Morgan State’s football team dropped to 0-6 overall and 0-2 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) competition after losing 37-14 to the South Carolina State Bulldogs in Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg, S.C on Saturday.

Turnovers were a huge issue for the Bears.

Morgan graduate quarterback Neil Boudreau threw three interceptions and had two fumbles lost.

He was benched in the third quarter and replaced by freshman Duce Taylor.

Taylor threw two interceptions including one that was returned by South Carolina State linebacker Jablonski Green for a touchdown.

With their loss on Saturday, Morgan’s football program has now gone over 700 days without a victory dating back to the 2019-20 football season.

The Bears did not compete in any games during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Morgan will try to earn their first win of the season next Saturday in their homecoming game against North Carolina Central.

Here are the top five takeaways from the Bears’ loss against South Carolina State.

Morgan starting quarterback Neil Boudreau struggles

Boudreau (10-for-26 for 122 yards) threw one touchdown pass, three interceptions and had two fumbles lost before being benched in the third quarter.

Coming into Saturday’s game, Boudreau was only averaging one interception per game.

He has now thrown eight on the season and nearly 38 percent of them were thrown against South Carolina State.

Morgan running back Alfonzo Graham performs well

Junior Alfonzo Graham rushed for 74 yards on seven carries including a 40-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Graham also performed well on special teams.

He averaged 31.5 yards on two kickoff returns. His longest kickoff return was 53 yards.

Morgan linebacker Lawrence Richardson and safety Kaleb Coleman have good games despite the loss

Morgan junior linebacker Lawrence Richardson intercepted a pass thrown by South Carolina State quarterback Corey Fields in the first quarter and returned the ball for 13 yards. He also had three tackles in the game including one for a loss of four yards.

In the third quarter, Morgan true freshman safety Kaleb Coleman intercepted a pass thrown by Fields.

Coleman finished the game with one interception and five tackles including one tackle for a loss of two yards.

Special teams remain an issue for the Bears

On the first play of the second quarter, Morgan kicker Kluivert Akubuo’s 20-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Bulldogs sophomore defensive lineman Patrick Godbolt and returned 90 yards by Zafir Kelly for a touchdown, increasing the Bulldogs’ lead to 14-0.

Akubuo is now 0-7 on field goal attempts this season.

Morgan also committed a running into the kicker penalty in the fourth quarter which gave the Bulldogs an automatic first down.

The Bears fell to the bottom of the MEAC standings following Saturday’s loss

With an 0-2 conference record, Morgan is at the bottom of the MEAC standings.

South Carolina State (2-4 overall, 1-0 MEAC) and Howard (2-4 overall, 1-0 MEAC) are tied for first place with a 1-0 conference record.

Norfolk State (4-2), Delaware State (3-3), and North Carolina Central (2-4) have not played a conference game yet.