2018 Savannah State Tigers football team

The 2018 Savannah State Tigers football team represented Savannah State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They were led by third-year head coach Erik Raeburn and played their home games at Ted Wright Stadium. They finished the season 2–8, 1–6 in MEAC play to finish in last place.

2018 Savannah State Tigers football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
2018 record	2–8 (1–6 MEAC)
Head coach	Erik Raeburn (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Rychel (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Chad Williams (3rd season)
Home stadium	Ted Wright Stadium (Capacity: 8,500)

2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 North Carolina A&T $		6	–	1					9	–	2
Bethune–Cookman		5	–	2					7	–	5
Florida A&M		5	–	2					6	–	5
South Carolina State		4	–	3					5	–	6
Howard		4	–	3					4	–	6
North Carolina Central		3	–	4					5	–	6
Morgan State		3	–	4					4	–	7
Norfolk State		2	–	5					4	–	7
Delaware State		2	–	5					3	–	8
Savannah State		1	–	6					2	–	8
$ – Conference champion Rankings from STATS Poll

This season marked the Tigers' final season playing in Division I as they rejoined Division II after the season.[1]

On December 9, head coach Erik Raeburn was fired.[2] He finished as Savannah State with a three-year record of 8–23.

Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2017 season 3–8, 3–5 in MEAC play to finish in seventh place.

Preseason

MEAC preseason poll

In a vote of the MEAC head coaches and sports information directors, the Tigers were picked to finish in eighth place.[3]

Predicted finish	Team
1	North Carolina A&T
2	Howard
3	North Carolina Central
4	Bethune–Cookman
5	Florida A&M
6	Norfolk State
7	South Carolina State
8	Savannah State
9	Morgan State
10	Delaware State

Preseason All-MEAC Teams

The Tigers had five players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.[4]

Offense 3rd team Paris Baker – TE

Defense 1st team Stefen Banks – DL 3rd team Brandon Carswell – DL

Special teams 2nd team Giovanni Lugo – K 3rd team JaMichael Baldwin – RS

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	8:00 p.m.	at UAB*	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	ESPN+	L 0–52	27,124
September 8	6:00 p.m.	at No. 22 (FBS) Miami (FL)*	Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	ESPN3	L 0–77	60,307
September 15	1:00 p.m.	at Howard*	William H. Greene Stadium Washington, D.C.		Cancelled[lower-alpha 1]
September 22	4:00 p.m.	at Florida A&M	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	L 13–31	16,644
September 29	6:00 p.m.	Bethune–Cookman	Ted Wright Stadium Savannah, GA	ESPN3	L 20–35	5,018
October 6	6:00 p.m.	Charleston Southern*	Ted Wright Stadium Savannah, GA	ESPN3	W 23–3	2,970
October 13	6:00 p.m.	Morgan State	Ted Wright Stadium Savannah, GA	ESPN3	L 11–18	2,655
October 27	3:00 p.m.	Norfolk State	Ted Wright Stadium Savannah, GA	ESPN3	W 32–3	7,812
November 3	2:00 p.m.	at Delaware State	Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	ESPN+	L 6–25	1,563
November 10	1:00 p.m.	No. 14 North Carolina A&T	Ted Wright Stadium Savannah, GA	ESPN3	L 12–28	4,788
November 17	1:30 p.m.	at South Carolina State	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	L 17–21	7,365
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Despite also being a member of the MEAC, the game vs Howard will be considered a non-conference game and will have no effect on the MEAC standings.[7]

1. This game was originally postponed in anticipation of Hurricane Florence, until being cancelled on November 16, 2018.[5][6]

Game summaries

at UAB

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	0	0	0	0
Blazers	7	21	10	14	52

See also: 2018 UAB Blazers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	0	0	0	0
No. 22 (FBS) Hurricanes	7	21	21	28	77

See also: 2018 Miami Hurricanes football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–1	2013	MIA, 77–7

at Florida A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	7	0	0	6	13
Rattlers	0	3	14	14	31

See also: 2018 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–9	2017	FAMU, 20–14

Bethune–Cookman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	14	14	0	35
Tigers	7	7	0	6	20

See also: 2018 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–39–2	2017	BCU, 24–12

Charleston Southern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	0	3	0	0	3
Tigers	7	7	0	9	23

See also: 2018 Charleston Southern Buccaneers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–7	2017	CSU, 52–27

Morgan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	3	8	7	0	18
Tigers	0	3	8	0	11

See also: 2018 Morgan State Bears football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–10	2017	MORG, 48–28

Norfolk State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	3	0	0	3
Tigers	7	10	7	8	32

See also: 2018 Norfolk State Spartans football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–10	2017	SSU, 27–9

at Delaware State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	0	0	6	6
Hornets	3	10	2	10	25

See also: 2018 Delaware State Hornets football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–3	2017	SSU, 35–21

North Carolina A&T

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Aggies	7	14	0	7	28
Tigers	0	0	6	6	12

See also: 2018 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–3	2017	NCAT, 36–17

at South Carolina State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	3	14	0	0	17
Bulldogs	0	7	7	7	21

See also: 2018 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–19	2017	SSU, 34–10

References

1. University, Savannah State. "SSU moves to Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference". Savannah State University. Retrieved 2018-12-29.
2. "Savannah State fires Erik Raeburn as head football coach". www.hbcusports.com. HBCU Sports. December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
3. "North Carolina A&T State Picked To Win 2018 MEAC Championship". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. July 27, 2018.
4. "NCAT's Raynard, NCCU's Reynolds Headline 2018 All-MEAC Preseason Football Team". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. July 25, 2018.
5. "Hurricane Florence Forces Postponement Of Howard/Savannah State Football Game". www.ssuathletics.com. Savannah State Athletics. September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
6. "SSU versus Howard Football Game Canceled". www.ssuathletics.com. Savannah State Athletics. November 16, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
7. "SSU Releases 2018 Football Schedule". www.ssuathletics.com. Savannah State Athletics. April 11, 2018.