2019 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team

2019 South Carolina State Bulldogs football
2019 South Carolina State Bulldogs football
MEAC co-champion
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	8–3 (6–2 MEAC)
Head coach	Oliver Pough (18th season);
Home stadium	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium
	Seasons ← 2018 2020 →

2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 24 Florida A&M *	7	–	1	9	–	2
No. 20 North Carolina A&T +	6	–	2	9	–	3
South Carolina State +	6	–	2	8	–	3
Bethune–Cookman	5	–	3	7	–	4
Norfolk State	4	–	4	5	–	7
North Carolina Central	3	–	5	4	–	8
Howard	2	–	6	2	–	10
Morgan State	2	–	6	3	–	9
Delaware State	1	–	7	2	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions * Florida A&M ineligible for conference title due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2019 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team represented South Carolina State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 18th-year head coach Oliver Pough who became the program's all-time winningest coach during the season, surpassing former head coach Willie Jeffries.^[1] The Bulldogs played their home games at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. They are a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

S.C. State was awarded the MEAC Co-Championship together with the North Carolina A&T Aggies.^[2]

Both teams finished with 8–3 overall records and 6–2 within the MEAC, however due to Florida A&M being ineligible for postseason play, and by virtue of North Carolina A&T's victory over South Carolina State, the Aggies received the MEAC's bid to the Celebration Bowl. As a “bubble team” in consideration for the 2019 FCS Playoffs S.C. State was not chosen, thus ending their season.^[3]

Preseason

MEAC poll

In the MEAC preseason poll released on July 26, 2019, the Bulldogs were predicted to finish in sixth place.^[4]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	North Carolina A&T	304 (12)
2	Bethune–Cookman	237 (1)
3	Florida A&M	204 (2)
4	Howard	166
5	North Carolina Central	161 (1)
6	South Carolina State	152
7	Norfolk State	119 (1)
8	Morgan State	87 (1)
9	Delaware State	46

Preseason All–MEAC teams

The Bulldogs had two players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.^[5]

First Team Offense

Alex Taylor – OL

Second Team Offense

Mike Terry – C

Third Team Offense

Tyrece Nick – QB

Second Team Defense

Tyrell Goodwin – DL

Paul Mckeiver – DL

Third Team Defense

Bruce Johnson – DL

Cobie Durant – DB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:00 p.m.	No. 9 Wofford*	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	W 28–13	8,187
September 7	4:00 p.m.	Lane*	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	MEAC All Access	W 34–0	6,237
September 14	6:00 p.m.	at South Florida*	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPN3	L 16–55	31,368
October 5	7:00 p.m.	at Delaware State	Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	ESPN3	W 38–24	985
October 12	2:00 p.m.	Florida A&M	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	L 38–42	15,792
October 19	1:30 p.m.	Morgan State	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	W 24–10	12,121
October 26	4:00 p.m.	at Bethune–Cookman	Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, FL	ESPN3	W 27–19	12,204
November 2	1:30 p.m.	No. 16 North Carolina A&T	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC (rivalry)	ESPN3	L 20–22	11,183
November 9	1:30 p.m.	Howard	Oliver C. Dawson stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	W 62–21	8,515 ^[6]
November 16	2:00 p.m.	at North Carolina Central	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	W 24–0	3,043 ^[7]
November 23	1:00 p.m.	at Norfolk State	William "Dick" Price Stadium Norfolk, VA	ESPN3	W 20–17 ^OT	1,453 ^[7]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time