Coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough and his South Carolina State University Bulldogs will face a formidable opponent in the Appalachian State Mountaineers at noon today, but the head coach has an unwavering ally in the person who probably knows him better than anyone.

Pough, one of the premier coaches in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, depends on the pearls of wisdom he often receives from his mother, Margaret Pough, a former math teacher in the Edisto school district. He has credited his parents, along with other mentors who have been part of his life for many years, for contributing to his own character development.

A quiet person, Mrs. Pough says she prefers to sit unrecognized - as she often does - in the stands during games. But she says she's extremely proud of her son as he and the Bulldogs enter their first-round championship playoff game in Boone, N.C.

"I tell him, 'I know you're under a lot of pressure, but I'm gonna love you whether you win or lose.' He says, 'I guarantee you would be the only one,'" she says, laughing.

Seventh-ranked S.C. State (10-1, 8-0) finished the regular season with seven straight wins and a conference-record 19th consecutive victory with its win over the N.C. A&T Aggies on Nov. 21. It had been six long years since the Bulldogs had defeated the Aggies, and it was his mother's words about not letting history repeat itself that stuck in Coach Pough's mind as he rallied his team to victory.

"I said to him, 'Buddy, I remember the first year you coached, all the conference games when we went to A&T,'" she said, noting that the losses were worth recounting as the team worked to earn a spot in the playoffs.

"I said, 'They would love to do the same thing to you,' but that's about all I said about that. I really don't pressure him at all about winning. Really, all I'm here for is to give him moral support and listen to him if he wants to talk to me. If he doesn't want to talk, that's fine, too," she said.

Of the team's win over N.C. A&T, Mrs. Pough said, "I was very proud of him and his players and his coaching staff. I'm happy that he's really put together a good coaching staff that seem to see eye-to-eye with what they want to do with the team. So, I know that he has a lot of support on the technical level. I'm very proud of that. All I can say is, 'Congratulations. You've done well.'"

Since taking over the reins at his alma mater five years ago, Pough has turned the Bulldogs into perennial contenders for the MEAC crown and in Division I-AA. Mrs. Pough said she's proud of her son's accomplishments. While she says she doesn't talk to her son very often, especially this time of year, he knows she is there for him.

"I never call him. I know he's busy, and I really just wait for him to call me whenever he has the time. I usually just congratulate him. I really don't have any technical support to give him. I don't give him any tips about the game. That's not my role. He's got coaches for that. I'm very low key. I try not to even get in pictures," Mrs. Pough said. "When I'm up in the stands, I don't even like to let people know who I am. I don't want to inhibit their sincerity in whether they root for him or against him."

Pough's mother said she considers him a dedicated coach who wants the best for his school and is proud of being a part of his alma mater's football program. She said while the team's winning record was not enough for them to receive a first-round FCS playoff home game, that has not dampened her or her son's spirits.

"I was very disappointed, but I can understand it. Of course, Buddy's not letting it get to him, either. He said that he understands why it happened. I think that's what he tries to instill in his boys: don't make excuses," she said. "They can go out and play well. I know that they have played well on the road. They've played well on the road ever since he's been there. This should not deter them from winning if they go out and play that way."

While she will not be at Saturday's game, Mrs. Pough says she would offer some encouraging words to her son.

"I would say, 'Just remember who you are and the game that you know you can play,'" she said, adding it is her son's relationship with his players that makes him an effective coach, along with his penchant for honesty, sincerity and dependability.

"When it's all said and done, if the players don't have respect for their coach, the whole purpose of him and others coaching has been defeated. They've got to have faith in and look up to their coach," Mrs. Pough said. "They've got to hold the coach as their example. They must trust what he's saying and believe in what he's saying on and off the field."

She said she doesn't comment to her son on every single detail that's written about him in newspaper articles.

"I read almost everything that's written in the paper about him. Sometimes I call him and tell him. I don't tell him the ugly things that people say, though. I tell him only the good things," Mrs. Pough said, noting she is proud of what her son has become in life.

"That's what I'm most proud of - not only as a son, but as a husband and father. I'm just proud of the man he turned out to be. Whether he wins or loses, it's just the person that he is that I'm mostly proud of," Mrs. Pough said. "I still remember the baby he used to be and what an independent little boy he used to be. I knew one day he was going to be someone special."

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesand

democrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534.

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