(STATS) – The MEAC enjoyed one of its more fun days of conference action Saturday. The competitive action resembled the conclusion of the 2014 season, when five teams earned a share of the championship.
Well, maybe …
Yes, the final month figures to be terrific, with the bid to the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl the prize. Five teams have zero or one conference loss.
Unbeaten North Carolina A&T matched the best start in program history by rallying past Bethune-Cookman 24-20. But rival North Carolina Central’s 18-game MEAC winning streak vanished in a 28-21 home loss to Norfolk State.
N.C. A&T (8-0, 5-0), ranked 12th in the FCS, won its thriller on Lamar Raynard’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Trey Scott with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter, which erased a 20-17 deficit. Raynard finished with three TD passes and the Aggies matched the program’s best start since the 1927 team finished 8-0.
N.C. Central (5-2, 3-1), which has won a share of the last three MEAC titles, didn’t recover from a 21-0 halftime deficit against Norfolk State (3-4, 3-1). Juwan Carter threw for four touchdowns to power the Spartans’ upset, which left the 25th-ranked Eagles’ conference winning streak three shy of South Carolina State’s record of 21 straight from 2008-10.
Hampton (5-2, 4-0) also remained unbeaten in conference play with a 31-27 win over Florida A&M. Like Raynard, Hampton’s Delmon Williams completed only 11 passes, but three went for touchdowns, including an 8-yard game-winner to Quinton Lee with 5:46 left to play.
Howard (4-3, 3-1) powered past Morgan State 39-14 to move into a third-place tie with Norfolk State and N.C. Central.
Complicating the race is the unbalanced schedule in the 11-team conference. The teams play eight conference games each, and N.C. A&T and Hampton won’t face each other.
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