There was little time for celebration for a triumphant South Carolina State football team.

Nearly a few hours after arriving back in Orangeburg following Sunday’s 34-31 win over Grambling in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, it was back to work for the Bulldog coaching staff.

Having a five-day window to prepare for Saturday’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener at Bethune-Cookman meant for a busy Labor Day studying film and improving those weak areas exposed by the Tigers.

With the Wildcats (0-1) coming off a 20-6 loss to Division II Shaw University, Pough acknowledged Monday it may be the ‘worst’ time to face them in Daytona Beach at 4 p.m.

“A wounded animal is probably is most the dangerous of all,” Pough said. “(The coaching staff) will probably be as hard on their kids this week as they’ve been in all of their existence. So, we’d better be prepared because I guarantee Bethune will fight us this Saturday as any game you’ve ever seen.”

For the second straight game, the Bulldogs will have to find a way to deal with the hot, humid afternoon temperatures in Central Florida.

While Pough would not acknowledge the lack of a summer camp made the team vulnerable from a conditioning standpoint, some of the players like quarterback Malcolm Long, defensive lineman Markus James and wide receiver Lennel Elmo re were clearly battling heat cramps throughout Sunday’s win.

“We were very fortunate,” Pough said. “We probably had about a tough a time with the elements than anytime since I’ve been here and being it was the first game, I don’t think you can get totally prepared for those kinds of circumstances.

“But, I’m proud of my guys. We fought through it. We made enough plays and I think anytime you get down and deep as we did in our depth chart, our defensive front, we were playing three at the end. Our offensive line was kind of obliterated by this deal. We had a couple of guys that missed theirs and then we come back and have to play a second-team quarterback (MEAC Rookie of the Week Derrick Wiley) for a whole half of football, even a situation where we have to score, it makes you feel good about the fact that your kids hung in there.”

In addition to the unavailability of Long for much of the second half as he received intravenous fluids, S.C. State (1-0) had to overcome the absence of running back William Ford. He injured his arm on the first play of the second half in which Grambling defensive lineman Christian Anthony snatched the ball from Ford and he tripped him from behind to make the tackle.

Ford returned to action late in the fourth quarter and finished with

72 yards, good enough to move him into second place in the school9 9s career rushing list behind Michael Hicks and fifth place in the MEAC all-time list. He was treated with an ice pack on his left shoulder after the game, but his status for Saturday’s game appears more probable than those players who were treated with IVs, according to Pough.

“Some of those guys are clearly going to surely have to see the doctor before they get cleared to get back into action,” Pough said. “Anytime we IV a guy, we’re a little bit concerned about when we throw him back into action. So we’ll have to see how that works out as the week goes on.”

n JAY WALKER EFFECT

Sunday’s game aired on ESPN2 is the only scheduled game on the all-sports network this season for S.C. State. Given the team’s 14-1 record in nationally-televised games, all the wins coming with commentator and in the booth, the Bulldogs may want to add more TV games which include the former Howard quarterback.

“Every one of them,” said Pough when asked if he wanted more TV games this season with Walker. “As a matter of fact, we’ve got to figure out a way to get ESPN to come every week.”

“I guess it’s the Jay Walker effect. He has been a good luck charm for us.”

n POUGH THANKS

THE FANS

The estimated crowd at the Florida Citrus Bowl was 21,367, with S.C.

State fans accounting for more than half.

With Da ytona Beach only an hour less in travel than Orlando, Pough is hoping for a repeat turnout.

“I would hope that we would be able to follow the same way to Daytona Beach,” he said. “It’s about the same trip. But I’ll tell you what. I’m proud of our fans. They were really, really vocal and into the game yesterday, so I appreciate everybody that made the effort to get there and hopefully, we’ll see them all in Daytona Beach.”

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