2008 Morgan State Bears football team

2008 Morgan State Bears football
ConferenceMid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record6–6 (4–4 MEAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorChennis Berry (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorAlonzo Lee (3rd season)
Home stadiumHughes Stadium
2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 13 South Carolina State $^   8 0     10 2  
Florida A&M   5 3     9 3  
Bethune–Cookman   5 3     8 3  
Hampton   5 3     6 5  
Delaware State   5 3     5 6  
Morgan State   4 4     6 6  
Norfolk State   3 5     5 7  
North Carolina A&T   1 7     3 9  
Howard   0 8     1 10  
Winston-Salem State *   0 0     3 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • * – Ineligible for conference championship
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2008 Morgan State Bears football team represented of the Morgan State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). This was the seventh season under the guidance of head coach Donald Hill-Eley.[1] The team finished the season at 6–6 overall and 4–4 in the MEAC, losing its final three games of the season.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 66:00 p.m.at Towson*L 16–214,705[2]
September 134:00 p.m.North Carolina Central*W 49–75,632[3]
September 206:00 p.m.at Winston-Salem StateW 21–73,066[4]
September 273:30 p.m.Rutgers*ESPN360L 0–3842,411[5]
October 44:00 p.m.Bethune–Cookman
  • Hughes Stadium
  • Baltimore, MD
L 27–314,389[6]
October 111:30 p.m.at North Carolina A&TW 41–321,500[7]
October 181:00 p.m.at HowardW 31–30 2OT6,853[8]
October 251:00 p.m.Delaware State
  • Hughes Stadium
  • Baltimore, MD
W 20–36,312[9]
November 13:00 p.m.at Florida A&MW 13–1016,205[10]
November 85:00 p.m.at Norfolk StateL 9–355,812[11]
November 154:00 p.m.No. 15 South Carolina State
  • Hughes Stadium
  • Baltimore, MD
L 0–32512[12]
November 221:00 p.m.Hampton
  • Hughes Stadium
  • Baltimore, MD
L 13–172,145[13]

Game summaries

Towson

1 2 3 4 Total
Morgan State 2 14 0 0 16
Towson 7 0 14 0 21

The Towson Tigers rallied to beat Morgan State 21–16. Devan James ran for a career-high 178 yards on 33 carries.

Towson improved to 16–5 all-time against Morgan State as quarterback Sean Schaefer threw three touchdowns and became Towson's all-time passing yardage record holder surpassing the 8,900 career passing yards set by Dan Crowley (1991–94).[14]

North Carolina Central

1 2 3 4 Total
North Carolina Central 0 0 0 7 7
Morgan State 7 28 7 7 49

Winston-Salem State

1 2 3 4 Total
Morgan State 7 7 0 7 21
Winston-Salem 0 0 0 7 7

Rutgers

1 2 3 4 Total
Morgan State 0 0 0 0 0
Rutgers 21 17 0 0 38

Morgan State only managed 109 yards and saw its two-game winning streak snapped in a 38–0 loss to Rutgers.

Bethune–Cookman

1 2 3 4 Total
Morgan State 0 13 14 0 27
Bethune–Cookman 14 3 14 0 31

Morgan State had 312 yards of total offense, but Bethune-Cookman scored twice off turnovers and beat the Bears 31–27. Devan James ran for 113 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown in the second quarter.

The Bears got as close as four points after QB Carlton Jackson threw a 27-yard touchdown to Edwin Baptiste, but James Meade's extra point attempt was blocked by the Wildcats. Jackson recovered a fumble in the end zone in the second quarter for a touchdown.

Bethune-Cookman had 213 total offensive yards, but only two first downs in the second half.

The Bears fall to 2–3 overall and 1–1 in the MEAC. The Wildcats improved to 4–1 overall and 2–1 in the MEAC.

North Carolina A&T

1 2 3 4 Total
Morgan State 10 0 24 7 41
North Carolina A&T 0 3 0 0 3

The Bears () led 10–3 at halftime, but scored 24-points in the third-quarter to pull away from North Carolina A&T University in a 41–3 victory. Devan James rushed for 103 yards and Mario Melton rushed for 97 yards as the Bears improved to 3–3 overall and 1–1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Aggies fell to 2–5 overall and 0–3 in the conference.

Howard

1 2 3 4OT2OT Total
Morgan State 7 3 0 777 31
Howard 0 0 14 376 30

Keith Lee scored on a 3-yard run in the second overtime as Morgan State beat Howard University, 31–30. Devan James rushed for two touchdowns and 219 yards (36 carries) Lee finished with 29 yards (8 carries) as the Bears improved to 4–3 overall and 2–1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Delaware State

1 2 3 4 Total
Delaware State 3 0 0 0 3
Morgan State 7 3 0 10 20

Devan James scored two touchdowns and ran for a total of 103 yards in a 20–3 victory over Delaware State University. The Bears forced the Hornets into four turnovers.

Florida A&M

1 2 3 4 Total
Morgan State 3 7 0 3 13
Florida A&M 0 7 3 0 10

Morgan State capped an 11-play, 41-yard drive with a 39-yard field goal with 16 seconds left for a 13–10 win over Florida A&M. It was the Bears fourth consecutive victory.

Morgan State improved to 6–3 overall and 4–1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)

Norfolk State

1 2 3 4 Total
Morgan State 0 0 3 6 9
Norfolk State 7 7 7 14 35

South Carolina State

1 2 3 4 Total
South Carolina State 6 12 7 7 32
Morgan State 0 0 0 0 0

Hampton

1 2 3 4 Total
Hampton 0 10 0 7 17
Morgan State 3 7 0 3 13

References

  1. ^ "2008 Roster". Morgan State University Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  2. ^ "Tigers still bedevil Bears". The Baltimore Sun. September 7, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Bears pick off win over Eagles". The News and Observer. September 14, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Morgan State shuts down WSSU 21–7". Winston-Salem Journal. September 21, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Rutgers finds way into win column". The Star-Ledger. September 28, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Francois, Wildcats pass test". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. October 5, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Unhappy homecoming". News and Record. October 12, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Overtime payoff". The Baltimore Sun. October 19, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Morgan bounces back". The Baltimore Sun. October 26, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Kick foils FAMU in final seconds". Tallahassee Democrat. November 2, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Spartans blast Bears". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 9, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "SCSU captures MEAC, playoff berth". The Times and Democrat. November 16, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Wasted chances costly for Bears". The Baltimore Sun. November 23, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Towson 21, Morgan St. 16". ESPN. Associated Press. September 6, 2008. Archived from the original on January 17, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2008.