The MEAC is getting dangerous, and the shifting balance of power could make it one of the most unpredictable races in HBCU football this season.
For years, the conference race often felt relatively straightforward. One or two teams would separate themselves from the pack, while everybody else fought for position behind them.
That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore.
Four weeks into the season, the MEAC is starting to resemble the Wild West of HBCU football. Several teams have already made statements outside the conference, confidence is growing across the league and nobody appears interested in conceding anything before conference play begins.
South Carolina State may still be sitting at the top of the mountain. Everybody else is starting to climb.
South Carolina State Is Hunting Everybody
The defending HBCU champions aren’t simply winning games.
They’re overwhelming people.
South Carolina State has already posted shutout victories of 87-0 and 66-0. The Bulldogs also stepped into a Top 25 FCS matchup and came away with another statement victory, carrying a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter.
At this point, those performances aren’t looking like a fluke.
Head coach Chennis Berry has South Carolina State playing like a program that expects to run through the MEAC again. The Bulldogs have established themselves as the standard everyone else is chasing.
The difference this year may be the number of teams capable of making that chase interesting.
The rest of the conference is getting better.
When multiple teams enter conference play believing they can win, one Saturday can change everything.
Howard Doesn’t Look Like a Last-Place Team
Howard entered the season picked to finish last in the preseason MEAC poll.
Four weeks later, that prediction already deserves another look.
The Bison opened the season by taking control against Alabama A&M in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge before holding on for a 31-24 victory. Howard later lost to Richmond, but the Bison have shown enough to suggest they won’t quietly accept the role assigned to them in the preseason.
That doesn’t suddenly make Howard the favorite. But the Bison appear to be another team capable of complicating the MEAC race. In an increasingly competitive HBCU football conference, that’s enough to shake things up.
Michael Vick Has Norfolk State Moving Differently
Norfolk State entered the season trying to move forward from a one-win campaign.
The Spartans now look capable of putting points on the scoreboard in bunches.
Norfolk State scored more than 50 points in a win earlier this season, then followed it by putting more than 40 on rival Hampton. That’s a different conversation from where this program stood a year ago.
Michael Vick is still developing as a college head coach, but Year 2 already has a different feel. The Spartans look more comfortable offensively, and that confidence is beginning to show on the scoreboard. Norfolk State isn’t rebuilding quietly.
The Spartans are making enough noise that the rest of the MEAC has to pay attention.
Morgan State Might Be the Problem Nobody Wants
Morgan State could be the team capable of completely changing the conference race.
The Bears have rarely lacked defense.
Offense has been the bigger question.
Now Morgan State may finally have the quarterback play needed to complement everything it does defensively.
Cameron Edge has provided a legitimate spark. He helped Morgan State secure a major victory over Towson and earned MEAC Player of the Week honors along the way. The Bears also picked up a road victory over North Carolina A&T.
That changes the equation.
Morgan State’s defense no longer has to carry the entire burden if the offense can consistently generate points.
For everybody else in the conference, that could become a serious problem.
Delaware State Is Coming for the Crown
Delaware State finished second in the MEAC last season.
DeSean Jackson doesn’t appear interested in staying there.
The Hornets opened the season with a road victory over Stony Brook in difficult weather conditions. After losing their top running backs from last season, Delaware State has adjusted its offensive identity and leaned more heavily on the passing game.
That evolution will continue to be tested.
A matchup with Towson should provide another meaningful measuring stick for a Delaware State program trying to prove last season wasn’t an isolated breakthrough.
The Hornets aren’t trying to sneak up on anybody anymore.
They’re trying to take the next step.
NCCU Has Some Questions to Answer
North Carolina Central may be the biggest mystery in the conference right now.
The Eagles haven’t consistently looked like the NCCU teams HBCU football fans have grown accustomed to seeing.
For three consecutive weeks, the offense has struggled to find the end zone in the second half. In a MEAC where several programs appear to be closing the gap, that becomes a much larger concern.
North Carolina Central doesn’t have the luxury of taking several weeks to figure everything out.
The Eagles have built enough equity under head coach Trei Oliver to know what championship-level football looks like. The question now is whether they can rediscover it before conference play begins to expose every weakness.
While NCCU searches for answers, the rest of the league keeps coming.
The MEAC Race Just Got Interesting
This is what the MEAC needed. Not one or two teams dominating while everybody else hopes to play spoiler. A conference where every Saturday feels like it matters.
South Carolina State still has the target on its back. Morgan State has an established defense and perhaps the quarterback capable of taking the Bears another level. Delaware State wants the crown. Norfolk State is showing signs of significant progress. Howard is already pushing back against its preseason expectations.
Then there’s NCCU, trying to determine where it fits into a race that suddenly looks much more crowded. The HBCU football season is still young, and plenty can change once conference games begin.
But four weeks have already told us something important. The MEAC isn’t getting easier. It’s getting dangerous.