As the clock ticked down Saturday afternoon in Orangeburg, a group of students began to storm on to Willie Jeffries Field to celebrate the Bulldogs' 26-24 win over North Carolina Central.

"I was mad they were coming out, but I was happy to see them," SC State head football coach Buddy Pough said Monday at his weekly press conference. "I've been here for 20 years, and that's the closest we've come to having our kids storm the field. I was proud of them."

The only problem: The game wasn't over.

"Part of me wanted to tell (the students) to come on, but there was a second left on the clock," Pough said. "It was a good thing to see, they were happy for us."

North Carolina Central head coach Trei Oliver began lobbying for a penalty against the Bulldogs, while officials tried to sort out the final play of the game. One last kneel-down would allow SC State to get the win.

"We knew we couldn't go out and lose to Central," Pough said. "If we would have lost, I think we would be sitting here (Monday) talking about how we can prepare of our team for the 2023 season."

"It puts us in a good position to fight for our conference championship," Pough said of the victory. "But we have to keep winning when don't have the option to go out and lose a game. Anytime you win a game (like Saturday) it gives you the confidence that you can play with anyone in the league, but it also shows anyone in the conference has the ability to beat us."

South Carolina State will continue MEAC play Saturday on the road against Morgan State. Pough said his team has traditionally struggled in Baltimore. The Bears (2-5, 0-2) fell at Delaware 38-7 Saturday.

"(Morgan) has a new head coach in Damon Wilson (former Bowie State head coach)," Pough said. "It was kind of a late move, but he's hit the ground running and is getting moved into that position. They've shown they can play with anybody."

Pough said he was proud of the way Corey Fields Jr. led the offense against the Eagles Saturday. The quarterback completed 21-of-31 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

"(Corey) gave us some dimension on offense, and allowed our team to keep the ball away from (North Carolina Central)," Pough said. "He made some great plays, and was able to complete passes to a number of different receivers, which helped keep the defense off-balance."

While the defense held North Carolina Central scoreless in the fourth quarter, Pough said he was surprised to see the Bulldogs allow over 240 yards rushing to the Eagles.

"If you look down the road, there are some teams that are starting to play better," Pough said. "Hopefully, we will continue to improve and get better than these teams, but right now we're all bunched up together."

The current MEAC standings have SC State and Howard on top, each at 1-0. North Carolina Central, Delaware State and Norfolk State are 1-1, while Morgan is 0-2.

When asked if the MEAC would levy a monetary penalty against the Bulldogs for the excessive celebration, Pough just laughed.

"I don't know," Pough said. "Some schools in this league don't have enough fans to cover the field at the end of a game. It was a welcome sight; I guess we've finally come into modern times."