South Carolina State tops MEAC preseason poll with five first-place votes

South Carolina State opened the MEAC’s 2026 title picture the same way it closed last season: on top, with five first-place votes and 49 points in the coaches and sports information directors preseason poll. North Carolina Central and Delaware State were the teams nearest the Bulldogs in the first public read on the league race, and the split showed a conference that looks competitive behind the favorite but not ready to knock it off the top line.

The poll landed during MEAC Football Media Day at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, a stage the league used to push the entire preseason calendar into one national window. The conference announced media day participants on July 13, followed by a live broadcast of The Pivot from the event on July 14. MEAC preseason football honors came out July 20, and the poll itself gave the clearest sign yet of how voters see the road to the league title and the Celebration Bowl: South Carolina State is still the benchmark, and the main chase group is already familiar.

That trust is built on results. South Carolina State finished 2025 at 9-3 overall and 5-0 in MEAC play, then backed up the regular season by beating Delaware State 28-0 on Nov. 22 and knocking off North Carolina Central in a primetime ESPN2 matchup on Nov. 15 to stay perfect in conference action. Delaware State went 8-4 overall and 4-1 in the MEAC, while North Carolina Central finished 8-4 and 3-2, numbers that kept both programs within reach but still behind the Bulldogs when the league reset for 2026.

The first-place-vote count also tells a subtler story. South Carolina State drew the same five first-place votes it had in last year’s preseason poll, when it was also picked as the favorite with 63 points. The total dropped from 63 to 49, suggesting more skepticism in the room even if the top spot did not change. That is less a sign of a new leader emerging than a preseason ledger that has not yet broken from the recent hierarchy.

The Bulldogs have also started to collect national validation before a snap was played. On July 10, South Carolina State was ranked No. 1 in the inaugural Black College Football Poll, part of a new ranking system the MEAC said would debut in 2026 alongside the Black College All-American Teams. With the conference earning three spots in that opening poll, South Carolina State’s place at the front of the MEAC race now sits inside a broader Black college football conversation that is getting more visibility by the week.