BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 15/18 Jackson State travels to SWAC rival Southern in a meeting between two blue blood football programs. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. on
TV: ESPN3 - Tiffany Greene and Jay Walker
Radio: Jackson State Sports Radio Network – Rob Jay, Darrell Asberry, Jayme Horton and Christopher Neely
Just Win
A win over Southern would clinch the SWAC East Division and a berth in the 2021 SWAC Championship. It would be the programs eighth East Division Championship and first SWAC championship appearance since 2013.
Shedeur Sanders named to Walter Payton Award Watch List
Shedeur Sanders was recently named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List, which is awarded to the best offensive player at the FCS level. This past weekend he completed 25-for-41 passes for three touchdowns and no interceptions in the Tigers 41-21 win over Texas Southern. His performance throughout this season has JSU on the verge of clinching its first Eastern Division title since the 2013 season.
He has thrown 23 touchdown passes this season and moved into sole possession of eighth place in touchdown passes in a season at JSU. Sanders is completing 67.35 percent of his passes, which ranks first in the SWAC.
The Payton Award, celebrating its 35th anniversary season, is named for the legendary Hall of Fame running back. Past recipients include Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cooper Kupp and Trey Lance.
Earlier this season Sanders was named to the watch list for the 2021 Stats Perform FCS Jerry Rice Award, which is presented to the national freshman of the year in college football's Division I subdivision. The Rice Award, now in its 11th season, is named for the legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver. Past recipients include Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington), Arizona Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds (Fordham) and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance (North Dakota State).
Tigers continue to rise in Top 25 Polls
Following Jackson State's dominating 41-21 win over Texas Southern, the Tigers are ranked No. 15 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 18 in the STATS PERFORM FCS Top 25 Poll.
Off to the best start since 2011 (8-1, 6-0 SWAC), JSU received 272 points and moved up two spots in the FCS Coaches Poll. The Blue and White tallied 385 points and moved up one spot in the STATS PERFORM FCS Top 25 Poll.
Defense shutting teams down
In an era of football that favors offense, the JSU defense simply doesn't care. The Tigers lead the SWAC in every meaningful defensive category: points per game (13.9), total points allowed (125), yards allowed per game (250), touchdowns allowed (13) and sacks (41), rushing yards per game (102), passing yards per game (148),
James Houston and defense terrorizes opposing quarterbacks
James Houston ranks second in the SWAC with 10.5 sacks and averages 1.17 sacks per game. When he's not sacking the quarterback, he's meeting the opponent behind the line of scrimmage with 16.5 tackles for loss. Aubrey Miller is second in the conference with 76 total tackles and 8.4 tackles per game. Miller has also added 5.5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss. Interior lineman Antwan Owens ranks third in the conference with 13 tackles for loss and 1.44 tackles for loss per game
Offense Gaining Steam
The Tigers' offense is picking up just in for the stretch run of the season. The team is averaging 30.7 points per game, which ranks second in the conference and is averaging 365.7 yards per game.
