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BALTIMORE, Md. – Quarterback Chris Walley passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and the Norfolk State defense held Morgan State scoreless in the second half to lead the Spartans to a 47-14 win on Saturday afternoon at Hughes Stadium, clinching the Spartans' first-ever outright MEAC football title and Division I FCS playoff berth.

The 22nd-ranked Spartans (9-2, 7-1 MEAC) secured the school's first conference football championship since the 1984 team won the last of the program's four CIAA titles in Division II. NSU also won its ninth game of the year Saturday, second-most in school history behind the 1984 team, which finished 10-2.

The Spartans also secured the MEAC's automatic berth in the 20-team Division I FCS playoffs, which begin on Nov. 26. NSU has a bye week next Saturday, the final week of the regular season, before learning its playoff fate on Sunday, Nov. 20.

NSU led just 20-14 at halftime, but scored 17 points in a four-minute span early in the third quarter to pull away. Junior running back Randy Maynes gave NSU some immediate breathing room on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, bursting through the middle of the defense for a 56-yard touchdown run to give the Spartans a 27-14 lead.

Morgan State (5-5, 4-3) was held three-and-out on its next drive, and a 48-yard completion from Walley to freshman Keith Johnson moved the Spartans deep into Bear territory again. A 28-yard Ryan Estep field goal extended the lead to 30-14 with 10:50 left in the third quarter.

NSU wasn't done, as special teamer Chad Battles forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff that the Spartans' Marcell Coke recovered and returned to the MSU 1. Walley bulled in from there to make it 37-14 just 16 seconds later.

The Spartans added 10 more points in the fourth quarter, on a 23-yard Estep field goal – his fourth of the day – and a 2-yard TD run by Takeem Hedgeman to complete the scoring.

“I'm so proud of our players right now for working as hard as they have and making history like this,” NSU head coach Pete Adrian said. “The chemistry on this team is great. They've been a special group to coach. All they talk about is winning, not about personal goals.”

The game didn't start so smoothly for NSU, however. The Bears scored first as Seth Higgins hit Tyrone Hendrix on a 53-yard TD pass on the second play of their second possession, giving MSU a 7-0 advantage with 9:55 left in the first quarter.

But the Spartans answered with 20 unanswered points to take a 13-point lead. After the Bears' first score, NSU answered on its next possession with a 60-yard TD pass from Walley to Kelvin Lewis, and Estep's extra point tied the game at 7-all with 7:46 left in the quarter.

Walley then tossed his second TD of the quarter, finding Joe Hawkins on a 6-yard scoring strike to give the Spartans a 14-7 lead with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.

Estep made field goals of 32 and 39 yards in the second quarter to boost the NSU edge to 20-7.

MSU's big-play offense cut the Spartan lead to 20-14 heading into the half. Travis Davidson scored on a 49-yard TD run to get the Bears back into it with 4:00 left in the second quarter.

But the Bears were unable to scratch in the second half. Outside of their two long scoring plays in the first half, MSU managed just 139 yards of total offense on its other 65 plays from scrimmage against the MEAC's top overall and scoring defense.

Walley completed 12 of 22 passes for 187 yards. Lewis accounted for 113 all-purpose yards (79 receiving, 34 rushing), while Maynes led the team with nine carries for 68 yards. The Spartans outgained MSU 335-241.

Onyemechi Anyaugo led the NSU defense with 11 tackles, including one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup. Corwin Hammond added nine tackles and recovered a fumble. Jamal Giddens had seven tackles, four for loss, including a career-high three sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup.

Davidson led the Bears' offense with seven rushes for 74 yards. Higgins passed for 131 yards, but only completed 12 of 31 passes.