Morgan State Bears
MEAC
In a tough and balanced MEAC, it was Morgan State who emerged as the conference’s automatic qualifier for the playoffs. Heading into the final Saturday of the season, the odds were against the Bears. They beat lowly Delaware State 69-7, but still needed quite a bit of help. They got it and ended up one of five teams finishing the year with a 6-2 record in conference play.
2014 Record: 7-5, 6-2
Coach: Lee Hull
Big Wins: 10/18 North Carolina Central (21-20), 11/15 South Carolina State (24-21)
Bad Losses: 9/6 at Holy Cross (26-29), 9/27 at Norfolk State (14-15)
Strengths:
The Bears work their offense through freshman running back Herb Walker. He has had an amazing campaign and ended the regular season with 1,416 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Walker also added a couple more scores in the passing game. When he is moving the chains, Morgan State can actually control the game a little bit, which is not something they have done particularly well throughout the 2014 campaign. However, Walker will need to grind out some first downs and move the chains in the playoffs. On the other side of the ball, the Bears strength is in the secondary. The team has only allowed about 150 yards per game through the air. The secondary may not make many big plays, but they do not allow many either and if the offense can do their part, the strong secondary can keep the Bears in the game.
Weaknesses:
But the defense does have a habit of allowing too many big plays on the ground. Cody Acker is a great linebacker and Christopher Robinson is one of the best sack specialists in the nation, but that has not stopped the opposition from rushing for over 200 yards per game. By the numbers, Morgan State is a bad and inefficient passing team, but that does not tell the entire story. Junior quarterback Moses Skillon has only played in seven games this year and he has had some quality outings. Most notable was during the final game of the season when he threw for 261 yards and five touchdowns against Delaware State. That will not happen against any team in the playoffs, but Skillon is riding some nice momentum right now and is a threat to make big plays with his arm.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Herb Walker Jr., RB, 1,288 yards
Passing: Moses Skillon, QB, 1,107 yards
Receiving: Andrew King, WR, 428 yards
Tackles: Cody Acker, LB, 101
Sacks: Christopher Robinson, DE, 15.0
Interceptions: Nathan Ayers, DB, 3
2014 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 206.2 (27th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Passing Offense: 151.5 (105, 8)
Total Offense: 357.7 (85, 5)
Scoring Offense: 24.5 (74, 6)
Rushing Defense: 214.2 (104, 10)
Pass Defense: 151.5 (6, 2)
Total Defense: 365.6 (46, 6)
Scoring Defense: 26.5 (58, 6)
Turnover Margin: 0.09 (55, 4)
Sacks: 2.64 (21, 4)
Sacks Allowed: 1.36 (26, 1)
Recent Playoff Appearances:
No Tournament History
*all team stats through 11/15
