ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Bethune-Cookman football coach Brian Jenkins said he compared Saturday's game against two-time defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion South Carolina State to a heavyweight boxing match.If so, it was Cassius Clay versus Sonny Liston in 1964. And just as Clay (before he was known as Muhammad Ali) claimed he "shook up" the world in '64, the Wildcats shook up the MEAC world Saturday by beating the seemingly unbeatable Bulldogs 14-0 on their home field.
"We tabbed this game a heavyweight fight, and we said we're going to take it 15 rounds," Jenkins said. "And if it came down to the last round and we had to go toe-to-toe, we were willing to do that. It just so happened we were able to win 14 of the 15 rounds."
'Cats coach shares moment
ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- How big was Bethune-Cookman's 14-0 upset of defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion South Carolina State on Saturday? Count the ways.
· No team has beaten the Bulldogs in conference play since 2007; B-CU's win snapped a 21-game conference win streak and a 13-game home wining streak for South Carolina State.
· It was B-CU's first road shutout in 10 years -- the last at Howard in 2000.
· It left B-CU as one of only two unbeaten teams in the MEAC. The Wildcats and Hampton are both 4-0, and the two teams will meet at Hampton on Nov. 6.
Shut down and out: Bethune-Cookman blanks Bulldogs, 14-0
The atmosphere at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Saturday in the closing seconds was like nothing seen at a South Carolina State football game in three seasons. Fans who were initially expressing their frustration with boos started quietly exiting the stands. On the sidelines, the Bulldog players were throwing their helmets down with confused looks on their faces.
Meanwhile, the opposing sidelines and visitors' section were a sight of uninhibited celebration as the Bethune-Cookman players showered head coach Brian Jenkins with Gatorade and carried him off the field like a conquering hero.
The 23rd-ranked Wildcats had defeated 9th-ranked South Carolina State 14-0 before a stunned 10,077 fans. The loss saw an end to the Bulldogs' Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference record 21-game winning streak and 13-game home-winning streak, both dating back to a 17-16 defeat to Delaware State on Oct. 27, 2007.
Pough sees B-C coach as rising star
"He is definitely the Coach of the Year in our league," said Pough during Monday's press conference. "They're the most improved team I've seen in this league and it's a good thing. It's good for the fact that it will help the strength of our league in the fact that he'll go out and beat some people outside of our league. ... So he'll be a force in this league for years to come."
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Attendance: 10,077
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