S.C. State: Defense adds to offensive ‘darkness'

Aside from a brief rain shower and occasional hovering dark clouds, the weather was virtually a non-factor at South Carolina State's Garnet and Blue game Saturday at Willie Jeffries Field in Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

The Bulldog defense was non-relenting against the offense, with three touchdowns in the Garnet's 32-23 victory over the Blue. Defensive backs Courtney Ingram and Mason Harris each scored off turnovers in the second quarter when the Garnet posted 18 unanswered points to take control of the scrimmage.

Garnet 32, Blue 23 final

A forced fumble by Courtney Ingram on quarterback Derrick Wiley was the final play in the nine-point win by the defense Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium at Willie Jeffries Field.

Ingram had one of two defensive touchdowns for the Garnet, returning a forced fumble by Dominique Ellis 43 yards for a touchdown in the first half. The other score came on a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown by Mason Harris.

Defense Outscores Offense 32-23 in Garnet & Blue Game

Orangeburg, SC – The South Carolina State defense matched the offense with three touchdowns scored and got several other defensive stops to outscore the offense 32-23 Saturday in the Bulldogs' annual Garnet and Blue game. Bulldog head coach Buddy Pough said he was not surprised at the outcome, as the defense is typically ahead of the offense during the spring.

“The defense played very well, I thought,” Pough said. “But that's not so unusual as our defense has a knack for creating turnovers and touchdown-scoring opportunities, especially during the spring.


Videographer: ncaaoncampus; Looking Back - 2010 - MEAC Career Rushing Leader, William Ford

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Bellamy chose SCSU over Coastal Carolina

With National Signing Day exactly four weeks away, South Carolina State has picked up its first verbal commitment for the incoming freshman class. Senior offensive lineman Tristan Bellamy of Strom Thurmond announced Monday his intentions of signing with the reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions, according to head coach Lee Sawyer. The 6-3, 285-pound Bellamy chose S.C. State over Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern.

“They did a good job in convincing him that he can come in and play very early and they felt like he could be a big time player for him,” Sawyer said. “And one of my former players (defensive lineman Matt Key) is playing down there and he did a good job in recruiting him.” Bellamy lettered two seasons at guard and center for the Rebels. As a senior, he led the way for a Strom Thurmond team which went undefeated during the regular season and averaged 335.6 yards per contest For his efforts, Bellamy was selected to participate in the North-South All-Star Classic where he was member of the victorious North team.

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SCSU Bulldog D dominates on 'Meet the Players Day'

SCSU receiver Oliver 'Tre' Young.



















The close to 250 fans who took part in South Carolina State’s “Meet the Players Day” at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Saturday witnessed a scrimmage dominated by the defense.

“I thought defensively, we did better than we did offensively,” S.C. State head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough said. “Offensively, I thought today we were very medium. I think it had maybe something to do with the fact that our defense is starting to really kind of keep a grip of us and do some things to kind of shut us down. Whether or not we can attribute all of that to our defense, I don’t know. It might be the fact that offense just didn’t have it today. But, I think it was mostly because our defense played better.”

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Pough not happy with SCSU's Wednesday practice

Get one key player -- Marshall McFadden -- back, and lose another, Julius Wilkerson. Throw in a bad practice to boot and it's easy to understand why Bulldogs head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough was deflated Wednesday night.

"We just went through the motions a little," he said. "Some days the offense is better. Some days the defense looks like it has a little more life. Today, we didn't have either." The practice was already choppy in the sense that Wednesday, according to Pough, is a "big class day" for many of the Bulldogs. So, several players were in and out of practice.

"We did a lot of individual, fundamental stuff early," Pough said. "And, we did most of the team stuff in the middle of practice because we had those kids who had to leave for practice. Really though, it was medium at best."

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The Best Thing Going: S.C. State's Pough likes quarterback situation

Photo: South Carolina State Bulldogs head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough.

As the rain slowly started to drizzle down to the artificial surface on the field at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Wednesday evening, South Carolina State head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough exploded.

Practice was just minutes away from wrapping up, but Pough didn't like what he saw when backup quarterback DeWain Clark took a snap in a drill in the Red Zone and was harassed by a defender that should have been picked up by a blocker out of the backfield.

"Blown assignment after blown assignment!" Pough scolded while mixing in a few colorful words to ensure his backs that he meant business.

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S.C. State's Campbell, Smalls looking to emerge as Ford's backup

Photo: RB William Ford #28 is back for his junior campaign in leading the Bulldogs rushing attack. The 5-11/185 RB is from Travelers Rest, S.C./Travelers Rest H.S.

