It's been a long wait between playoff appearances for S.C. State, but the Bulldogs are on their way. After a 26-year absence, S.C. State clinched the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championship with a 32-0 win over Morgan State Saturday.

The Bulldogs earned a ticket to the Football Championship Subdivision tournament in the process. S.C. State, (9-2, 7-0 MEAC) which last earned a playoff bid in 1982, clearly is the league's - and perhaps black college football's - top team in 2008. In 2004, S.C. State tied Hampton for first, but lost the head-to-head meeting and automatic playoff bid, one of several near-misses during head coach Buddy Pough's six seasons on the Orangeburg, S.C., campus. "It's just a great feeling," Pough said. "Can you imagine being so close for all the six years I've been here and we finally got it done."



Backup quarterback DeWain Clark led S.C. State to victory in his second start. He connected on 11 of 21 attempts for 124 yards and two touchdowns to receiver Phillip Morris in addition to rushing for 79 yards on 13 carries. But the Bulldogs aren't getting too far ahead of themselves.

S.C. State plays MEAC rival N.C. A&T Saturday in Greensboro, then it's off to the playoffs where opportunity awaits. "Despite the victory our celebration is tempered a little bit because we still got some work to do," Pough said. "Our goal was to win a MEAC championship but beyond that we wanted to make the playoffs and make some noise." Their chance comes next week.