Sunday, December 3, 2017

Pough still right coach for S.C. State Bulldogs

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- The end of the regular season in college football annually produces as much news about coaching changes as the pending postseason. Things are no different in 2017 with coaching exits, searches and entrances at high-profile schools such as Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Arizona State and UCLA.

This year, the focus on the future for coaches extends into Orangeburg, where S.C. State’s Buddy Pough is at the end of a contract and coming off his worst season in 16 years leading the Bulldog program.

After the homecoming loss to Howard on Oct. 28, first-year Athletic Director Stacey Danley went public with a statement of support for Pough amid the standard fare of fan complaints that comes with losing football games. Danley said then that he supported Pough but qualified his remarks by stating that season’s end would bring an evaluation of the coach and the program. He said S.C. State expected to win its closing two games.

But the Bulldogs did not win, even falling 34-10 on the final Saturday to Savannah State, a team that has not defeated S.C. State since 2001. The loss left the team at 3-7 and gave Pough his worst mark as the head coach of a program that boasts 16 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football titles.

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