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| SCSU COACH OLIVER "BUDDY" POUGH COURTESY SCSU ATHLETICS |
The winner of the Furman-South Carolina State contest will play at No. 1 seed and two-time defending national champion North Dakota State on Dec. 7 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
SC State had 13 student-athletes to earn All-MEAC honors, including redshirt senior linebacker Joe Thomas be selected as the MEAC Defense Player of the Year, while teammate redshirt senior center was named Offensive Lineman of the year, the league announced.
South Carolina State (9-3, 7-1 MEAC) claimed a share of its 15th Mid-Eastern Athletic Championship with a 17-3 win over Norfolk (11/23) clinched an at-large berth and will be make its fourth appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs since 2010 under Pough.
Meanwhile, Furman (7-5, 6-2 SoCon), which claimed a share of its 13th Southern Conference championship with a 27-14 win over Wofford on Saturday and the league's playoff automatic qualifier, will be making its 16th appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs and first since 2006.
A preseason No.2 MEAC pick and posted one of the best turnovers in school history after finishing 5-6 last season, to a 9-3 finishing this season and share of the league crown. The Bulldogs won the last 8-of-9 games, only losses coming to nationally ranked opponents in #6 Clemson (10-1), # 11 (FCS) Coastal Carolina (11-1) and #14 Bethune-Cookman (10-2).
SC State played its first FCS (formerly I-AA) playoff game against Furman in 1982 in Greenville. The Paladins own a 10-4 lead in its series with the Bulldogs (9-3, 7-1 MEAC), having last met in 1998 (27-19 Furman win) in Greenville.
Twenty four teams comprise the NCAA FCS playoff field, with eight seeded squads earning first round byes. The national championship is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2015, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, and will be televised by ESPN2.
COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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