Anthony Campbell and Kenneth Smalls fit the description of what type of player new South Carolina State running backs coach Danny Lewis wants to see.

Both last saw significant playing time in high school, yet remain hungry and eager to finally prove themselves as worthy of contributing after spending last season on the scout team. Each player is also motivated by a sense of urgency as the clock ticks down on their collegiate eligibility.

"I'm fortunate to have a coach like coach Buddy Pough to give me an opportunity to play my last season here and just to be a part of this and just see the future, try to play and compete with some of these guys in the MEAC and try to be the best at South Carolina State and move on and do great things," Campbell said.

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Hendrick leaves SCSU for South Florida

Photo: Coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough have the "for hire" sign out for three great assistant coaches.

For the third time in four years, South Carolina State will be seeking a new defensive coordinator.
Defensive coordinator John Hendrick, who arrived at SCSU following a five-year stint as Benedict head football coach, has been hired as the new defensive tackles coach at South Florida. The University of Pittsburgh graduate, who was a former All-Big East Defensive Lineman, joins a fledgling Football Bowl Subdivision program which made great strides last season in reaching as high as number two in the Bowl Championship Series rankings.

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Top 100 of 100 years

By T&D Staff

As part of the ongoing 100th anniversary celebration of South Carolina State football, the school will begin today announcing the names on its list of the top 100 players in school history.

The first 34 names will be shown on the electronic scoreboard during the SCSU/Winston-Salem State contest. The next 32 names will be revealed during the nationally televised Oct. 13 game against Florida A&M and the final 34 for the Oct. 27 "Homecoming" game against Delaware State.

During the weekend of Nov. 9-10, those living players or representatives of the deceased on the list will be honored at a banquet as part of "Extravaganza Friday" the night before the Morgan State game. They will also be presented to the crowd during the game.

These 34 names on the South Carolina State list of Top 100 Players that will be recognized today:

Marion Motley (deceased), 1943

Henry F. "Bo" Bowman (deceased), 1948

William "Bucky" Harris (deceased), 1949

Kermit "Chubby" Booker, 1950

Eugene Lindsay (deceased), 1953

Napoleon "Nap" Ford (deceased), 1956

David "Deacon" Jones, 1958

Harry Hoskins, 1964

John R. Gilliam, 1967

Louis Ross, 1971

Rufus Bess, Jr., 1978

Phillip Murphy, 1980

Dexter Clinkscale, 1981

Orlando Brown, 1993

Angelo King, 1981

Michael Hicks, 1996

Robert "Mickey" Sims, (deceased) 1977

John Courtney, 1983

Thomas Tutson, 1982 (deceased)

Raleigh Roundtree, 1997

Reese McCampbell, 2003

Tyrone Caldwell, 1967

Albert Lester (deceased), 1979

H.G. Simpson (deceased), 1938

Sidney Fulton, 1981

Dwayne Jackson, 1982

Ralph Green, 1982

Tyrone Davis, 1994

Jerrell Moore, 1997

Derek Harrison, 2001

Corey Haynes, 2003

Clyde Reed, 2007

DeShawn Baker, 2007

Anthony Clay, 1977

SCSU vs. South Carolina

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (1-1, 1-0) at 17th-ranked UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA (2-0 1-0)

AT STAKE: It's the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks. Both schools have played football for over 100 years and look to build on conference road victories from the previous week.

LAST OUTING: SCSU def. Bethune-Cookman 24-13 on Sept. 8 in Daytona Beach, Fla,. USC def. Georgia 16-12 on Sept. 8 in Athens, Ga.

LAST YEAR'S RECORDS: SCSU (7-4, 6-2 in the MEAC); Bethune-Cookman (8-5, 3-5 in the SEC)

ALL-TIME RECORDS: SCSU (371-240-28); USC (517-517-44)

FIRST SEASONS OF FOOTBALL: SCSU (1907): USC (1892)

HEAD COACHES & CAREER RECORDS: SCSU's Oliver "Buddy" Pough (41-18 overall, 30-10) 6th season; USC's Steve Spurrier (159-50-2 overall; 17-10 with the Gamecocks) 18 seasons overall, 3rd at USC

