The MEAC race starts this week, and all teams start even. All six teams open conference play at 0-0, and over the next five weeks each one plays the other five once. There is no MEAC Championship Game, so the regular season decides the title and the trip to Atlanta.

The MEAC champion will face the SWAC champion in the Toyota-presented Cricket Celebration Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 12, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

How Ties Are Broken

Because the MEAC plays a full round robin, every contender will see every other contender. That makes the tiebreakers simpler than in the SWAC.

The MEAC will release its confirmed tiebreakers later this season, as needed. In past seasons, the conference has settled a two-team tie for first with the head-to-head result, a game that is guaranteed to exist in a round robin. For three or more tied teams, it started with the record in games among just the tied teams, then reverted to head-to-head once the group was cut to two.

In those past seasons, teams tied for first shared the MEAC title as co-champions, but only one went to Atlanta. Deeper tiebreakers come into play only when games among the tied teams can’t settle it, such as a three-team circle where each team went 1-1 against the others.

The Schedule: Five Games, No Hiding

The table below shows each team’s overall record, its number of MEAC home games, and its five conference games in order. Teams are listed in order of their odds in the first Toyota Championship Projection.

Delaware State and Norfolk State meet on Oct. 31 in Philadelphia, with Norfolk State listed as the home team. Morgan State and South Carolina State are the only teams with three home games in the MEAC.

How the Contenders Stack Up

The table below pulls the MEAC teams from our Week 7 computer poll comparison. It shows each team’s rank among the 21 Division I HBCUs in our poll and the national composite, along with its record and per-game numbers against FCS opponents only.

Both rankings put Morgan State and South Carolina State at the top of the MEAC, just in a different order. Our poll has the Bears third and the Bulldogs fourth, while the national composite flips them.

After that, the two lists split. Our poll ranks Norfolk State fifth among all 21 teams, while the national composite ranks the Spartans ninth, behind Delaware State and Howard.

Morgan State (5-2)

Morgan State enters as the projection’s clear favorite at 63.4%, and its schedule puts the biggest tests up front. The Bears open at home against Howard on Oct. 24, then host South Carolina State on Thursday night, Oct. 29.

After that, Morgan State gets Oct. 31 off before facing Delaware State on Nov. 7. The season closes with Norfolk State at home and a trip to North Carolina Central.

The Bears’ nonconference résumé includes wins over Towson, Villanova, Robert Morris, and NC A&T. They lost to Arizona State and Tennessee State on Oct. 17.

Against FCS opponents, Morgan State is 4-1 and outscores teams 28.0 to 24.0 a game. The Bears allow 401.6 yards a game in those games, the most of any MEAC team.

South Carolina State (5-2)

South Carolina State is second in the projection at 19.7%, and no MEAC team has a busier start. The Bulldogs host Norfolk State on Oct. 24, travel to Morgan State on Thursday, Oct. 29, and then face Howard the following Thursday, Nov. 5.

That is three conference games between Oct. 24 and Nov. 5, two of them on the road. After a week off, South Carolina State finishes with home games against North Carolina Central and Delaware State.

The Bulldogs opened 5-0 with wins over Florida A&M, Furman and Bethune-Cookman, then lost their last two games to The Citadel and Charleston Southern.

South Carolina State has the MEAC’s best defense in yards allowed. Against FCS teams, the Bulldogs allow 293.8 yards a game, second only to Alabama A&M among all 21 Division I HBCUs.

Delaware State (4-3)

Delaware State is third in the projection at 7.3%. The Hornets open the conference schedule a day early, hosting North Carolina Central on Friday, Oct. 23, and then face Norfolk State in Philadelphia.

Their path gets harder at the end. Delaware State’s last three games are at home against Morgan State, then road trips to Howard and South Carolina State.

The Hornets have won four games, including Stony Brook and Towson, and lost to William & Mary, South Florida, and UAlbany.

