Well, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football championship race officially has last weekend implications.
Following Howard’s surprising yet dominant 50-20 win over No. 7-ranked North Carolina Central Saturday, the Bison, the Eagles, and Morgan State will each enter Week 12 with a 3-1 record in conference play.
The Bison will host Morgan State at Greene Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m., while the Eagles host MEAC cellar-dweller Delaware State at 2 p.m. that same day. Since shared conference championships are no longer considered, thanks to the Celebration Bowl, the tiebreakers that are in place are very easy to figure out, but of course, the games still have to be played.
- Tiebreaker 1: If Howard wins and North Carolina Central wins, the Bison would earn the MEAC title and Celebration Bowl bid thanks to the head-to-head result.
- Tiebreaker 2: If Morgan State wins and North Carolina Central wins, the Eagles would win the MEAC thanks to their 16-10 win over the Bears last month and would go on to face the SWAC winner in Atlanta on Dec. 18.
- Tiebreaker 3: If Morgan State wins and North Carolina Central loses, then the Bears would win the MEAC and the Celebration Bowl spot. Morgan would finish their conference play with a 4-1 mark while Howard and North Carolina Central would each be 3-2.
In other words, this Saturday will be another wild, unpredictable day as the previous three weeks of the season across the HBCU football landscape have been. NC Central has backed itself into a corner and needs help, while all Howard has to do is defeat the conference’s top-ranked defense for their first outright MEAC championship in 30 years.
Get your popcorn ready.