The outcome was only a mere formality with six minutes left in the third quarter Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

With the news of Florida A&M’s 25-0 loss at Hampton, ninth-ranked South Carolina State was assured a second straight Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth and a share of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title. As long as the Bulldogs avoided another comeback from double digits by the Bears, a second consecutive outright title and a MEAC-record 18th straight win would await them at the final whistle.

S.C. State finished out the 37-13 victory over Morgan State on a record-setting day before 10,542 fans for quarterback Malcolm Long and wide receiver Oliver “Tre” Young. Long completed 21-32 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns to become the first Bulldog in the program’s 102-year history to pass for over 2,000 yards in a season.

Long’s four scores also tied a single-game school record, with Young responsible for two of the touchdown catches. The Charleston native had six catches for 166 yards in breaking the school record for career receptions and also had 148 yards in kick returns.

Running back Will Ford moved a step closer to becoming the MEAC’s all-time leading rusher with 107 yards and place-kicker Blake Erickson connected on three field goals to close out the Bulldogs’ scoring. Defensively, S.C. State collected three turnovers and knocked quarterback Carlton Jackson out of the game.

Despite all the team and individual achievements, a 13th conference championship and returning to the postseason stood out most in Pough’s mind.

“We were fortunate to get in and get a win and, at this point, we’ll figure out how to get a little bit better before wherever we go into the playoffs,” he said. “We’re excited about winning the conference. We’re excited about winning this game first, but excited about winning the league. We’re all about now finishing strong.”

The first quarter was fruitful once again for S.C. State (9-1, 7-0) as Long threw two touchdown passes on the team’s first two possessions. He completed a short screen pass to Ford, who turned it into a 19-yard score, then connected with Young in stride for a 45-touchdown pass, which gave the Burke High School graduate the career school record for receptions.

Morgan State (5-5, 3-4) answered with 4:17 remaining in the second quarter on a nine-play, 60-yard scoring drive capped by a 6-yard touchdown run by Jackson.

After forcing S.C. State to turn the football over on a failed fourth-down conversion in the second quarter, the Bears continued to find success moving the football with short passes and runs by Jackson.

After reaching the S.C. State 37, Jackson was intercepted by Semaj Moody, a former Denmark-Olar star. A penalty on Moody’s return moved the football back to the S.C. State 27, but only gave Long an opportunity to make his own school history.

On first down, Long dropped back and connected with Young for a 59-yard reception to surpass the 2,000-yard passing yards plateau for the season. Two plays later, Long lofted a pass to a wide-open Smith in the end zone to extend S.C. State’s lead to 21-7 with 7:28 remaining in the first half.

Long completed 11 of his first 12 passes and finished the first half 14-20 for 254 yards.

“He gets hot like that,” Pough said. “He gets on a string. Anytime you’ve got a guy who can throw it the way he can and receivers who can catch the way our guys can go get it, there’s no reason for balls not being completed.”

The Bulldogs continued to capitalize on the Bears’ misakes. Punter Nicholas Adams mishandled the snap and was quickly tackled at the Morgan State 36 by Lataris Douglas. S.C. State’s Erickson missed a 37-yard field goal attempt, only to continue possession after the Bears were flagged for running the football. Erickson was called on again, this time for a 29-yard field goal which he booted through the uprights to make it 24-7.

On Morgan State’s ensuing possession, Devan James fumbled and Markee Hamlin made the recovery. This led to a 24-yard field goal by Erickson, which sent the Bulldogs into the locker room up 27-7.

The Bulldogs continued to play opportunistic football in the second half. Once again, it was Hamlin on the spot as he picked off an overthrown pass by Jackson and returned it 32 yards to the Morgan State 35.

After a 22-yard run by Ford, Long connected with Young again for a touchdown pass play. The 13-yard touchdown pass put S.C. State up 34-7 and tied Long with Marvin Marshall and Reese McCampbell for the school single-game record.

“You’re going against the top team in the conference,” Morgan State head coach Donald Hill-Eley said. “You can’t turn the ball over the way we did. You can’t give up the big plays the way we did on first down. They’re the number-one team in the conference and they played like it.”

In the fourth quarter, Young’s 70-yard punt return set up Erickson’s second field goal of 29 yards to extend S.C. State’s lead to 37-7. Morgan State closed out the scoring with a 24-yard touchdown pass from backup Donovan Dickerson to Ed Morton-Green with 6:17 left in the fourth quarter.

With losses Saturday by Elon and New Hampshire, the Bulldogs can further enhance their chances at a first-round FCS home game with a season-ending win at home against North Carolina A&T. A bigger concern for Pough is getting his team ready and healthy to play for the postseason.

“We’ve got to play better than what we did today,” Pough said. “We got a guy (offensive lineman Juavahr Nathan who hyperextended his knee in the first half) hurt and so, it makes no difference where we play if we play like we did today.”

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