Just as the Orangeburg Touchdown Club was about to wrap up its Thursday meeting at The Cinema in the Old Orangeburg Mall, someone in the audience raised a hand to ask a question.

The club’s guest speaker was Coastal Carolina University head coach David Bennett, whose team will travel to Clemson to take on the Tigers on Halloween night, and the person directed the inquiry to both Bennett and S.C. State head coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough, whose Bulldogs take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday at 7 p.m.

“How significant would it be for your programs to get wins over Clemson and South Carolina?”

Bennett, who was seated, rose to his feet and offered to speak both, for himself, and for Pough.

“People always talk about App. State and Michigan,” Bennett said. “What people don’t take into account is that Michigan was way down. I knew some people on that Michigan team and they told me it was a rough time. App. State was probably the best FCS team in the country, and maybe one of the best of all time. They had the best player in the FCS, Armanti Edwards, who is maybe the best FCS player of all time, and he went 16 of 16 passing in the first half. App. State played lights out and still it came down to a field goal at the end of the game to win it.

“So, what I’m trying to say is ...” Bennett said pausing. “It would be like the good Lord himself coming down and parting the Red Sea. It’s going to take a small miracle for us to beat Clemson and South Carolina State to beat South Carolina. It’s, at least, a small miracle.”

But, Bennett then made it a point to say that miracles do happen. After all, he said, The Citadel went to South Carolina in 1990 and came away with a win.

Still, his analogy rings true. If South Carolina State defeats South Carolina Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium, it will be a huge event. In the office at The Times and Democrat, the front page of the paper will be blown up, replaced with a center featuring the Bulldogs improbable victory. Of course, it won’t end there. The victory would spread like wild fire. Surely, it would be all over ESPN, your local evening news ... you name it. And, the reason for that is it’s just not likely the Bulldogs will go into such a tough place to play, against such a tough defense and a team coming off a win over the fourth-ranked team in the country, Ole Miss, and come out victorious.

How can the Bulldogs overcome the odds, shake up newsrooms across the state and put themselves on a national pedestal? The keys to a Bulldog victory are below.

1. Win the small battles

A victory for the Bulldogs likely wouldn’t be built on a series of big plays, rather a series of small victories. If the Bulldogs can do the little things like protect the football, play well on special teams, limit the Gamecocks’ third-down conversions and maybe convert a few first downs themselves, it will bode well for their aspirations.

2. Keep it close as long as possible

This key is accomplished, in part, by accomplishing the first key. If the Bulldogs can play solid, mistake-free football and stay with the Gamecocks for two, three quarters ... then it’s an entirely different football game.

“Our expectations are basically formulated minute by minute,” Pough said during his call-in show Wednesday. “You go in expecting to hang in there and hoping that you can get into the second quarter. The longer that you do hang around, the more the pendulum swings in your direction, the more pressure goes their way. If we can stay with them for a half, then at that point, it really gets to be a ‘Whoa, what-is-going-on type of deal for them.’ At that point, we gather more confidence that we can play with them. Our deal is to go in, understand it is a marathon. It’s not a sprint.”

3. Score a touchdown

South Carolina State’s offense has yet to score a touchdown against an FBS opponent. It goes without saying that the Bulldogs’ chances of winning the game go out the window if they don’t get into the end zone.

S.C. State is loaded with big-play-type athletes -- quarterback Malcolm Long, wide receivers Tre Young, Terrance Smith and Lennel Elmore -- and a thumper of a tailback in Travil Jamison who can punch the ball into the end zone from short yardage. The Gamecocks counter with what is being hailed as one the best defenses in the country.

If one of S.C. State’s playmakers comes up big with the game close early on and gets the Bulldogs on the board, it could go a long way toward getting the Bulldogs rolling.

4. Keep Malcolm Long upright

Blocking Eric Norwood and Cliff Matthews won’t be easy, and the Bulldogs’ offensive line has been inconsistent. Right tackle Josh Harrison was hailed as being the team’s best offensive lineman through the summer, but he got beat up against Winston-Salem State. Left tackle Johnny Culbreath is probably the team’s best pro prospect. The Bulldogs need the duo to step up and hold off USC’s rush from the edge, and center Sam Timothy needs to be on point with his snaps if Long is to have any time to find Young, Elmore or Smith down the field.

5. Create running room

for Will Ford and Travil JamisonOf course, it isn’t all about pass blocking for the Bulldogs’ offensive line. Earlier in the week, USC defensive tackle Nathan Pepper called Ford and Jamison “SEC-caliber” tailbacks. They won’t get a chance to show that if there are no running lanes.

6. Step up on the defensive front

The Bulldogs’ defensive front is banged up. Standout middle linebacker Marshall McFadden was lost in the preseason and outside linebacker Donovan Richard’s status for the game is “iffy,” according to Pough.

On the defensive line, S.C. State will be without leading pass rusher Patrick Washington. Simply put, the defensive line and linebackers have to get after the USC defense, force some mistakes and give the offense and opportunity to capitalize on good field position.

7. Believe

This is the biggest key for any team. Can the Bulldogs beat the Gamecocks? Again, not likely. But, that’s better than no chance, and as long as a team believes it can win, it has a chance, no matter how small. It may be the biggest question for the Bulldogs before they hit the field at Williams-Brice. Do they believe they can do what everyone thinks they can’t? Are they capable of, at least, a small miracle?

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. For more on S.C. State athletics check out www.thebulldogzone.com.

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