DID YOU KNOW: Oliver "Buddy" Pough led Fairfield-Central to a Class 3-A title in 1996. Steve Spurrier led the University of Florida to a national championship in 2000 and has won 7 SEC championships and one ACC championship...SCSU has three former players (Deacon Jones, Marion Motley and Harry Carson) inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, more than all the Palmetto State's Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Division and Division II programs combined. USC has the Palmetto State's lone Heisman Trophy winner in running back George Rogers (1980) and head coach won the award in 1966 as a quarterback at Florida...USC currently has 18 former players in the NFL, while Seattle Seahawks nose tackle Chartric Darby is the lone SCSU representative...Pough spent five seasons as a running backs coach at USC under both Brad Scott and Lou Holtz before returning to SCSU in 2001...Spurrier is 16-4 against schools from South Carolina...The last time USC lost to a Football Championship Subdivision School was 1992 against The Citadel...This is the second game in school history for SCSU against a Football Bowl Subdivision team, having opened the season against Air Force...SCSU offensive lineman Raymond Harrison and USC linebacker Rodney Paulk were teammates at Richland Northeast, while USC twin linebackers Jasper and Casper Brinkley and free safety Brandon Isaac of Blackville-Hilda played with SCSU reserve wide receiver Phillip Morris at Georgia Military...Lineman Xavier Littleberry (Clemson) and James Lee are the only SCSU players with previous playing experience against USC...Under Pough, the Bulldogs are 37-5 when leading or tied at halftime and 4-13 when trailing. In MEAC play, the record is 28-1 when ahead, 1-9 when trailing...

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BLACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 10

1. Hampton

2. Alabama A&M

3. Delaware State

4. Tuskegee

5. Southern

6. South Carolina State

-Times and Democrat

No hate in these rivals: Runager, Staley won't let allegiance hinder friendship

By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer

Frank Staley Jr. and Geb Runager have nothing but love for their college alma maters.

Runager earned his masters’ degree in education from the University of South Carolina and sent four of his five children there, including the school’s first-ever female trainer and NFL All-Pro punter Max Runager. Staley is a proud second-generation graduate of South Carolina State University whose father has a building named on campus in his honor and remains a fixture around the football team as one of its biggest fans.

Given Staley and Runager’s devout allegiances to USC and SCSU, Saturday’s first-ever meeting between the two in-state schools would seem like the time to put aside their longtime friendship. Instead of exchanging trash talk and ugly stares, however, it was all smiles between the two men at Thursday’s Orangeburg Touchdown Club meeting.

"I think it’s great," Runager said. "I think it’s long overdue and you can tell just from the Touchdown Club meeting today the excitement it’s been generating not only in this room, but the community and the entire state. So it’s long overdue as far as a football game is concerned and Coach Pough is not looking up so high to South Carolina, he’s looking at an equal level playing field and he’s anxious to find out how his players are going to go. So I think it’s long overdue."

"It’s long overdue and we’re going to be representative," Staley said. "We at South Carolina State with the Bulldogs, we go into a game and go in to win and hopefully, we can win this one."

Runager acknowledged most Gamecock fans see the game with the Bulldogs as a ‘breather’ before next week’s matchup against second-ranked LSU. At the same time, Runager’s personal ties to SCSU, dating back to Willie Jeffries, in working with the Bulldog kickers makes it difficult to develop a healthy ‘hatred’ entering Saturday’s game.

"(Punter and Saturday’s place-kicker) Aaron Haire is doing quite well as a punter and holder," Runager said. "He and I have been working together since he was in middle school. How am I going to pull against him. I cannot do anything but wish him the best."

The two men are also linked by their years of community service. From Runager’s work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to Staley’s 30-plus years as a teacher at SCSU, their strong commitment to helping young people serves as a common bond between them.

"I think both of our backgrounds have involved working with kids," Staley said. "We’ve done that all of our lives and I guess we’re going to do that until we pass on to the Good Father.

"And that will transition itself into the game on Saturday due to the total respect we have for what the coaches do and how well they’re working with those kids and what it means to them to work with those kids because we’ve worked with kids all our professional lives and the kids are the same," Runager said. "That’s who it’s all about. It’s not about us. It’s about the kids.

"And these football players when they graduate from college, the majority of them aren’t going to be pros because there’s nothing but good players up there. What we’re doing is preparing them for life and what it is," Staley said.

Runager sees Saturday’s game as a chance to bring together two groups of fans who have more in common than they realize and will give fans statewide an unprecedented opportunity to see what SCSU is all about.

"The word is respect," Runager said. "That’s what it’s all about. That’s what this club is all about and I think our community has grown exponentially in that regard and in terms of respect for each other, no matter what your background or anything else and I think that’s what the game is going to do. It’s going to offer an opportunity to build respect because they’re going to look at a class program in South Carolina State University, which is coming in well-closed, well-played, the players are just really truly student-athletes and gentlemen and that level of respect just can’t help but increase remarkably in my view."

