ORANGEBURG, SC—The South Carolina State Bulldogs (4-5, 3-2 MEAC) will host visiting Savannah State (2-7, 1-5 MEAC) in a pivotal Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) showdown Saturday (Nov. 17^th ) at  Oliver C. Dawson Stadium and Willie Jeffries Field. 
 
THE SERIES: The Bulldogs and Tigers are meeting for the 19th time in a rivalry that began in 1915. SC State has a16-2 edge in the series; however, the Tigers handed Coach Pough's team its worse loss last year, 34-10 at Savannah, Ga. SC State won 32-0 in Orangeburg in 2016. 
 
THE COACHES: SC State's Buddy Pough (SC State '75) is in his 17th season as head coach at his alma mater and owns a 124-69 overall mark (97-35 MEAC). He is 8-1 against Savannah State. (Savannah State's Erik Raeburn (Mount Union '94) is in his third season as Tiger head coach. He is 8-22 at Savannah State and is 143-61 in 18 seasons as a head coach. He owns a 1-1 mark against SC State. 

OUTLOOK: Coach Buddy Pough's squad is one of the hottest teams in the league, having won three in a row and four of the last five in climbing to number four in the MEAC standings. Savannah State, meanwhile, has dropped its last two contests and three of its last four in dipping to ninth in the league. However Pough and his staff are not taking the Tigers lightly as Coach Erik Raeburn and his team have been competitive most of the season, their last in the MEAC. Savannah will be leaving the conference after the completion of the 2018-19 academic year and rejoining the   Division II SIAC, a conference both teams once owned membership in. The Bulldogs' youthful 2018 squad has a lot of new faces, however, there is a number of players who remember last season's Bulldog-Tiger season finale in Savannah in which Coach Raeburn's team handed SC State a 34-10 setback, the team's worse beating of the 2017 campaign. 
 
A LOOK BACK: In last week's action, SC State went on the road at Tallahassee, FL and played, perhaps, its best game of the season in a 44-21 triumph over Florida A&M, running Pough's record to 14-1 versus the Rattlers. The Tigers, meanwhile, hosted defending MEAC Champion North Carolina A&T and fell 28-12 to the Aggies, who are battling FAMU for the MEAC title and a berth in the Dec. 15 Celebration Bowl at Atlanta. 
 
The ATTRACTION: South Carolina State will be celebrating Senior Day, Hall of Fame, and Former Student-Athlete Appreciation Day. Fourteen players on the 2018 squad, who are winding up their Bulldog careers this season, will be saluted in a special pregame ceremony; the 2018 Hall of Fame Class will be presented at halftime; and former student-athletes in attendance will be welcomed back and recognized during the contest. 
 
Players to Watch 
SC State Offense:  
#3 So., QB Tyrece Nick (69-151-4, 45.7 pct. for 986 yds 3TDs; 175 rushes, 794 yds., 10TDs); #18 r-So. RB Datron James (77 rushes, 315 yds.); #24 r-Fr. RB Omar Cummings (51 rushes, 272 yds., 1 TD; #1 Jr. WR De'Montrez Burroughs (12 recpts, 271 yds., 2TDs); #16 r-Fr. WR Will Vereen (13 rcpts., 163 yds.);  #73 r-Jr. RT Alex Taylor; #56 Sr. LG Robbie Stephenson; #78 r-So OG Pat McNeil; #17 r-Sr. P Jerome Pettiway (56-2286 yds, 40.8 avg).  
 
SC State Defense: 
#45 Jr. LB Lane Jones (29T, 15A, 1INT); #11 r-So. LB Chad Gilchrist (34T, 12A, 5TFL); #14 r-So. CB Decobie Durant (27T, 6A, 2PBUs, 1INT); #30 r-Sr. CB Alex Brown (29T, 6A, 6PBUs, 4INT) #98 Sr. DE Bruce Johnson (25T, 6A, 4TFL, 1Sack); #35 Sr. LB/DL Damu Ford (21T, 8A, 9TFL, 1Sack) 
  
Savannah State Offense: 
#3 So. QB D'Vonn Gibbons (52-121-5, 43.0 pct. for 714 yds., 5TDs; 119 rushes, 417 yds., 2TDs);  #11 So. QB TJ Bell (17-55-4, 30.9 pct.; 30 rushes, 110 yds)., #6 Sr. RB Rashad Saxton (86 rushes, 349 yds., 2TDs); #36 So. RB Jaylen McCloud (92 rushes, 307 yds., 4TDs);  #14 So. WR D'Andre Snead (13 rcpts., 136 yds., 1TD); #23 Sr. WR James Kicklighter (11 rcpts., 145 yds., 1 TD); #70 So. OL Harvey King; #69 Sr. OL James Livingston. 
 
Savannah State Defense 
#5 Sr. LB Mulik Simmons (26T, 32A, 7TFL, 2 Sacks); #30 Fr. LB Walter Yates (36T, 18A, 7TFL); #21 Jr. DB Donald Rutledge (29T, 22A, 2 INTs); #12 Sr. DB Isaiah Bennett (33T, 16A, 1INT); #58 DL Stefen Banks (29T, 178 A, 9TFL, 2 Sacks).