Delaware State has been outscored by FCS opponents, 28.0 to 23.0 a game, even though it outgains them 343.5 yards to 309.5. The national composite rates the Hornets higher than our poll, ranking them sixth to our ninth.

Howard (3-4)

Howard is tied for fourth in the projection at 4.5%, and it is one of two teams with three MEAC road games. The Bison open at Morgan State, which gives them a chance to knock the favorite down a game right away.

Howard travels to North Carolina Central on Oct. 31, then hosts South Carolina State five days later on Thursday, Nov. 5. Delaware State comes to Washington on Nov. 14, before the finale at Norfolk State.

The Bison beat Alabama A&M, Hampton, and Morehouse, and lost to Richmond, Indiana, Rutgers, and Penn.

Howard allows 22.2 points a game against FCS teams, the fewest in the MEAC.

Norfolk State (4-3)

Norfolk State is also projected at 4.5%. The Spartans open at South Carolina State, meet Delaware State in Philadelphia and host North Carolina Central before a Nov. 14 trip to Morgan State. They close at home against Howard.

Norfolk State’s nonconference schedule included Old Dominion and Virginia, both losses. Its most recent loss was a 33-31 game at Robert Morris, the same team Morgan State beat 28-27.

No MEAC offense has been more productive against FCS teams. Norfolk State scores 38.7 points and gains 512.7 yards per game, though both numbers come from just three FCS games, the smallest sample in the field.

North Carolina Central (2-5)

North Carolina Central is last in the projection at 0.7%. Like Howard, the Eagles play three MEAC road games, starting with Friday’s trip to Delaware State.

They have lost four straight, including a 17-14 loss to William & Mary and a 38-31 loss to Campbell in their last two games. The Eagles do have a win over NC A&T, and they close the season at home against Morgan State on Nov. 21.

Against FCS teams, North Carolina Central is 1-4 and allows 32.6 points a game, the most in the MEAC.

Common Opponents

MEAC teams haven’t played each other yet, but five of the six faced at least one common opponent in nonconference play. The results don’t count in the standings, but they show how the contenders compare.

Morgan State (4-0): The Bears beat NC A&T 17-7, an opponent North Carolina Central also faced, and Towson 41-26, which Delaware State also faced. They beat Robert Morris 28-27 and Virginia University of Lynchburg 55-0 at home, two teams Norfolk State also played.

Norfolk State (2-1): The Spartans beat Hampton 42-21 and Virginia University of Lynchburg 62-0 at home. They lost to Robert Morris, 33-31, a week before Morgan State beat the Colonials by a point.

Howard (1-0): The Bison’s only common opponent is Hampton, which they beat 27-13. Norfolk State beat the Pirates by 21.

Delaware State (1-1): The Hornets beat Towson 33-28 at home, and Morgan State beat them 15 -22 on the road. They lost 22-15 at William & Mary.

North Carolina Central (1-1): The Eagles beat NC A&T 30-22 at home, a team Morgan State beat by 10 on the road. They lost 17-14 at home to William & Mary, the same team that beat Delaware State by seven.

South Carolina State (0-0): The Bulldogs are the only MEAC team without a common opponent. None of their seven opponents played another MEAC team.

Dates to Circle

• Oct. 23 (Friday): North Carolina Central at Delaware State opens MEAC play.
• Oct. 24: Howard at Morgan State and Norfolk State at South Carolina State.
• Oct. 29 (Thursday): South Carolina State at Morgan State, the projection’s top two meeting less than a week into conference play.
• Oct. 31: Delaware State vs. Norfolk State in Philadelphia and Howard at North Carolina Central.
• Nov. 5 (Thursday): South Carolina State at Howard.
• Nov. 7: Morgan State at Delaware State and North Carolina Central at Norfolk State.
• Nov. 14: Norfolk State at Morgan State, Delaware State at Howard and North Carolina Central at South Carolina State.
• Nov. 21: Morgan State at North Carolina Central, Delaware State at South Carolina State and Howard at Norfolk State.

Follow every result and the full standings on the 2026 football season dashboard.