Staley holds Runager in equally high regard, stating he’s been someone who’s been a ‘father image’ for him for a long time. Regardless of the outcome, the two insists their friendship will endure.

"We’re going to be friends even after the game is over," Staley said. "We know he’s going to be rooting for Carolina because that’s where he’s had all his backing and I’m going to be rooting for the Bulldogs. I’ve been going around with Carolina because as a Boy Scout leader, I ushered up there for years. But Saturday, I’m a Bulldog!"

"No hate over here," Runager said. "We can’t work up a hate."

SCSU Raymond Harrison heads back to Williams-Brice

SCSU RB Will Ford vs. Air Force

By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer

COLUMBIA - As a sophomore linebacker at Richland Northeast High School, Rodney Paulk paid his dues on the scout team lining up against an established starting senior center in Raymond "Duck" Harrison.

For the most part, the more experienced Harrison got the better of the hungry, shorter Paulk. Yet while Harrison’s main scholarship offer came from South Carolina State, it was Paulk who ended up a year later at the University of South Carolina competing in the more high profile conference - the SEC.

When the Gamecocks play host to the Bulldogs Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium, the 6-foot, 217-pound Paulk cannot wait for the first opportunity to show his former Cavalier teammate how much better he’s gotten.

"He used to really beat me down until I told him that it wasn’t happening this year because I grew up," Paulk said Tuesday. "He use to really beat me in high school, so I’m looking forward to this time and showing him that I’m a lot better than I was."

Harrison is just as anxious to show off the skills which made him a preseason All Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference first-team selection and perennial starter for the Bulldogs since his freshman year.

"Right now, he’s (Paulk) playing in the SEC and I’m playing in the MEAC," he said. "So, he’s playing a little more big time football as far as bigger schools and more TV time and stuff. But it’s still football."

Although more a Clemson fan growing up in Columbia than USC, the 6-2, 275-pound Harrison was never seriously recruited by either the Tigers or the Gamecocks.

"Raymond’s a great player," said Paulk, who’s fourth on the team in tackles (12). "He was a great player in high school. That’s the only thing that got him was his size. That’s the one thing that got me too from getting offers out of high school. But, he’s a real good player. He could play Division I if the coaches would have looked at him."

According to Harrison, he’s not the only Bulldog itching to play well the second time around against a Football Bowl Subdivision foe.

"Just about everybody has something to prove," Harrison said. "We’ve got to play with a little chip on our shoulder because a lot of us were told we couldn’t play on the Division I-A level. So, we want to show that we can play a little bit."

Expect the Bulldogs to come out more confident and better prepared this Saturday having had the experience against Air Force Academy, according to Harrison. He said the initial shock of going into an FBS environment with bigger crowds and tougher, more conditioned players will not play a role against the Gamecocks.

Despite not allowing a single sack against Bethune-Cookman, Harrison said the offense did not play up to its capability.

"We feel like last week we left too many points out on the field," he said. "I feel we beat them way more than about 11 despite what the score says. So right now, we’re trying to get the early kinks out that teams have early in the season such as the false starts and stuff like that and a lot of penalties. We’re trying to get rid of all of that."

SCSU will not have at its disposal the possible element of surprise. With two-time defending FCS champion Appalachian State’s stunning win over Michigan, even Harrison acknowledges it’s wishful thinking to believe the Gamecocks will look pass the Bulldogs to concentrate on second-ranked LSU.

"As far as the players, they are not going to overlook a team much anymore," Harrison said. "They may overlook us because they’re coming off a big game against Georgia, beating Georgia, so they’re real high right now looking forward to LSU. So, I hope they do come out sleeping on us a little bit."

"We’re going out there to play the best we can," Paulk said. "I know people are talking about ‘you guys should have beat them by 50 or beat them by 40’ and we end up beating them by five. Just because they’re I-AA doesn’t mean they’re lower."

RETURN TO GLORY

SCSU freshman quarterback Malcolm Long expects to be greeted by a larger, though more hostile audience at Williams-Brice Stadium compared to his two previous visits.

Yet the raucous atmosphere will not prevent the former South Carolina "Mr. Football" from reminiscing of past championship glory experienced in the stadium where he and SCSU linebacker Julius Wilkerson played together on the first of Gaffney’s two consecutive Class 4-A Division I championships.

"It was just a great place to win back-to-back," Long said. "I know I’ll have flashbacks the moment I look at the field."

In 2005 against Summerville, Long rallied the Indians from a 26-7 halftime deficit to a come-from-behind 33-32 victory. The comeback was capped by an 11-play, 90-yard scoring drive orchestrated by Long in the final 2:12.

