NC Central is this close to winning the MEAC.
The Eagles (7-2, 3-1 MEAC) first need a win Saturday over 1-8 Norfolk State to clinch the conference title outright and make the program’s second-ever trip to the Celebration Bowl.
For head coach Trei Oliver, whose team has been the class of the conference this season despite one mid-season hiccup, isn’t planning a trip to Atlanta just yet.
“I guarantee you that we’re not running around talking about ring sizes and Celebration Bowl and all that. We’re not,” Oliver said Monday. “We’re talking about what do we have to do to come up with a game plan to beat these folks by one point. That’s it.”
Maybe the NC Central coach has some trepidation about looking ahead prematurely because the Eagles were one of the teams who dashed the Spartans’ hopes of winning the conference when it was in a similar position a year ago.
In 2021, Norfolk State lost its final three games of the regular season, including a double-overtime loss to NC Central that led to a fall from first place.
But if NC Central were to lose on Saturday, it would open up a whole bunch of long and complicated tie-breaker scenarios down the stretch. After Norfolk State, NC Central has a game left against Tennessee Tech.
