JACKSON, Miss. | Jackson State will open play at Veterans Memorial Stadium this season on Saturday, facing Edward Waters at 6 p.m. in the Hope Labor Day Classic. The game will be broadcast by HBCUGO, the first of three consecutive games at home.

Jackson State (1-0) enters the weekend following a come-from-behind victory over Tennessee State last weekend, and will be facing for just the second time in school history. The lone time the two teams have met came in the Spring of 2020 when Jackson State claimed a 53-0 victory. The game will be the first of two against teams from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) for Jackson State.

Game Info - Jackson State vs. Edward Waters
Jackson, Miss. | Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium | 6 p.m. | HBCUGO
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Game Notes

• For the second consecutive season, Jackson State had a running back go over 100 yards. Last season, Ahmad Miller went for 180 yards against Hampton, and this season, Nate Blount IV went for 101 yards on 15 carries against Tennessee State.
• Kam Sallis and Jabari Jones were named MVPs following the John Merritt Classic, with Sallis going for seven tackles and Jones with an 88-yard touchdown reception.
• Jones became the first Tiger to go over 100 yards receiving in a game this season, finishing with a team-high four receptions for 117 yards, including a first-quarter 88-yard touchdown reception from Jared Lockhart.
• Andrew Ivaniciuc and Keith Bass Jr. earned Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) weekly honors following the Tigers' 26-24 victory over Tennessee State on Saturday. Ivaniciuc kicked a 21-yard field goal with 2:31 remaining to give Jackson State (1-0) a 26-24 lead, and finished the night 4-for-5 on field goals, including connecting from 45 yards and a career-high 51-yard field goal late in the third quarter to extend the Jackson State lead to 23-17 to earn SWAC Specialist of the Week. Meanwhile, Bass was named the SWAC Defensive Player of the Week after he finished with six tackles, a sack, and 1.5 tackles for loss in the win.
• Since the fall of 2021, Jackson State has won 61 of 73 games overall and is 36-4 in regular-season games against conference competition. The Tigers have won three Southwestern Athletic Conference [SWAC] championships, played in three Celebration Bowls, and won the 2024 HBCU national championship.
• Jackson State is 13-3 at home under head coach T.C. Taylor since taking the helm in 2023, including a 6-0 mark in 2024. The Tigers also went 5-1 at home last season, with its lone loss coming in the SWAC Championship game, ending an 11-game home winning streak. The Tigers have not lost a non-conference home game under Taylor, and the Tigers are 29-9 in the three-plus years that Taylor has been at the helm with a winning percentage of 76.3. He currently ranks seventh in all-time wins at Jackson State after passing Deion Sanders last season. He has a chance to pass T.B. Ellis and Robert "Judge" Hughes this season (34 each).
• Jackson State returns 37 players from last year's team that claimed its second consecutive SWAC East Division Championship, and adds 56 total new players - transfer portal and incoming freshmen.
• Since the Spring 2021 season, Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium has hosted five of the last six SWAC Championship Games, including a neutral site game during the spring season. Jackson State has appeared in four of the last five championship games, winning three of those games.

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