For the first time in three years, Jackson State will be playing out the string.
There will be no SWAC Championship Game at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium or Celebration Bowl appearance in Atlanta. After starting the 2023 season blocks from where the program’s last two ended, a return trip is not in the offing after Florida A&M — a team it dominated in 2021 and 2022 — returned the favor in the Orange Blossom Classic en route to claiming its first-ever SWAC East division crown.
Despite the hope that the Tigers would be good enough to overcome the departures of Deion Sanders, Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and other impact players to either graduation or the transfer portal from a roster that went 16-0 in the SWAC during consecutive conference title-winning campaigns, Jackson State could not completely replicate its championship success.
Once JSU completes home games on Saturday versus Texas Southern and against rival Alcorn State on Nov. 18, that will be it.
But the proud Tigers — a team that has navigated playing five of its first six games on the road, injuries and inconsistency — to a respectable 6-3 overall record, good for second place in the SWAC East.
Head coach T.C. Taylor indicated on Monday that the group intends to finish the season strong regardless of its position in the standings.
“We want to finish the way we started the season, and that’s with energy,” Taylor said. “It is a privilege to be able to play football games. We take pride in wearing the block, and they (the players) understand that they still have to give a tremendous effort each and every quarter for this football team.”
Taylor was optimistic that the growth the group experienced throughout the season — and the players like quarterback Jacobian Morgan, wide receiver Seven McGee and defensive back Esaias Guthrie — who have been revelations — will be a catalyst for a rebound in 2024.
“We want to continue to get better and continue to win football games,” he said. “That’s something we can carry momentum into the spring and as well as recruiting.
“Regardless of whether we’re playing for a championship or not, we’re playing football games, and that’s the way we’re going to finish this thing in these last two weeks.”
