Buddy Pough Day started in the rain and the end result mirrored the conditions at Dawson Bulldog Stadium.
The final home game of Buddy Pough’s head coaching tenure was a hard-fought contest that saw South Carolina State take a 17-14 lead in the fourth quarter on a Gavyn Zimmerman 28-yard field goal.
But Jordan Toles returned the ensuing kickoff 73 yards for the go-ahead touchdown as Morgan State (4-5, 3-1 MEAC) went on to defeat South Carolina State 20-17 Saturday in Orangeburg.
The loss spoiled the final home game for head coach Buddy Pough who is retiring at the end of the season.
Pough has been the head coach at his alma mater for 22 seasons. In October of 2019, Pough became the program’s all-time winningest coach with a victory over Morgan State. But four years later, the Bears denied Pough another landmark victory.
South Carolina State took a 7-6 lead in the second quarter when quarterback Corey Fields connected with Keshawn Toney with a 17-yard touchdown. The Bulldogs would increase the lead to 14-6 after Malcolm McGee recovered a fumble in the end zone after a high snap as Morgan State was punting.
But the Bulldogs could not build on their 14-6 halftime lead and in the end, the lack of firepower on offense would prove to be too much to overcome.
S.C. State (4-6, 2-2 MEAC) will close out the regular season Saturday at Norfolk State.