Dr. MEAC (aka KING MEAC)

This week's featured SIAC contest pits a possible addition to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference against a once forgotten program: Benedict visits Savannah State on Fan Appreciation Day in TigerLand.

Contrary to popular "knowledge" on MEACFANS.com, these Tigers are not the Lillies most posters take them for. While SSU has a long way to go to attain true contender status, they have enough to remind fans why Benedict enjoys more renown for its theological training than its football prowess.

Savannah State gets out of the blocks cleanly (don't fret MEACFANS Haters - the Tigers will stumble soon enough).

WINNER: SSU


Our CIAA game showcases Livingstone and Catawba. Okay, I am being generous. This is Livingstone we're talking about. Let's try this again:

*TAKE TWO*

Our CIAA game lowcases Livingstone and Catawba. (Yes, that sounds better).

In this particular case, we do not need to worry too much about the Kitty Cats of Catawba because Livingstone is a perpetual homecoming guest except that this guest does all of the serving all of the time.

WINNER: CATAWBA


Our Black College Football World Tour takes us to the possible future home of the hurricane-displaced New Orleans Saints: Houston's Reliant Stadium for the SWAC game of the week. For almost a quarter century, the Bayou City has hosted the lovable rivalry of Texas Southern and Prairie View in the Labor Day Classic. This game has bands and cheerleaders and fans dressed for the after-parties ... and football that is all too often reminiscent of the NFL's Hall of Fame game in terms of execution (or lack thereof), cohesion (or lack thereof), strategy (or lack thereof), and polish (or lack thereof).

All of that being the case, few places love football like Texas' Southeast corner does and the fans (some of them anyway) are always very excited about the return of the pigskin.

But enough about the classic and on to the match-up. Last year witnessed PV's first win over their rivals from down the road since ... since ... well, it had been a long time in the offing. Unfortunately for the Panthers, it appears that it is time for them to crawl back into the coffin.

The 2004 Tiger team was so young that half of the players wore SpongeBog jockstraps for last year's game across the highway from AstroWorld. That inexperience spelled disaster for TSU's Steve Wilson in a pathetic rout.

That was then and this is now and now I expect the Maroon & Grey to resume its historical mastery over the Panthers.

WINNER: TxSU


The first game on our MEAC slate is the 12th Annual Aggie-Eagle Classic between North Carolina A&T and their division II rivals North Carolina Central. Despite the differences in NCAA classification, this series has proved to be very entertaining - especially if you are an Eagle fan.

On paper, it would be hard not to pick NCCU given the youth of their opponents from Greensboro. But these predictions are not on paper and Dr. MEAC thinks that, in cyberspace and on the gridiron, A&T's efforts will result in a labor of love on Labor Day.

Aggie fans rejoice....

WINNER: NCA&T


One of the most successful football teams in the storied annals of college football and most certainly Black College Football is NOT Delaware State University. Of course, during the 1980's, Del State fielded some powerful, wing-T powered teams but, during the 1980's, women used to throw underwear at Freddie Jackson. Yes Sheneequa, times do change.

Of course, times have changed for Florida A & M's Rattlers, too. One of the most successful football teams in the storied annals of college football and most certainly Black College Football is FAMU. But, like the old gray mare, the Rattlers don't strike like they used to.

NCAA troubles, going division I and then not going DI, and having a ch-ch-ch-chain of fools as athletic director have all made winning football games a lot more difficult to do than what most Rattlers are used to.

Hope, however, springs anew in Tallahassee as a new coach in the person of Rubin Carter has the Rattler faithful feeling good about the upcoming season. And what better way to renew greatness than a game against a team that your team has had a lot of success against lately and at home no less?

No, the Rattlers could not hope for a better situation than what is awaiting them on the legendary Bragg Stadium field this weekend. But hope is about all they have and there is not much of that.

These Rattlers have not had enough time with each other nor with their brand new coaching staff to seriously hope to beat a team that has had time to grow with their coach. The best FAMU can do is to offer offensive and defensive packages so basic that Pop Warner players are likely to snicker. That is "the best" because anything more ambitious could result in the kind of on-the-field disaster that not even hope can hide.

