Southern and Jackson State — preseason favorites to meet in the SWAC championship game — will do so as predicted after the Jaguars topped Grambling State in the Bayou Classic.
And Jaguars defensive lineman Jason Dumas likes his team’s chances to pull off the upset over 11-0 JSU in Jackson next Saturday despite a 35-0 loss in the previous matchup on Oct. 29.
Dumas, who played for Prairie View opposite Jackson State in last year’s conference championship game before transferring to Southern in the offseason, suggested that a repeat performance might not be so certain.
“It’s hard to beat a team twice,” Dumas told the media after the 34-17 Bayou Classic win. “I’m going to stand on that.”
Southern is 3-4 all-time in conference championship games, with its last win coming against Jackson State in 2013.
As far as second chances go, Alcorn State was the last team to win a title game rematch when it beat Grambling in 2015 after losing in the regular season.