"That was a big moment in my life," Long remembered. "I just kept my poise out there and didn’t panic,"

Last year, Long was even more dominant in the state title game with three touchdown passes and two rushes for scores in a 45-0 victory over Irmo. He would go on to earn the prestigious "Mr. Football" Award and MVP honors at the North-South All-Star Game.

Like Harrison, SCSU was the only in-state school which made him a serious offer - a subject he declined to discuss. In fact, Long is more interested in helping the Bulldogs get the upset rather than proving a point if he enters the game.

"It’s a game of football and you’re trying to get a win and beat a good football team," Long said.

Gamecocks not taking anything (SCSU) for granted

By THOMAS GRANT JR.. T&D Senior Sports Writer

In terms of favorable rankings, the South Carolina State football team and head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough enjoy a higher rating with Steve Spurrier these days than ESPN’s "College Gameday".

The University of South Carolina head football coach made a guest appearance on Pough’s highlight show Sunday, just six days prior to the two squaring off at Williams-Brice Stadium. On Tuesday, Spurrier said he was very much looking forward to the first-ever meeting between the two schools separated by only 40 miles.

"They’ve got a bunch of good athletes," he said. "They’ve got a bunch of guys who can play for us. I know that. And I’m sure they’re be excited to play their very best and do everything to beat us. But we’re really looking forward to the game too."

So much so that Spurrier said he would have scheduled the Bulldogs if he was Gamecocks’ head coach 10-12 years ago. Although fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference school Florida A&M never faced the University of Florida teams during Spurrier’s 11-year tenure, he did face and defeat Palmetto State Football Championship Subdivision teams Furman (27-3 in 1990) and The Citadel (49-10 in 1993).

"I think it’s a good game," he said. "Instead of bringing in a team like (Lafayette-Louisiana), bring South Carolina State, Wofford. Do we play Furman in the next year or two? If they beat us, they beat us. I see a lot of coaches always worry about somebody beating you. Everyone of the schedule can beat you just about. So, it’s in-state. What’s the difference? It doesn’t bother me the way I read it bother some other coaches.

"I think it’s a good game. Buddy Pough said it’s wonderful for their program and, shoot, whatever we can do to financially maybe help those guys out, other Division I-AA schools, heck, we should do that I think."

While the oddsmakers may see the undefeated, 17th-ranked Gamecocks (2-0, 1-0) as capable of producing such a one-sided outcome against the Bulldogs (1-1, 1-0) enroute to next week’s showdown with second-ranked LSU, Spurrier cautioned about assuming his team has reached the level where it can overlook opponents.

"We’re not good enough to be overconfident," he said. "We’re not a big powerhouse here that think we can pick our opponents.

"Every win is precious to the South Carolina football team. We don’t take anything for granted, because none of them are for granted. We have to scratch and claw and make a few goal line stands and force field goals and all that kind of stuff so far. So we’ll be ready to play Saturday night. We’re looking forward to it. We’re not very happy with the way we played and the coaches aren’t very pleased with the way their players have performed either."

So displeased with his special teams’ play against Georgia that Spurrier said he plans to use starting running backs Mike Davis and Corey Boyd and even linebackers Jasper and Casper Brinkley as part of the kick return and coverage teams. Spurrier also voiced displeasure with his team’s mistake-prone play on both sides of the football.

He was particularly vocal about his offensive line’s struggles in pass protection and whether they can be effective against SCSU and the wide receivers’ inability to get open against man-to-man coverage.

"Georgia found out they could play man-to-man on us the whole game," he said. "The whole second half, they were just bump-and-run, man-to-man saying ‘you guys can’t get away from our guys’ and they were pretty much right. So, South Carolina State, their DBs may say ‘Hey, we can cover those dudes they got. Coach, let us have a go at that. So, that maybe the plan."

Spurrier did want to clarify critical comments regarding his defense attributed to him by ESPN College GameDay’s Chris Fowler. During Saturday’s telecast, Fowler quoted Spurrier as calling his defense ‘a bunch of average stiffs’.

"I don’t appreciate the guy misquoting what I say," Spurrier said. "If he can’t get it correct, then maybe he shouldn’t talk about South Carolina. Let him talk about all them other teams. But I never called a group of our players (that). I’d call our entire team a bunch of average stiffs."

A victory would move the Gamecocks (517-517-44) to the .500 mark in its 114-year history of football, but Spurrier knows the Bulldogs are motivated to pull off what would be the biggest win in the program’s 100-year history.

