2018 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team

The 2018 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team represented South Carolina State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 17th-year head coach Oliver Pough and played their home games at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They finished the season 5–6, 4–3 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place.

2018 South Carolina State Bulldogs football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
2018 record	5–6 (4–3 MEAC)
Head coach	Oliver Pough (17th season)
Offensive coordinator	Daniel Lewis (2nd season)
Home stadium	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium (Capacity: 22,000)

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

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2017 season 3–7, 2–6 in MEAC play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place.

Preseason

MEAC preseason poll

In a vote of the MEAC head coaches and sports information directors, the Bulldogs were picked to finish in seventh place.[1]

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 four players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.[2]

Defense 2nd team Damu Ford – LB 3rd team Kendrick Gathers – DB Alex Brown – DB

Special teams 3rd team Clifford Benjamin, Jr. – P

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 p.m.	at Georgia Southern*	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	ESPN+	L 6–37	15,260
September 8	6:00 p.m.	at No. 19 (FBS) UCF*	Bright House Networks Stadium Orlando, FL	ESPN3	L 0–38	43,269
September 22	6:00 p.m.	Norfolk State*	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	L 7–17	7,820
September 27	7:00 p.m.	at No. 12 North Carolina A&T	BB&T Stadium Greensboro, NC (rivalry)	ESPNU	L 16–31	11,530
October 6	1:00 p.m.	at Morgan State	Hughes Stadium Baltimore, MD	ESPN3	W 21–18	8,103
October 13	2:00 p.m.	Bethune–Cookman	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC		L 26–28	12,213
October 20	1:30 p.m.	Delaware State	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC		W 30–19	14,477
October 27	1:00 p.m.	at Howard	William H. Greene Stadium Washington, D.C.		W 27–21	7,501
November 10	4:00 p.m.	at Florida A&M*	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL		W 44–21	12,608
November 17	1:30 p.m.	Savannah State	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC		W 21–17	7,365
November 24[lower-alpha 1]	12:30 p.m.	North Carolina Central	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC		L 17–21	3,996
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Despite also being members of the MEAC, games against Florida A&M and Norfolk State will be considered non-conference games and will not have an effect on the MEAC standings.[3]

1. This game was originally scheduled for September 15, but was moved in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

Game summaries

at Georgia Southern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	6	0	6
Eagles	13	3	7	14	37

See also: 2018 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–7	2010	GASO, 41–16

at UCF

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	0
Knights	14	10	14	0	38

See also: 2018 UCF Knights football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Norfolk State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	7	7	0	3	17
Bulldogs	0	0	7	0	7

See also: 2018 Norfolk State Spartans football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
18–4	2017	NSU, 13–10

at North Carolina A&T

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	9	0	0	16
No. 12 Aggies	3	7	7	14	31

See also: 2018 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team and North Carolina A&T–South Carolina State football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
31–21–2	2017	NCAT, 21–7

at Morgan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	7	0	7	21
Bears	11	0	0	7	18

See also: 2018 Morgan State Bears football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
32–6–1	2017	SCSU, 35–14

Bethune–Cookman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	10	15	0	3	28
Bulldogs	0	13	7	6	26

See also: 2018 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
33–23–1	2016	BCU, 12–9

Delaware State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	0	0	7	12	19
Bulldogs	0	7	13	10	30

See also: 2018 Delaware State Hornets football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
27–17	2017	DSU, 17–14

at Howard

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	13	0	7	27
Bison	0	7	0	14	21

See also: 2018 Howard Bison football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
33–11	2017	HOW, 28–20

at Florida A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	10	14	6	14	44
Rattlers	0	14	7	0	21

See also: 2018 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
25–30–2	2016	SCSU, 48–14

Savannah State

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

See also: 2018 Savannah State Tigers football team

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

North Carolina Central

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	7	14	21
Bulldogs	0	10	0	7	17

See also: 2018 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
13–11	2017	NCCU, 33–28

References

1. "North Carolina A&T State Picked To Win 2018 MEAC Championship". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. July 27, 2018.
2. "NCAT's Raynard, NCCU's Reynolds Headline 2018 All-MEAC Preseason Football Team". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. July 25, 2018.
3. "SC State Releases 2018 Football Schedule". www.scsuathletics.com. South Carolina State University Athletics. March 3, 2018.