And you thought North Dakota State had its offensive struggles the first two weeks of the season. At least the Bison got into the end zone once.
That has eluded Morgan State, which in some ways has mirrored the football start of NDSU. The Division I Football Championship Subdivision team from Baltimore is 1-1 thanks to four field goals and a safety in a 14-7 season-opening win over NCAA Division II Bowie State.
The Bears were overmatched last week at the University of Maryland, losing 62-3.
"We have to get the offensive production going," said Morgan head coach Donald Hill-Eley. "We have to fix a couple leaks we had in special teams and defense. We had a couple secondary problems but those are all fixable things."
They'll get a chance to fix them Saturday night when they make the long trip to the Fargodome. It will be the home opener for NDSU, 1-1.
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For Morgan, the matchup with in-state big school Maryland was the first between the two schools. The Bears will also be looking for their first win against a Missouri Valley Football Conference team, having gone winless in eight games.
"Looking at them on film, it looks like we're going to be playing Maryland in a different jersey all over again," Hill-Eley said. "When we asked the team who needed comp tickets, nobody raised their hand. It's going to be us against the world."
The Bears have been a work in progress since Hill-Eley took the job nine years ago. Morgan was a perennial bottom feeder in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Since winning a league title in 1979, it did not have a winning season in the MEAC until 2002.
"We're still stepping in the right direction," Hill-Eley said. "We're still getting the talent into the program."
Attracting the talent is one reason Morgan scheduled NDSU. It's good exposure at the FCS level for a conference that struggles on the national scene. South Carolina State is the only league team to advance past the first round of the FCS playoffs having done it in 1981 and 1982, although there have been some close calls in recent years.
"We want to continue to move around," Hill-Eley said. "We want to play good, quality teams that help us when the ratings come out help you get in the playoffs."
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