College football is officially back in Mississippi as two teams representing the Magnolia State kicked off their 2024 campaigns on Thursday. Unfortunately, neither Jackson State nor Alcorn State were able to emerge victorious.
Jackson State and Alcorn State, both Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) programs in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), faced off against opponents in the higher Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) on the opening night of an action-packed week one.
The Tigers traveled south to take on Louisiana-Monroe while the Braves hit the road eastbound to play the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Both teams out of Mississippi were underdogs, per betting odds, in their respective matchups.
Jackson State 14, Louisiana-Monroe 30
The Tigers began year two of T.C. Taylor’s tenure against a familiar Louisiana-Monroe opponent. The two football teams last battled on the gridiron in 2021 with the Warhawks walking away a 12-7 victory. Taylor and company sought revenge against Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday but were unable to steal an upset win over the home team.
A trio of punts was the result of the first three drives of the game, but Louisiana-Monroe broke the scoring hiatus with quarterback General Booty finding Davon Wells for an 11-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter. Canton native and Syracuse transfer Jacobian Morgan responded, airing out a 41-yard pass to Joanes Fortilien to neutralize the scoreboard.
Later in the first half, Jackson State had a chance to take its first lead of the season, but an errant pass by Morgan was interception. The Warhawks proceeded to capitalize on the error by bleeding the clock and scoring a touchdown to lead 14-7 at halftime.
Jackson State responded promptly after the break, marching 75 yards down the field to reach the end zone in just seven plays, knotting things up in the first few minutes of the third quarter. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the rest of the game belonged to the Warhawks.
Louisiana-Monroe followed up Jackson State’s tying score by mounting 16 unanswered points down the stretch to prevent the upset.
Morgan had a mostly clean night for the Tigers completing 23 of 28 passes for 228 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He was also responsible for the Tigers’ lone rushing touchdown. Defensively, linebacker Ashton Taylor’s 10 tackles led the team.
Altogether, Louisiana-Monroe had just 48 more yards of offense, but the difference was mostly notable on the ground. The Warhawks amassed 202 rushing yards compared to Jackson State’s 59, allowing the home team to have a nine-minute time of possession advantage.
The Tigers will return home to Mississippi’s capital city and prepare for a Saturday, Sept. 7 home matchup versus Lane. That game will kick off at 6 p.m. CT.
Alcorn State 3, UAB 41
Going into the 2024 campaign predicted to be the top dog in the SWAC West, Alcorn State looked to make an early statement on the road. Those efforts appeared to be futile early in Thursday’s contest as former Super Bowl-winning quarterback turned UAB head coach Trent Dilfer’s squad jumped out to an early 14-0 lead.
The scoreboard advantage did not intimidate the Braves, particularly the team’s secondary. While the Blazers were successful in reaching the endzone on their first two drives, Alcorn State’s defensive backs worked to regain control of the game by forcing two fumbles and an interception on UAB’s next three drives.
Unfortunately, the fruits of the valiant defensive effort only yielded a 29-yard field goal from kicker Noah Kiani. The turnover bug then switched sides and plagued Alcorn State in the second quarter with the Braves fumbling and throwing an interception on back-to-back drives. UAB reached the endzone twice more in the first half to hold a 28-3 lead at the intermission.
The Braves continued to show some strength defensively in the second half, limiting the Blazers to a pair of field goals to make the scoreboard look somewhat competitive. However, an early fourth-quarter punt return for a touchdown for the Blazers paired with an all-around lackluster offensive showing by the Braves punctuated a 41-3 loss.
Xzavier Vaughn got the nod as Alcorn State’s starting quarterback. He completed 5 of 12 passes for 25 yards. Backup quarterback Roderick Hartsfield, Jr. had the longest pass of the night when he connected with Deablo McGee for a 31-yard gain. Geoffrey McKelton and Edwin Summerour recovered the two fumbles in the contest and Markel McLaurin reeled in the interception. McKelton led the defense in tackles with nine.
Alcorn State had 177 total yards compared to UAB’s 517 — a difference of 340 yards. The road ahead for first-year head coach Cedric Thomas’ team will further intensify as the Braves are slated to travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Vanderbilt on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m. CT.
