Bulldogs still have plenty of work left

File/AP

Will Ford and S.C. State travel to N.C. A&T today.

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular-season title and accompanying Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth are wrapped up, but that doesn't mean the job is done says South Carolina State football coach Buddy Pough.

The FCS 15th-ranked Bulldogs (9-2, 7-0) travel today to Greensboro, N.C., for their final regular-season game against struggling North Carolina A&T (3-8, 1-6). The Aggies, who fired coach Lee Fobbs and replaced him on an interim basis with George Ragsdale, have dropped eight of their last nine games but have had an extra week to prepare for S.C. State.

"They haven't been very good," Pough said. "You see them doing so many things, and they're searching for an offensive identity. With an open week, you worry they might come up with something."

Pough said last week's 32-0 win over Morgan State was a big relief. It clinched S.C. State's first outright MEAC title since 1994 (the Bulldogs shared the 2004 title) and put them in the playoffs for the first time since 1982. The Bulldogs will learn their Football Championship Subdivision playoff opponent Sunday evening.

"The last thing we need is to lose a game," Pough said. "The guy putting the most pressure on us is myself. The reason (coaches) do what they do is to see things click. Success is measured by championships. There might be more pressure now. It's important to get in the playoffs and win. We will not be satisfied with mediocrity at any point."

Pough said the Bulldogs coaching staff hasn't determined how much action quarterback Malcolm Long will see after suffering a separated shoulder on his non-throwing side against Delaware State.

Against Morgan State, backup DeWain Clark completed 11 of 21 passes for two touchdowns with one interception. Clark also had 13 carries for 68 yards.

"(Long) is right now about 80 percent," Pough said. "He's close enough we think he can go, but we haven't decided how much he'll play.