air Force and South Carolina this year.

It’s the first time in school history the Bulldogs will face a Bowl Championship Subdivision team.

“I think we are at the point that we can compete with the I-AAs of the world. How we do against Division I schools? I don’t know,” Pough said. “I would like for us to play well and see what happens.”

Pough’s players are eager for the challenge.

“It’s big for us,” said safety Marshall McFadden, a former Lamar standout. “We know we can compete with these guys, and it will help with exposure.

“It will get more people to see what kind of standards we have here.”

S.C. State will make $500,000 for the two games. Pough said the school will continue to play at least one BCS team every year. The Bulldogs open up next year at Central Florida. Other future opponents include Georgia Tech (2010), South Carolina (2011) and Clemson (2013).

Playing the big boys doesn’t just help the school financially. It also helps with recruiting, which has improved under Pough.

S.C. State has cleaned up in the Pee Dee with 20 area players on the roster. And the Bulldogs are starting to get the state’s other top prospects, too. Pough was even able to land Malcolm Long, the state’s player of the year and his team’s quarterback of the future.

But Pough said the ultimate recruiting tool would be a conference title, something that has eluded the Bulldogs.

S.C. State has been a runner-up in the MEAC the last three years. The Bulldogs, the MEAC preseason favorites, finally beat nemesis Hampton last season only to drop contests to Bethune-Cookman and Delaware State.

“We aren’t going to settle for anything less than a conference title. It’s what it’s all about,” Darlington native receiver Dusten Dubose said

No comments:

Post a Comment