Jackson State and Southern will compete for the SWAC football championship for the second time in three years.
In the 2022 matchup, Jackson State was led by current Heisman Trophy candidates Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. The Tigers were also coached by Deion Sanders. Southern had Eric Dooley on its sideline and Buck Buchanan Award winner Jordan Lewis.
The Tigers won easily 43-24 in Jackson that day to advance to its second consecutive Celebration Bowl.
Both teams are vastly different heading into Saturday’s meeting. The Sanders and Hunter trio from Jackson are gone, and Dooley has since moved on from Southern.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Like in 2022, Jackson State enters the title game undefeated in SWAC play under conference coach of the year T.C. Taylor. It features SWAC Offensive Player of the Year Irv Mulligan and Freshman of the Year Travis Terrell Jr.
Ironically enough, Southern has questions at quarterback, as the Jaguars did in the 2022 game under first-year head coach Terrence Graves.
Like in 2022, both teams met earlier in the season, with Jackson State winning the previous meeting.
The latest installment of what has been a one-sided rivalry since 2021 (Jackson State is on a five-game winning streak) will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Jackson State (10-2, 8-0 SWAC) has won eight consecutive games and beat Southern 33-15 on Sept. 14.
“We played them early on, and they had their way with us,” Southern coach Terrence Graves said on Monday during the SWAC coach’s Zoom conference. “We have gotten better every week in the totality of the football team. We’ve been able to identify the guys we have, some new guys, and find out how well they would play in our system in live games, not just practice and scrimmages. They planted their feet on a solid foundation of what we expected and how we wanted them to play.”
Southern has won four straight games and has improved incrementally since the Jaguars played the Tigers. That’s why Taylor expects a different version of the Jaguars to show up on Saturday.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to beat a good Southern football team a second time,” said Taylor. “It’s always difficult when you play a team a second time. We know they want some get-back. We’ve got to figure out ways to get one more point.
“Coach Graves is doing a heck of a job with that team since we played them,” Taylor said. “They got a lot of questions answered and are playing at a high level.”
In the previous meeting between the teams, Noah Bodden was the starting quarterback for Southern. Under center for the Jaguars on Saturday will be freshman Jalen Woods, who has won his last three starts, including the Bayou Classic against Grambling State last Saturday. However, he went 9 of 17 passing for 176 yards with one touchdown and an interception.
Woods will have to navigate a tough Jackson State defense that ranks No. 2 overall in the SWAC and No. 3 in pass defense.
“He prepares every day as a starter — all of our quarterbacks do that,” Graves said about Woods. “He’s a cool head, even-keeled. He takes coaching well and understands what we’re trying to do to facilitate the offense.”
