By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports WriterHAMPTON, Va. - Playing a "do or die" game on Homecoming is something Hampton University has not faced during its three-year run as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion.
Having already lost as many conference games this season as they have the previous three seasons combined, this is where the Pirates (4-2, 3-2) find themselves entering Saturday's showdown with South Carolina State (3-3, 2-1). Another loss would all but end Hampton's chances of a fourth straight MEAC title and their shot at an at-large Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth.
"As a champion, your back is always against the wall because everybody is always coming after you," Pirates head coach Joe Taylor said.
Among the winningest active FCS head coaches, Taylor foresaw a challenging season ahead for his Pirates. With 17 new starters and seeing an increase in conference parity with programs like Delaware State, Morgan State and Bay rival Norfolk State, who defeated the Pirates 20-19 last Saturday, emerging as title contenders, Taylor is still pleased to see how his team has fared in losing two games by a total of eight points.
Nevertheless, Taylor sees his young squad progressing fast but is waiting for them to compete for all four quarters.
"I think we're still on the right track," he said. "Each week, after we gameplan, I look at the personnel we're going against, and when I see most of these teams who have 15-20 starters who are juniors and seniors. We're not going to go away. I still think we're doing the right kind of things. I'm proud of what we're doing and there's a lot of football left."
Hampton owns an 11-2 edge over SCSU in the series and Taylor's winning record against the Bulldogs (11-4-1) dates back to his days at Virginia Union. The Pirates have also never lost to SCSU at Armstrong Stadium, including a 14-10 victory in 2005 in which they rallied from a 10-0 deficit with two, second-quarter touchdowns.
Last year's 13-6 win by SCSU which snapped the Pirates 24-game regular-season and 17-game conference winning streaks, played out the same way in turning into a second half defensive struggle. In fact, the two teams have combined to score three second-half points in the last two meetings.
Photo: #20, Gerard Griffin, RB 5-11/R-freshman, Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte H.S.
With SCSU coming off a 611-yard, 49-point effort against Florida A&M, Taylor said the Pirates must figure out a way to slow its offense down with a relatively new cast.
"They do what they do," he said. "They're going to run the football. That's their m.o. Defensively, they're going to flock to the football. They have a very sound special teams."
Offensively, Taylor is concerned about quarterback Cleveland McCoy, who earned MEAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after amassing 314 yards against FAMU and the double threat he presents.
"You've got to keep our eyes on him," he said. "He'll run draw plays, then he'll fake the run and back up and throw it. He's probably one of the better quarterbacks in this conference. The bottom line is you can't go to sleep on him. You better know where he is at all times."
Other than hoping that the SCSU bus "does not show up," Taylor joked, the key to containing McCoy and the Bulldogs' running game will be winning the battle upfront. Even with the presence of Preseason MEAC Defensive Player of the Year Kendall Langford (39 tackles, two sacks) and Marcus Dixon (25 tackles, five sacks) on the defensive line, Hampton is allowing 168.8 yards per game on the ground against MEAC teams and faces an experienced SCSU offensive line with two All-MEAC first-team selections in right tackle James Lee and center Raymond "Duck" Harrison.
"When you look at the outcome of ballgames, it's really all about who controls the trenches," Taylor said. "If you look back at last year, it was such a close ball game. Both teams really played tough in the trenches. Defensively, we feel pretty good about the experience that we have this year. But I tell you, that whole offensive line, especially on the right side, and that center is probably one of the better centers if not in the conference, in this country on this level because he's a scrapper. He gets after you. So that's going to be very important. We're going to have our hands full with their o-line. Hopefully, we can make a few plays in there. That's going to be a key matchup."
When McCoy looks to the air, he will have to contend with University of South Carolina transfer cornerback Sam Pope. The former Gamecock is tied with SCSU's Markee Hamlin for the MEAC lead with four interceptions and Taylor said he has "tremendously" helped his young Pirate secondary.
"The reason he transferred was because (USC) wanted him to move inside and play safety and he felt like he's a true corner and I'm glad he had that belief because he's really made a difference for us," Taylor said. "When you lose all four starters in the secondary, certainly you're looking for some help, and he's come in and not only is he a good cover guy, he's very physical as well."
Offensively, the Pirates are ranked next to last in rushing, but counter with the MEAC's leading passer and total yards producer in quarterback T.J. Mitchell (1,542 yards, 11 Tds, 5 ints; 72 rushing yards.). His favorite targets are Jeremy Gilchrist (39 receptions for 648 yards and five Tds), Justin Brown (18 catches, 350 yards, two Tds) and Kevin Teel (18 catches, 275 yards, two Tds).
Prior to Taylor's teleconference, SCSU head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough discussed he's all but decided to redshirt BANDIT Marshall McFadden. He said the junior is still hobbled by an elbow injury suffered in Week Two against Bethune-Cookman, but it made more sense to sit him the rest of the way and have him available for a full season next year.
McFadden was a preseason MEAC first-team selection and had 12 tackles in two games.
Quarterback T.J. Mitchell is among three Hampton University football players suspended from the team.
