By John Dell, Winston Salem Journal
Since starting its climb to the Football Championship Subdivision two years ago, Winston-Salem State has held its own against teams from the MEAC - with one exception.
S.C. State pummeled WSSU 35-6 at Bowman Gray Stadium last season. It was the most decisive loss to a MEAC team since the Rams left Division II.
WSSU will get a chance to redeem itself when it plays S.C. State at 6 p.m. today at Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg.
Coach Kermit Blount of the Rams says he doesn’t consider last year’s loss to S.C. State a blowout because the game was close at halftime. Two turnovers by the Rams in the second half opened the door for the Bulldogs.
The Rams, who won’t be eligible for the MEAC championship until 2010, are 2-1 overall this season and 2-0 against MEAC teams after last week’s 19-17 win against Morgan State.
“I’m not surprised about the performance,” Blount said of the win against Morgan State. “I knew we had a good group of young men, and it does feel good to be where we are record-wise, but at the same time, it is a very long season.”
Today’s game will be WSSU’s third in a stretch of six straight road games, but Blount says he doesn’t mind being away from home and that playing on the road gets his team’s attention.
“On the road we can control our team a little better,” he said. “It’s more regimented, and I think that’s a plus.”
S.C. State is 1-2 and coming off a 38-3 loss to No. 17 South Carolina. The other loss also was to a team in the Football Bowl Subdivision, 34-3 to Air Force in a season-opener. S.C. State’s win was a MEAC victory at Bethune-Cookman.
Coach Buddy Pough’s Bulldogs will be making their home debut.
“We have been from the Rocky Mountains down to the Atlantic Ocean already this season, and we get a chance to finally come back to Orangeburg to the friendly confines of Bulldog Stadium in front of our home fans,” said Pough, who is in his sixth season at S.C. State and has a 41-19 record.
After two games against FBS teams (formerly Division I-A), it might appear as if things would be easier for the Bulldogs today. Pough doesn’t see it that way.
“We would like to come back and play someone really easy, but you don’t see that with Winston-Salem State,” Pough said. “They are playing really well on defense and offense this year. Last year, they were more defensive with the ability to score a point or two, but this year, it’s going to be a different story and a tough football game for us.”
The Rams lost running back Brandon McRae to a broken wrist last week, and Jed Bines suffered a high-ankle sprain. Bines has missed practice all week and is listed as probable.
Rod Fluellen, who has moved back to tailback where he was a reserve last season, will start in place of Bines. There’s a chance freshman Nic Cooper could play, but Blount is hoping to redshirt him this season. As a precaution, however, Cooper will be in uniform for tonight’s game.
“It’s still a day-to-day thing with Jed,” Blount said Thursday. “We’ll have to wait and see (today) if Jed can go.”
Last week, WSSU’s defense allowed Morgan State’s Chad Simpson to rush for 221 yards on 41 carries. This week, the Rams will have to try to stop Will Ford, a sophomore who gained 117 yards on 17 carries against South Carolina.
Defensive coordinator Mike Ketchum says that stopping the run is always important.
“They had a heck of a running back at Morgan State, and now we’ll see another good one at South Carolina State,” Ketchum said. “So there’s no letup in this league.”
Quarterback Cleveland McCoy leads the S.C. State offense. He’s a fifth-year senior and three-year starter, and he has passed for more than 3,000 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 in his career.
Blount was an assistant at S.C. State for four seasons before coming to WSSU in 1993, and he knows that playing in Orangeburg isn’t easy.
“This is a different kind of group of players that we are going to play this weekend as they are very good and very physical, most definitely one of the best teams in the MEAC,” Blount said. “Certainly we will have to be on the top of our game to win.”
Blount called last week’s win a good measuring stick of how far his program has come. Another win against one of the top teams in the MEAC would be another step forward.
“The thing that we want to do is not so much about the wins and losses,” Blount said, “it’s more about being competitive and building a Division I football program.”
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