WINNER: DSU


With due respect to the eagerly-anticipated Livingstone-Catawba tilt (insert laughter here), this week's Toilet Bowl Classic is being optimistically (and somewhat deceptively) hyped by its promoters as the Labor Day Classic (no, not that one). Just minutes away from the colonial Williamsburg, another yawner beckons in Norfolk as the hometown Spartans take on the current laughing-stock of Black College athletics: the Virginia State Trojans.

Frankly, Dr. MEAC does not see much need to go into breaking down a game that involves a team that was very fortunate to muster a paltry six points in a woeful loss against Shepherd.

*Dr. MEAC waves at VSU*

WINNER: NSU


The Dr. MEAC Love Train takes us to the World's Most Famous Beach ... and then a hard turn to the west for about 100 miles until we reach Bethune-Cookman's home stadium hidden somewhere out in the northern reaches of the Everglades. The opening weekend of MEAC football 2005 has Alvin Wyatt's latest group of no-names trying to show the rest of the league that, when he complains about how bad his team is, Coach Wyatt is lying like lawyer working on contigency.

Unfortunately, this first game will not provide much of a challenge for the Wildcats as their opponent is Elizabeth City State. ECSU scored 51 points in last week's opener but (brace yourselves MEACFANS) it came at the expense of Livingstone (everytime Dr. MEAC hears that name he wants to buy a cheap cartoon t-shirt out of someone's car trunk).

In other words, fans will get more excitement from trying to guess the exact shade of maroon that Wyatt is wearing on his socks.

WINNER: B-CC


Our most exciting match-up for our first week of competitive picks will be played inside of the historic confines of Birmingham's Legion Field. Two of last year's hottest teams square off in what many fans (and conference officials [wink wink]) hope will be an annual (money-making [wink wink]) event.

Powerful, well-balanced, superbly-coached football teams wearing the uniforms of the SWAC's Alabama State Hornets and the MEAC's South Carolina State Bulldogs promise to bring some late-season-esque hard-hitting for the enjoyment of all watching. Like virtually every evenly-contested clash of football titans, this game could hinge on who sets the tone he likes best first as well as who makes the least costly mistakes (eg. blown opportunities, turnovers, etc). Of course, both of those critical factors boil down to what Dr. MEAC likes to call "the wannas" as in "Who wanna mash the ball down the throat more?" and "Who wanna beat the other team down more?" and so on.

In a game this evenly matched, I am reluctant to pick a winner but Dr. MEAC does not submit invoices to MEACFANS.com for "pick'em's."

WINNER: SCSU


In another DI vs. DII/MEAC audition feature, Howard hosts Winston-Salem State. WSSU wants to make a statement to the MEAC and a golden opportunity presents itself in Washington, DC. The Bison have yet to figure out how to achieve consistency which is frustrating given the talent they have been able to bring to the Hilltop. Howard football over the past few years has had more common-sense-defying plot twists than a Steven Seagal film.

That kind of incontinuity leaves the Bison vulnerable to the visitors from Winstom-Salem - too vunerable.

WINNER: WSSU


Our final MEAC vs. SWAC game features a rematch of a growing rivalry, well, rivalry in the sense that they have been playing each other rather regularly lately but certainly not a rivalry given its one-sidedness. Joe Taylor's Hampton Pirates, the defending MEAC champions, take on Jackson State's James Bell nightmare, the cellar-dwelling SWAC has-beens.

A few years ago, this match-up would have been real doozy in terms of excitement. Now it is little more than a true snoozy in that Blue Bengal Backers will be praying for a Kwame Kilpatrick-mandated curfew to end the suffering (not likely if the drinks are two-for-one at Motown clubs that night).

WINNER: HU


One of the biggest question marks for MEAC football fans this season will be "How does Morgan State's Don Hill-Ely replace Littlejohn & Co.?" Dr. MEAC says that you don't replace those guys but the Golden Bears still have to put plenty of points on the board if they want to finally begin to contend in the MEAC again especially given the fact that Morgan's defense appears to only as effective a birth control pill taken "the day after."

Luckily for the MSU faithful those bills won't be due for a while yet and Towson represents an interest-free grace period.

WINNER: MSU

Thank you, you've been great.

I am Dr. MEAC and I'm ready for a drink.