# 2018 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team

The 2018 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team represented South Carolina State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 17th-year head coach Oliver Pough and played their home games at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They finished the season 5–6, 4–3 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place.

## Preseason
### MEAC preseason poll

In a vote of the MEAC head coaches and sports information directors, the Bulldogs were picked to finish in seventh place.
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | North Carolina A&T |
| 2 | Howard |
| 3 | North Carolina Central |
| 4 | Bethune–Cookman |
| 5 | Florida A&M |
| 6 | Norfolk State |
| 7 | South Carolina State |
| 8 | Savannah State |
| 9 | Morgan State |
| 10 | Delaware State |

### Preseason All-MEAC Teams

The Tigers had four players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | at Georgia Southern* | Paulson StadiumStatesboro, GA | ESPN+ | L 6–37 | 15,260 |
| September 8 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 19 (FBS) UCF* | Bright House Networks StadiumOrlando, FL | ESPN3 | L 0–38 | 43,269 |
| September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | Norfolk State* | Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC | ESPN3 | L 7–17 | 7,820 |
| September 27 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 12 North Carolina A&T | BB&T StadiumGreensboro, NC (rivalry) | ESPNU | L 16–31 | 11,530 |
| October 6 | 1:00 p.m. | at Morgan State | Hughes StadiumBaltimore, MD | ESPN3 | W 21–18 | 8,103 |
| October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Bethune–Cookman | Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC | | L 26–28 | 12,213 |
| October 20 | 1:30 p.m. | Delaware State | Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC | | W 30–19 | 14,477 |
| October 27 | 1:00 p.m. | at Howard | William H. Greene StadiumWashington, D.C. | | W 27–21 | 7,501 |
| November 10 | 4:00 p.m. | at Florida A&M* | Bragg Memorial StadiumTallahassee, FL | | W 44–21 | 12,608 |
| November 17 | 1:30 p.m. | Savannah State | Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC | | W 21–17 | 7,365 |
| November 24 | 12:30 p.m. | North Carolina Central | Oliver C. Dawson StadiumOrangeburg, SC | | L 17–21 | 3,996 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
* Source: Schedule
Despite also being members of the MEAC, games against Florida A&M and Norfolk State will be considered non-conference games and will not have an effect on the MEAC standings.
* ↑ This game was originally scheduled for September 15, but was moved in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

## Game summaries
### At Georgia Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Eagles | 13 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 37 |

### At UCF

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Knights | 14 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 38 |

### Norfolk State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Spartans | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### At North Carolina A&T

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| No. 12 Aggies | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 31 |

### At Morgan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Bears | 11 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 18 |

### Bethune–Cookman

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 10 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 28 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 26 |

### Delaware State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hornets | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 19 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 30 |

### At Howard

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| Bison | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |

### At Florida A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 10 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 44 |
| Rattlers | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |

### Savannah State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |

### North Carolina Central

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |