It’s simple, really. The MEAC conference is shaping up to be a two-team race between Hampton University and South Carolina State University, but the wild card will be how the log jam in the MEAC football standings sifts itself out.
Teams like Delaware State, Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman and Morgan State have the potential to make the race very interesting. The Hampton Pirates are currently at the top of the standings with what should be two easy buttons in their next three games. Norfolk State and Winston-Salem State are a combined 3-9 on the year, and both teams will be visiting the City by the Sea.
But in between the two is South Carolina State, a 5-2 offensive juggernaut that was the preseason pick to win the conference championship. The Bulldogs have posted close wins over FAMU and Norfolk State in the last two weeks, which indicates that a 2-2 or even a 1-2 conference record is deceiving.
And Norfolk State is one of those 1-2 creepers.
Which brings us to our next two dark horses. Delaware State posted a convincing road win over Bethune-Cookman yesterday, which put the defending champs in third place in the conference with a 2-1 record, trailed by Bethune-Cookman at 2-2 in MEAC competition. The Hornets or the Wildcats could easily spoil the party for either the Pirates or the imposing Florida A&M Rattlers, whom they see in the final game of the season.
And that’s why the hardest go in conference is in Tallahassee. In addition to that late season game with Cookman, the Rattlers have an upcoming three-game stretch that Hurricane Ike wouldn’t want any parts of. They draw an out-of-conference dance with the resurgent Southern Jaguars, followed by an away game at Norfolk State and a home stand against Morgan State. They have perhaps the MEAC’s biggest offensive weapon in Curtis Pulley, but will it be enough against these three solid defensive units?
And while the Morgan State Bears have one of the top defenses in Division I-AA, they have yet to prove themselves against worthy competition. Of their three victories on the season, no opponent scored more than seven points in a contest. And who were those opponents? North Carolina Central, Winston-Salem State, and North Carolina A&T.
Obviously, nothing is finer in North Carolina than Morgan State, but will the Bears hold up against the furor of Howard Homecoming this week, to be followed by their own homecoming against Delaware State and a visit to Rattler Country the week after?
It remains to be seen, but the truth is that this homecoming season will shape the face of the MEAC conference going into November, and it will be one of the teams hovering around .500 that will shake up the world.
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