WASHINGTON — Everything about today’s 1 p.m. matchup in the nation’s capital between 10th-ranked South Carolina State and Howard is comparable to David and Goliath.

Playing the role of the Philistine giant are the Bulldogs (7-1, 5-0), who are two wins shy of repeating as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion and setting a new conference record for consecutive victories in MEAC play.

Coming in as the underdog are the host team Bison (2-6, 0-5), losers of 16 consecutive conference games and ranked either last or next-to-last in 17 MEAC categories. Howard has also lost six straight games to S.C. State dating back to 2003, the last two by a margin of 115-19, and has not defeated the Bulldogs at William Green Stadium since 1999.

It’s no surprise most of the talk about today’s game has focused on can the Bulldogs avoid overlooking Howard and remaining focused with three games left. To a man, S.C. State insist there will be no letdown.

"We’d like to continue to improve," S.C. State head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough said. "The main goal right now is to get to the point where we can win the rest of the games and, as we win the rest of our games continue to improve. We talk more about playing our best than we do actually winning and if we can play well, then of course then generally everything takes care of itself."

"We already made that announcement earlier in the week," senior defensive back Semaj Moody said. "It’s not really who we’re playing. We’re preparing to get better every week. Working on techniques, mostly, and being where you’re suppose to be and playing your position. The defense is just trying to get back to where it should be working at."

S.C. State is coming off a 52-10 Homecoming rout of Delaware State for their 16th straight MEAC victory. It was a season high in points scored as a team and career-best 316 yards thrown by quarterback Malcolm Long, who needs 432 yards to become the school’s first-ever 2,000-yard passer.

The victory was also historic for wide receiver Oliver "Tre" Young. The Charleston native had four catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns in surpassing Charlie Brown for most career receiving yards at S.C. State. With eight more catches, Young will break Tavarus Morgan’s school record for career receptions at 116.

"Tre has matured into a big play wide receiver," Pough said. "He’s getting the deep balls and we use him in a variety of ways in our (passing) package as well as returning punts and kicks. He’s got a chance to touch the football in a lot of different kinds of ways and depending when he touches it, he’s a threat to go the distance."

Even Howard head coach Carey Bailey acknowledged earlier this week the challenge his team faces in the Bulldogs.

"I was looking at some stats yesterday and in 13 categories, they are ranked in the Top 30, 12 in the Top 25, 10 in the Top 20, four in the Top 10 in all FCS football.

"They are a very, very solid team, defending MEAC champions. They’ve got a great coaching staff, great talent across the board. I don’t know if they’re weak at any position on that football team. They have guys that can make plays at any given time defensively. Their front four is probably one of the best that we’ll see this season. They’ve got linebackers that can run, DBs that can cover, two quarterbacks (Malcolm Long and Derrick Wiley) that can probably start for anybody in this conference and most teams around the country.

"They’re good. They’re very, very good. To say that we have our hands full in terms of preparation is a great understatement."

If the Bison are to have a slingshot of a chance to pull the upset, they will need a big game from quarterback Floyd Haigler of Orangeburg-Wilkinson. The Howard senior has thrown for 1,077 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions with reigning MEAC Rookie of the Year wide receiver Willie Carter (35 catches, 451 yards, four TDs), who like Moody is a Denmark-Olar graduate, serving as his primary target.

Defensively, freshman linebacker Keith Pough of Scott’s Branch High School is the team’s co-leader in tackles (55) and frontrunner to succeed Carter for top conference rookie honors. In all, there are 17 players on the Howard roster from the Palmetto State and two Bulldog assistants (James Moses and Nick Calcutta) and a graduate (James Darby) on the coaching staff.

A win by the Bulldogs will tie the MEAC record for consecutive conference wins (17) set by Hampton between 2004-06. Ironically, it was S.C. State which ended the Pirates’ streak in 2006.

T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Read his blog, Following the Bulldogs, and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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