Box Score ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Adrian Kollock passed for one score and ran for another, and Jalen Simmons ran for two touchdowns to lead South Carolina State to a 30-20 win over Norfolk State in the regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.
 
With the results of other MEAC games Saturday, the Bulldogs (8-4, 6-2 MEAC) finished as part of a five-way tie for first place in the conference with Morgan State, Bethune-Cookman, N.C. Central and N.C. A&T. MSU earned the conference's automatic FCS playoff berth by virtue of its record against the other tied teams.
 
Terrance Ervin passed for 267 yards and two touchdowns for the Spartans (4-8, 4-4), who finished the season on a three-game losing streak.
 
Things started badly for NSU. The Spartans went three-and-out on the game's first possession, and the fourth-down punt snap went over punter Dylan Shaddix's head into the end zone for a Bulldogs' safety. Later in the quarter, the Bulldogs took their second possession and scored in seven plays. Kollock completed a 25-yard screen pass to Simmons on fourth down to keep the drive alive. On the next play, Simmons scored on a 6-yard TD run for a 9-0 SCSU lead with 8:36 left in the first quarter.
 
The Spartans got on the board late in the first quarter. Ervin engineered a five-play, 80-yard drive, which he capped with a 49-yard TD pass to a wide open Keith Johnson. Ryan Lee's extra point brought NSU within 9-7 with 1:02 left in the first quarter.
 
NSU took its first lead of the day on Cameron Marouf's 44-yard field goal with 11:26 left in the second quarter. But the Bulldogs scored twice in the final three and a half minutes of the second quarter to regain control. SCSU drove 99 yards in 11 plays, with Kollock scoring on a 1-yard run, to give the Bulldogs a 16-10 lead with 3:11 left in the second quarter.
 
After holding NSU three-and-out, Antonio Hamilton returned the ensuing punt 61 yards to the NSU 19. Two plays later, Kollock hit Taquan West for a 19-yard TD pass with 1:55 left in the second quarter to give the Bulldogs a 23-10 advantage.
 
The Spartans got back in the game thanks to a third-quarter turnover. Kollock fumbled a shotgun snap near midfield, and NSU defensive lineman George Riddick recovered at the SCSU 46. Nine plays later, Ervin threw a 15-yard TD pass to Isaac White, and the PAT brought NSU within 23-17 with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter.
 
But Simmons scored his second touchdown of the day on a 10-yard run with 12:35 left in the game to pad SCSU's lead to 30-17. The drive was set up by a Marquise Jones interception at the NSU 35.
 
Marouf's 45-yard field goal brought NSU to within 30-20 with 7:12 left. But the Spartans were stopped on downs on their next possession, and the NSU offense didn't get another possession.
 
Kollock was 15-of-29 for 232 yards with one touchdown and one interception. West caught six passes for 115 yards. NSU limited Simmons, the MEAC's No. 3 rusher with over 1,000 yards, to 13 rushes on 14 carries.
 
Ervin's 267 yards are his second-most of the season. He completed 22-of-37 passes. White caught a game-high seven passes for 78 yards. Johnson had five receptions for a career-high 108 yards.
 
Deon King had another stellar game for the NSU defense, notching nine tackles, including five for a loss, and one sack. Marcell Coke had eight tackles, Lynden Trail six with one sack and Riddick five with 2.5 for loss.