"We know they want to beat us," he said. "They want to beat us badly. This is a chance to create a memory of a lifetime if they come in here and beat us and they could beat us. They could beat us. Sometimes, the way we play we could lose to these guys. We know that."

FORMER HAWK MOVED

University of South Carolina strong safety Brandon Isaac of Blackville-Hilda will back up Saturday’s defensive hero, safety Darian Stewart against SCSU.

The sophomore safety Stewart had a team-high nine tackles and two pass breakups against Georgia. Isaac, who had a stellar game in the season-opener against Louisiana-Lafayette and is making a return from a shoulder injury which sidelined him last season, injured it again against Georgia but did return.

LS-WHO?

With exception to a hand-written 2007 schedule on the board behind him, Spurrier did his best not to give an impression his team was looking ahead to Sept. 22 against Louisiana State.

"Most of my guys don’t know who we’re playing next week," he said. "Go ask a few of them."

Both Boyd and linebacker Rodney Paulk, a former Richland Northeast teammate of SCSU center Raymond ‘Duck’ Harrison, just happened to be in attendance and stood by the same company line.

"We’re definitely trying to focus on this week," Boyd said. "We’re not focusing on LSU. That’s another week ahead. But we’re going to take the South Carolina State game and we’re going sit back and see exactly what they have to offer, what they’re going to bring to the table and we’re not going to overlook them. We’re going to play to the best of our ability. We’re not going to pay attention to the rankings right now because you can be in there one time and the next week, we can be out. So we’re going to let the pollsters do what they have to do and we’re going to control what we can do on the field."

"Don’t take any team lightly," Paulk said. "We’re still trying to work, get better each day. So we’re looking forward to playing them."

100-years in the making: SCSU getting ready for USC

By THOMAS GRANT, T&D Senior Sports Writer

To South Carolina State supporters, Saturday’s game at 17th-ranked University of South Carolina is a matchup 100 years in the making.

Yet for all of the growing hullabaloo surrounding the historic in-state clash, one of the head coaches in the center of the action is trying to maintain perspective on what is essentially another non-conference game.

"I could, but I won’t," said SCSU head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough at Monday’s press conference when asked about discussing the significance of the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks. "We’re going to play a football game. The one thing that I can tell you is that I’m not going to make it like it’s World War III. It’s just like we’re going to play (North Carolina) A&T except we’re going to Columbia. We’re excited about going to play. But more than anything else, we want to go out and we want to show up well."

Although the Bulldogs should have sizable fan support at Williams-Brice Stadium, having sold its allotment of 4,300 tickets, Pough knows it will be a more hostile environment compared to what he experienced during his five seasons as Gamecocks’ running backs coach and SCSU’s three previous appearances in the Palmetto Capital City Classic.

"When we played Benedict, I thought we were the fan favorite," he said. "It was more for us than it was for them. Well, I think that’s turned now. I think the very best thing to happen to us is that it gets real loud in there and the only reason that would happen would be because the game is somewhat competitive."

Of more importance for Pough is instilling in his players a belief in victory against a Gamecocks’ squad brimming with confidence following the 16-12 victory over previously 11th-ranked Georgia.

"I’m going to try to convince my guys that we can compete," he said. "That’s what our main objective is in these kind of settings. You want to go out and actually compete favorably and hang in there. If that were to happen, then you go about the task of saying ‘Maybe we might be able to win’. I don’t think you can fool your players on the disparity of all the things that you think about when talking about whether you can lose or not.

"You’re talking about a Top 20 national power here and one of the best college football coaches (USC head coach Steve Spurrier) I’ve known in my lifetime. You’ve got a lot of things there that would make you think that this would be a huge mismatch. The trick for us is to get in there and find some things that we can do to them to stretch them out a little bit and give us a chance to hang in there. If we can do that, it would be a success for us."

Pough said the "ripple effect" from defending Football Championship Subdivision champion Appalachian State’s win over Michigan will have USC even more prepared for Saturday’s game. At the same time, Pough said it will be a challenge for SCSU matching up with USC, particularly against a Gamecocks’ defense which presents even more challenges than season-opening FCS opponent Air Force Academy.

"They’ve got a couple of guys on their defense especially that I don’t know if we can block," Pough said. "That’s the one factor that we didn’t necessarily have in the Air Force situation. I didn’t think there was much of a talent mismatch with us and Air Force. But now they are a couple of guys at South Carolina that we don’t match up with."

