Loss to Air Force 'a blessing in disguise'

South Carolina State quarterback Cleveland McCoy hates to lose at anything. But last week's 34-3 loss to Air Force might be the best thing that could have happened to the Bulldogs this season.

"It was a humbling experience, there's no doubt about that," said McCoy, a former Baptist Hill High School star. "A lot of people picked us to win the conference, and I think there were some guys that were starting to believe all the hype. Hopefully, some of the guys realize that no one is going to hand us anything. We've got to earn it.

"I think the loss was kind of a blessing in disguise for everyone, including me. It woke a lot of people up. I know it woke me up. We know we've got to strap it on every week and get after it."

The Bulldogs will get a chance to redeem themselves today against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rival Bethune-Cookman beginning at 4 p.m. in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Last week's game with Air Force marked the first time in school history that the Bulldogs faced a team from the Football Bowl Subdivision.

"We just didn't play very well," said South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough. "We had a couple of drives early in the game where we moved the ball pretty good, but after that we didn't do much. Defensively, we didn't adjust to what they were doing. It was a frustrating afternoon."

With a game against South Carolina at Williams-Brice looming next week, McCoy said the Bulldogs must remained focused on the Wildcats.

"We're not looking forward to the South Carolina game," McCoy said. "The Bethune-Cookman game is the most important game for us, because it's a conference game. If we beat South Carolina, that's great and all, but it's not going to help us win the MEAC. We're not going to look past this game."

Bethune-Cookman embarrassed S.C. State last season in the Lowcountry Classic, beating the Bulldogs, 45-21, at The Citadel's Johnson Hagood Stadium.

McCoy hopes the Bulldogs have learned some valuable lessons from last week's loss to Air Force.

"We made a ton of mistakes," McCoy said. "A lot of first-game mistakes that hopefully we won't make in the second game. I think you improve the most from the first game of the season to the second one."