2019 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team

2019 South Carolina State Bulldogs football
File:South Carolina State University Wordmark.jpeg
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

2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
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. 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. 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.

Preseason

MEAC poll

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

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.

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 Statedagger	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
November 16	2:00 p.m.	at North Carolina Central	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	W 24–0	3,043
November 23	1:00 p.m.	at Norfolk State	William "Dick" Price Stadium Norfolk, VA	ESPN3	W 20–17 OT	1,453
*Non-conference game daggerHomecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

No. 9 Wofford

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 9 Terriers	3	0	3	7	13
Bulldogs	7	7	7	7	28

See also: 2019 Wofford Terriers football team

Lane

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dragons	0	0	0	0	0
Bulldogs	14	10	3	7	34

See also: Lane Dragons football

At South Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	3	0	6	7	16
Bulls	7	17	17	14	55

See also: 2019 South Florida Bulls football team

At Delaware State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	10	7	14	7	38
Hornets	0	3	7	14	24

See also: 2019 Delaware State Hornets football team

Florida A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	7	7	14	14	42
Bulldogs	0	14	3	21	38

See also: 2019 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

Morgan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	3	0	0	7	10
Bulldogs	0	10	7	7	24

See also: 2019 Morgan State Bears football team

At Bethune–Cookman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	20	0	0	27
Wildcats	0	13	6	0	19

See also: 2019 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team

North Carolina A&T

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Aggies	0	16	6	0	22
Bulldogs	3	7	0	10	20

See also: 2019 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team

Howard

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bison	0	7	7	7	21
Bulldogs	20	14	21	7	62

See also: 2019 Howard Bison football team

At North Carolina Central

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	7	10	0	24
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2019 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

At Norfolk State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Bulldogs	7	0	7	3	3	20
Spartans	0	3	7	7	0	17

See also: 2019 Norfolk State Spartans football team