Defensive tackle Marque Hall and the Brinkley twins at linebacker, Casper and Jasper, especially stood out on tape to Pough as "special players" and he believes this is the best USC defensive team he’s seen in years. Offensively, quarterback Blake Mitchell could present problems to an SCSU secondary which had its difficulties against option teams like Air Force and Bethune-Cookman and will be without defensive leader BANDIT Marshall McFadden. The Lamar native is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a hyperextended elbow ligament on his right arm suffered in the first half of Saturday’s 24-13 win over Bethune-Cookman.

Even without McFadden, the Bulldogs managed to hold the Wildcats without an offensive touchdown and are currently ahead of the offense in terms of team progress after two games.

"I think we’re coming along defensively," he said. "I was really proud of our defense and how they played Saturday. We’re still struggling to find ourselves offensively. We’ve got to play a little bit better at quarterback. We’ve got to play a little bit better upfront."

Quarterback Cleveland McCoy may have to carry much of the burden on offense should Pough opt to rest injured running back Will Ford and Jonathan Woods to insure they are healthy for the resumption of MEAC play in October. Backup Malcolm Long is also expected to see action at the place where he led Gaffney to back-to-back Class 4-A Division I finals.

Pough expects the Gamecocks to assert themselves quickly with the goal of resting its starters for the Sept. 22 showdown at second-ranked LSU.

"Putting the game away and getting their first-line people out of there," said Pough about USC’s approach this Saturday. "That’s generally what they try to do - hurry up and get them put away. And then at that point, we go ahead and play the back-ups and the guys who don’t get to play as much."

SCSU will hold team practices in Orangeburg today and Wednesday starting at 2:50 p.m. and will have a walk through in Columbia on Friday.

Photo: (L to R) Buddy Pough, Cleve McCoy, Will Ford and Willie Jeffries.

NOT JUST A PAYDAY

"We are about the task of getting to be like the Furmans and Appalachians of this world who can go out and compete favorably with those guys week in and week out. Now, they can’t, believe it or not, actually week in and week out do that, but they can occasionally once or twice a year. If we would get to the point where we improve because of that, it would have a big effect on our overall situation where we would become a lot better Football Championship Subdivision team."

CENTRAL FLORIDA NEXT?

SCSU hopes to schedule an FBS team for 2009, thus assuring the school will have such an opponent on the schedule every year through 2011. The Bulldogs are set to play Georgia Tech in 2010 and have a rematch with USC in 2011.

"We think that’s the best case scenario for us," Pough said. "Once upon a time, HBCUs played in the Classics and they made fairly decent money during the Classics. But, this is the method that we like to use for bringing a little extra income into the program. And for us, we get an added advantage in the fact that we get a competition factor that gives us a chance to really see how we match up with these styles of teams. Eventually, we want to get to the point where we can compete favorably with them because if we do, that means we will be much, much better in our division."

For the first time, Pough acknowledged the Bulldogs will most likely open next season against another Football Bowl Subdivision opponent in Central Florida. This is the first of two meetings over the next four years between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks. The Bulldogs will earn $230,000 this Saturday and $250,000 in 2011, although Pough insists the guaranteed money is not the only reason why these type of games are beneficial for SCSU.

"The one thing that I think that we get out of the games of this sort ... people think we’re going to get a guarantee," Pough said. "People think it’s more about money for us. But it’s not about money for us. It’s more about the preparation and the actual competition with people who are bigger than us and what we hope will happen is that we emulate them in a way where we become better ourselves.

SCSU Pough ready to talk about USC

By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer

COLUMBIA — Let the talk begin.

For weeks, South Carolina State head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough deliberately avoided talking about the first-ever game against the University of South Carolina. The reason was simple as the Bulldogs had a very important ‘prior engagement’ a week earlier with Bethune-Cookman which demanded their full attention.

A loss to the Wildcats now only would have put SCSU behind the ‘eight ball’ for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season title, but created the nightmarish prospect of having to defeat a Football Bowl Subdivision team to avoid an 0-3 start.

With the 24-13 win over the Wildcats, the Bulldogs can head to Columbia this Saturday relaxed knowing their standing in the conference will remain unchanged regardless of the outcome with the Gamecocks.

The lifted burden was especially evident in a relieved Pough’s post-game comments when asked about returning to the university he spent five years as a running backs’ coach under Lou Holtz. While excited about coaching at Williams-Brice Stadium again, Pough’s much happier about going there off a conference win.

"This makes me feel 100 times better going in there not 0-2," he said.

Quarterback Cleveland McCoy, who was a freshman when the Bulldogs faced Benedict in the 2004 Palmetto Capital City Classic at Williams-Brice Stadium, also believes his team will play more loose because of Saturday’s win.

