Jimmy Oliver threw three touchdown passes and repeatedly scrambled out of trouble to lead Jackson State to a 42-31 comeback victory over Grambling State Saturday in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game.Oliver’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Jones as he was being tackled gave Jackson State (8-4) the lead for good early in the fourth quarter.
It was the fourth lead change in the game at Legion Field. The victory gave Jackson State its 16th SWAC football championship, but its first since 1996. Jackson State pushed the lead to 42-31 when Lavarus Giles broke away from three defenders near the line of scrimmage and raced 54 yards for a touchdown with 11:45 remaining. Most of the rest of the game was played in a heavy rain, making it harder for Grambling’s offense to come back. Oliver completed 16-of-30 passes for 249 yards, while Giles rushed 23 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Trailing 28-12 at halftime, Grambling (8-4) scored 19 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 31-28 lead heading into the fourth.
Brandon Landers threw for two touchdown passes and a pair of two-point conversions in the quarter. For the game, Landers completed 18-of-38 passes for 229 yards. But he also threw three interceptions, one of which was returned 35 yards for a touchdown by Domonique Johnson.
Grambling, which had been 4-0 in SWAC title games, took a 7-0 lead on its first possession on a 1-yard touchdown run by Frank Warren. But Grambling failed to make it back to the end zone the rest of the first half, while Jackson State scored four touchdowns to build a 28-12 halftime lead.
It was the third consecutive loss for Grambling, which had defeated Jackson State 30-20 during the regular season.
Oh well, Congrats Blue Bengals. Oliver had one helluva game…in fact your entire team played well. Hate losing to you blue tigers but yall won it straight up. Next time will be like the other times (lol)
Congrats!!!
Congrats to the JSU Tiger Football team, the JSU Tiger Fans and The BOOM!! We represented well!! Record crowd of 43,000 plus is only the start of many more SCG titles to come.
From the Okra jokes to SWAC CHAMPIONS!! It doesn’t get any better than this!! This is what SWAC football is all about!!
Congrats JSU! You guys played a great game! We will see you next year and thump that head! By the way, I think the refs were getting a bonus for each flag thrown! Come on, let the guys play in the future and don’t use the national TV audience as your stage to get better officiating gigs…… Long Live The Legacy of Coach Rob!
I’m not used to seeing GSU lose such important games! During my tenure at Grambling, they always stepped up when it counted! I guess it’s a new generation. That was there game to lose, and they lost it. Congrats to JSU! I can’t be mad at a team that beat Southern in Baton Rouge!
I see why them Jags let there coach go after interviewing for another job.
Congrat to my alma mater JSU for the Win. Congrats to all of the other SWAC schools for competing at their highest level this past year also. Lets make 2008 and even better year and make the SWAC football conference one of the premier conferences in the nation and in black college football.