The Jackson State football team looks to keep its undefeated streak in SWAC play alive this weekend when the Tigers welcome Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the capital city for homecoming.
Head coach T.C. Taylor has led his alma mater not only back to the top of the SWAC East, but into the FCS Top 25 for three weeks in a row now. Taylor – who was awarded a contract extension on Friday morning for what the university deems stellar work through his first two years as head coach – said during his weekly press conference that he’s pleased with how the Tigers (6-2, 4-0 SWAC) are playing three quarters through the regular season.
“I’m very pleased with my team, so we’re excited to be back home now at [Veterans Memorial Stadium],” Taylor said during his opening statement. “We’ve got homecoming this weekend against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Coach (Alonzo) Hampton has been doing a good job there. I heard him earlier. He’s pretty fired up, it sounds like, about coming down here to play us. So, we look forward to it.”
Jackson State will line up Saturday against the Golden Lions (3-5, 2-2) two weeks after the first big statement win of the season for Taylor’s group, defeating then-No. 18 Florida A&M on national TV by a score of 35-21. Last weekend, the Tigers looked a bit hungover against Bethune-Cookman before storming back to spoil the Wildcats’ homecoming, 37-17.
Now, it’s time for the Tigers to ensure they don’t have their homecoming spoiled. Arkansas-Pine Bluff is coming off a 35-21 win over Mississippi Valley State after a battle the week before at Grambling State, in which it fell 31-21. For context, Jackson State’s lone FCS slip-up of the season was to Grambling, 41-20, in week four. Even though Grambling is a fellow member of the SWAC, the game did not count as a conference game due to a rotating number of SWAC opponents for each team.
Taylor told reporters during the press conference that the Tigers cannot sleepwalk through the game if they want to keep their hopes of playing in the SWAC championship alive. Currently holding a one-game lead over Alabama State and Florida A&M in the east division, Jackson State controls its own destiny in the final four weeks of the regular season.
“As a program, I talk to these coaches and players about not looking past any opponent. You saw Bethune came out firing on all cylinders on us this past weekend. It’s about us making adjustments and not slipping up in these football games,” Taylor said, stressing the importance of his players continuing to execute while being as physical as possible.
“We have to play every opponent the same – play our physical brand of football. We want to execute as a unit on offense, defense, and special teams. We take it one quarter at a time and that’s the same deal here with Pine Bluff … I told them going into the season that the end [goal] is December but to get to December, we’ve got to weekly take care of each and every opponent.”
Jackson State, which has outscored its opponents 160-90 since the loss to Grambling, has been relying heavily on the run game. On the season, the Tigers are averaging a SWAC-best 199.1 yards per game on the ground with an impressive 5.8 yards per attempt. Leading the charge is Irv Mulligan with 562 yards and six touchdowns on 83 carries.
Passing-wise, the Tigers have been led by Jacobian Morgan (1,374 yards, 11 touchdowns, four interceptions) to make for the top-scoring offense in the SWAC. While the talent on the offensive side has resulted in a booming offense for the Tigers, Taylor is more concerned with his defense stepping up to limit a surging Arkansas-Pine Bluff attack. The Golden Lions have an explosive quarterback in Mekhi Hagens, while wide receiver JaVonnie Gibson leads the conference in reception yards and touchdowns.
“Those two guys are right there at the top of the SWAC as far as going out there and playing the quarterback and receiver position,” Taylor commended. “We’ve just got to know where they are on the field to keep a quarterback like Hagens bottled up in the pocket. He does a great job of throwing the football around and escaping when things aren’t comfortable.”
So far this season, Jackson State has done a nice job of pressuring opposing quarterbacks with 22 team sacks leading the conference. The unit has been led by six sacks from Joshua Nobles, a defensive line transfer from FBS Western Michigan. However, as Taylor alluded to, the key will be preventing Hagens from getting out of the pocket and making plays on the run.
Kickoff between Jackson State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff is set for 2 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.