DATE: Wednesday, October 8, 1997            TAG: 9710080657

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: PAUL WHITE

                                            LENGTH:   66 lines

MEAC ROUNDUP

Norfolk State will get some national exposure Saturday when it travels to South Carolina State for a game to be televised on tape-delay by Black Entertainment Television.

Air time is 5 p.m.; actual kickoff time is 1:30 p.m. It will be the third in the four-game series of college football telecasts for the cable network, which reaches 51.7 million homes according to Nielsen Media Research. Charlie Neal and former Detroit Lions star Lem Barney will have the call, with George ``Peace!'' Johnson providing sideline reports.

MEAC teams will also be featured in BET's series finale Oct. 25, when Howard tries to spoil North Carolina A&T's homecoming. S.C. State making habit of heart-stopping victories

Those crazy South Carolina State Bulldogs were at it again Saturday, as they blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead before rallying in overtime to nip Morgan State, 34-27. The Bulldogs have also pulled out a game with 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, and another with no time remaining.

``The good thing about us is we keep our fans in their seats for the whole game,'' Bulldogs coach Willie Jeffries said.

A crowd of about 22,000 is expected at Dawson Stadium Saturday for South Carolina State's homecoming game. ``Boom-Boom'' Jackson MEAC's player of week

Hampton's Charles ``Boom-Boom'' Jackson picked up MEAC offensive player of the week honors for the second time this season after rushing for 147 yards on 25 carries in the Pirates' 18-15 win over Florida A&M. The former Maury High star also got the award after his 206-yard, three-touchdown effort against Howard Sept. 13.

Among the players Jackson beat out this week: former Booker T. Washington star Mike Basnight, who ran for 139 yards and a touchdown in North Carolina A&T's 49-37 win over Tennessee State in the BET-televised Circle City Classic.

One of the Pirates who created the holes for Jackson, 285-pound sophomore Kelly McClendon, was named conference offensive lineman of the week. Pirates make I-AA poll

As expected, the Pirates cracked the Sports Network Division I-AA poll this week, checking in at No. 25 after their win over the previously 12th-ranked Rattlers. But the victory wasn't as impressive to the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 voters, who have the Pirates at No. 28 and the Rattlers at No. 16. Hampton strengthens grip on playoff spot

With victories over North Carolina A&T and Howard to go with Saturday's win against Florida A&M, the Pirates have essentially a two-game lead over those teams in the race for the conference's automatic berth in the Division I-AA playoffs. These teams would be declared co-MEAC champions should they finish tied with Hampton, but the Pirates' head-to-head victory would give them the playoff bid. The other co-champion would have to ``settle'' for a trip to the Heritage Bowl.

When asked to identify the future opponent with the best chance of beating Hampton, Florida A&M coach Billy Joe offered South Carolina State. Hampton's players also threw in Norfolk State, their opponent in the Oct. 18 ``Battle of the Bay'' at Price Stadium. But the Spartans game will have no bearing on the conference race since Norfolk State games do not count in the MEAC standings.

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