NCCU to host tough S.C. State on ESPNU Thursday night

DURHAM, North Carolina — N.C. Central bucked tradition a year ago and took it to S.C. State in a 40-10 win on a big stage.

The Bulldogs for years marked their territory in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with league championships and appearances in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

In 2012, NCCU was in the FCS for just its second season, yet at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, the Eagles made a statement with a 30-point, second-quarter explosion to win the Circle City Classic “We played them last year in Indianapolis, and they embarrassed us there,” S.C. State coach Buddy Pough said. “They beat us really badly.”

It’s not like the Bulldogs never had been taken to the woodshed.

“I’ve had some good butt cuttings in my time, now,” Pough said. But that spanking from NCCU was especially memorable.

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