SAVANNAH, Ga. – When Earnest Wilson III finally left T.A. Wright Stadium and returned to his office after Savannah State's 37-27 victory over Florida A&M last Saturday, the third-year head coach stared at his cell phone in disbelief.

"When I got back at 12:30 a.m., because I went over to the (boosters') tent because they wanted to have me over at the tent, I had over 50 text messages at 12:30 at night," he said, still sounding surprised. "I finally got back to my office, and I was sitting there. I had over 50 text messages and 23 phone calls. Everybody from (Benedictine coach) Danny Britt to (Jenkins coach) Tim Adams called. A lot of the coaches around the area who have been supporting me either called me or texted me. I appreciate all of the high school coaches for their support."

Wilson hopes his cell phone goes berserk for a second consecutive Saturday after SSU (1-3 overall, 1-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) plays Morgan State (2-2, 2-0) at 4 p.m. at Hughes Stadium in Baltimore, Md. The game will be radio-broadcast on WHCJ 90.3 FM.

The Tigers are 0-7 in the series. The Bears won, 45-6, when the teams last met Oct. 6, 2012, in Savannah.

"It feels good that we're 1-1 in the conference," Wilson said. "Our goal is not just to win one game. We're trying to contend for a conference championship. We want to build a program and we work too hard all week to lose. That's what our kids have got to be able to understand.

"We appreciate all of the support and people patting us on the back but we've got six more opportunities to win," he continued. "People are saying they can't believe we beat Florida A&M and all that other good stuff. They've got to continue to learn how to win. A lot of people are patting them on the back and talking to them in a positive way. If we keep playing hard, we can get back the respect of the community."

SSU's victory over FAMU snapped a 24-game overall losing streak and a 32-game conference losing streak. The Tigers' previous victory was a 27-20 decision against NCAA Division II Fort Valley State on Sept. 14, 2013. SSU previously had not won a conference game since 2011, when the Tigers beat North Carolina Central, 33-30, in SSU's first official season in the MEAC.

Morgan State is coming off a 26-6 victory at Delaware State last Saturday. The Bears beat Howard, 21-13, on Sept. 26 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

QB SPAULDING TO MAKE THIRD STRAIGHT START
SSU's Arshon Spaulding will start at quarterback for a third consecutive game against Morgan State, Wilson said.

Spaulding, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior from Brunswick's Glynn Academy, was 8-of-12 passing for 83 yards without an interception against FAMU. He ran 15 times for a game-high 91 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown, against the Rattlers.

"He had a good second game," Wilson said.

Spaulding made his first collegiate start at quarterback against Bethune-Cookman. He was 11-of-21 passing for 102 yards without an interception against the Wildcats. He ran 11 times for 32 yards.

"For sure, we have more confidence," Spaulding said of facing Morgan State. "We believe in each other more. We know we can get the job done now. This win (against FAMU) really helped our guys, mentally. We know we can get the job done."

TIGERS HOT IN THE RED ZONE
After finishing 1 of 4 in the red zone against Bethune-Cookman, SSU worked extensively last week on finishing scoring opportunities. As a result, the Tigers finished drives 5 of 5 when inside FAMU's 20-yard line.

"We just knew that we had to capitalize when we got down there," SSU receiver Ker-Sean Wilson said.
SSU is 8 of 11 (73 percent) in the red zone this season.

"We need to stay together and eliminate the mistakes," Ker-Sean Wilson said. "That's what we did (against FAMU). We came together as a team. Coaches and players have support for each other just like a family."

TIME OF POSSESSION, TURNOVER MARGIN, FUMBLES FORCED
Morgan State leads the MEAC in time of possession (32:54 average) but SSU is a close second (32:43).

The Tigers are No. 1 in the conference in turnover margin. They have gained possession of the ball 11 times (seven fumble recoveries, four interceptions) and only lost possession six times (three fumbles, three interceptions) for a plus-5 margin.

SSU's Isaiah Bennett, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound freshman from Silver Springs, Md., leads the MEAC in fumbles forced with two in three games.

TOUGH BUNCH OF BEARS
Morgan State finished 6-2 in the MEAC last season, earned a share of the conference's title and was awarded the conference's automatic bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

The Bears beat Delaware State, 69-7, to stay in the hunt for the title and berth. Their victory, combined with North Carolina A&T's 21-14 loss to North Carolina Central, sealed the playoff opportunity for the Bears. It was Morgan State's first MEAC football title, outright or shared, and its first playoff berth. Morgan State catapulted to the top of the MEAC's five-way tiebreaker process based on wins over tied conference opponents NCCU and South Carolina State.

"Lee's a good coach," Earnest Wilson said of Lee Hull, who is in his second season as Morgan State's head coach. "They won the conference and they represented the MEAC in the playoffs."

Morgan State went on to lose, 46-24, to the University of Richmond. The MEAC's representative in the FCS playoffs has not won a game in the tournament since 1999.

MORGAN STATE OUTLOOK
Hull, during his weekly news conference, told reporters that he believes SSU is a good team.

"Savannah won last week so they're going to come in here on a high," Hull said. "They're well-coached. We didn't play them last year so I only saw them on film but they look much improved from last year. They've got a lot of young guys. They're kind of similar to us on the offensive and defensive lines. They're playing a lot of young guys but you can tell that they're improving every week."

Morgan State is ranked second in the MEAC in pass defense behind S.C. State. The Bears have allowed 676 yards passing through four games. They have registered 10 sacks for a loss of 63 yards.

"We're getting a lot of pressure on the quarterback," Hull said. "We had six sacks this week (against Delaware State). That helps out the DBs because the quarterback does not have a lot of time to throw the football. Our DBs have got to come up with some big plays. I think they dropped four interceptions that they could have had."

Morgan State quarterback Moses Skillon, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound senior from Liberty City, Fla., is 47-of-95 passing for 572 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He has run 44 times for 190 yards and two touchdowns. "They have a really good quarterback," Earnest Wilson said.

Running back Orlando Johnson, a 5-foot-8, 165-pound redshirt sophomore from Memphis, Tenn., has 56 carries for 226 yards and three touchdowns. "They have an explosive running back that ran for over 1,000 yards and was all-conference last year," Earnest Wilson said.

Running back Lamont Brown, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound redshirt junior from Suffolk, Va., has run 37 times for 193 yards without a touchdown.

Wide receiver Andrew King, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound redshirt senior from Columbia, Md., has made 18 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, linebacker Damare' Whitaker, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound sophomore from Washington, D.C., leads the team with 25 tackles, including a sack.
The Bears' losses have been to Illinois State (67-14 on Sept. 12) and Air Force (63-7 on Sept. 5).