"If we lost this game, it would been...because Bethune-Cookman is a MEAC team," McCoy said. "That counts and going into Carolina with your head down, that’s not a good thing. They’re coming in there to embarrass us, so that’s the great thing we wanted to do (Saturday)."

McCoy also believes the experience with Air Force, plus taking inspiration from what fellow Football Championship Subdivision team Appalachian State did to Football Bowl Subdivision team Michigan, will aid the Bulldogs against USC.

"We want to go in there and win and by any means necessary," McCoy said. "We don’t want to say ‘Well, we’re going up there to lose because that defeats the purpose of playing football. We want to have a shot at winning. Appalachian State won, so there’s no telling what we can do."

The one Bulldog whose arguably most looking forward to facing USC is former Clemson defensive lineman Xavier Littleberry. As the only SCSU player who have played against the Gamecocks during his one season with the Tigers, he still carries a ‘grudge’ against his former school’s biggest rival.

"I just feel like once they’re my rival, they’re always my rival and that’s going to be a real big game for me," he said.

Kickoff for Saturday’s first-ever contest between USC and SCSU is 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the SCSU Ticket Office by calling (803) 536-8579 and Time Warner Cable will air the game on a pay-per-view basis.

Bulldog notes

The Bulldogs’ 279 rushing yards were 32 more than the combined total yards of Bethune-Cookman. Travil Jamison came off the bench to lead SCSU with 70 yards...With the win, SCSU improved to 37-5 under head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough when leading or tied at halftime. Last year’s 10-9 loss to Delaware State was the only time that has taken place in conference play...Pough evened his record to 3-3 against Bethune-Cookman, leaving Hampton as the only MEAC team he does not own a winning record against...Corey Council’s 98-yard kickoff touchdown return was just the latest by a Wildcat player against SCSU. In fact, four of the five longest kickoff returns in Bethune-Cookman history have come at the Bulldogs’ expense, including current head coach Alvin Wyatt, who had a 102-yard return against SCSU in 1972. Wyatt’s return is tied for second in school history with John Osbourne, who also had a 102-yard return in 1972 against SCSU and four shy of the school mark set by Vincent Nobles in 1966 against the Bulldogs...A week after averaging 40.9 yards a punt in the high altitude at Air Force, punter Aaron Haire of Orangeburg-Wilkinson did even better with five punts averaging 48 yards, including a 61-yarder...Saturday’s game lasted three hours and seven minutes...Pough will hold his weekly press conference at 9 a.m. today in the athletics building.

Pough worries S.C. State might overlook Bethune-Cookman

By JEFFREY COLLINS

South Carolina State's Buddy Pough called last year's loss to Bethune-Cookman the worst defeat he has had in his more than five years as coach.

So his Bulldogs (0-1) will be ready for this weekend's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener with the Wildcats (1-0), right?

Maybe not, with game sandwiched between two big-time teams in Air Force and South Carolina. "We put it between those two Division I games. It makes it even harder to get prepared for those guys. We better be thinking about Bethune," Pough said.

In other game Saturday involving South Carolina's smaller colleges, Coastal Carolina hosts Winston-Salem State.

In Daytona Beach, Fla., South Carolina State wants to start this MEAC season a little better than the last one. Bethune-Cookman beat the Bulldogs 45-21 in the 2006 opener, snapping a two-game losing streak in the series. Pough called it the worst loss he has ever had.

But Pough still worries about getting his team motivated. The Bulldogs lost to Air Force 34-3 in the first game South Carolina State has ever played against a team from the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A. An even bigger game against a Football Bowl Subdivision team looms next week when the Bulldogs play South Carolina.

"All of our intentions need to be directed to Bethune," Pough said.

The Wildcats opened their season with a 31-17 win over Jacksonville, running for 283 yards. Bethune-Cookman threw for 347 yards and five touchdowns in last year's win against South Carolina State.

In Conway, Coastal Carolina (0-1) again finds itself trying to bounce back from a disappointing loss to open the season when the Chanticleers face Winston-Salem State (1-0).

Last year, Coastal Carolina bounced back from a first game loss to earn its first playoff bid ever. This season, Bennett worries his team may be too young.

"If I'm Winston, I'm going, 'That's not the same Coastal Carolina team. Heck, Delaware State beat 'em — we can beat 'em,' " Bennett said.

The Chanticleers lost by a field goal in last season's opener against Elon, then won nine of their next 10. And in Coastal Carolina's brief five-year history, it has never opened a season with two losses.

The Rams are in the process of moving into the Football Championship Series, where they will play in the MEAC.