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In recent years in the SWAC, the East has been beast while the West has not been best.
The East Division seeks to claim the 26th annual SWAC championship game for the seventh consecutive season when Jackson State welcomes in Southern University on Saturday. The winner will punch a ticket to the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 14.
It’s been an impressive run for the East, especially when you consider how dominant the West was before this current run. The West leads the East 13-11 overall in title games (Texas Southern also vacated its 2010 title), which means before 2018, those teams held a 13-5 edge.
Southern claimed the first SWAC championship game over Jackson State back in 1999, then again head-to-head in 2013, before the Tigers came back for a 43-22 victory over the Jaguars two years ago. Overall, Southern and Jackson State have won three times each – tying for the third-most titles in the championship game era.
The two rivals met on Sept. 14 in a regular season matchup that wasn’t part of the conference schedule, and Jackson State built a 24-point lead on the way to a 33-15 win at home.
2024 SWAC Championship Game
West champion Southern (8-4) at East champion Jackson State (10-2)
Kickoff – 2 p.m. ET Saturday at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi (ESPN2)
Series – Southern leads 37-34 (last meeting: Jackson State won 33-15 on Sept. 14)
Coaches – Southern: Terrence Graves (8-4, first season; 9-4 overall); Jackson State: T.C. Taylor (17-6, second season)
3 Players to Watch – Southern: DE Ckelby Givens (67 tackles, 26.5 TFL, 11 sacks, 3 FF; named SWAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year), WR Chandler Whitfield (23 receptions, 411 yards, 4 TDs; his 17.9 yards per reception are highest for any SWAC receiver with 20+ catches), RB Kendric Rhymes (123 carries, 614 yards, 7 TDs; half of the team’s regular running back duo with Kobe Dillon, but Rhymes’ recent surge includes a TD in three straight games); Jackson State: RB Irv Mulligan (157 carries, 1,058 yards, 10 TDs; SWAC Offensive Player of the Year tops the conference in rushing yards and is second in rushing touchdowns), RB Travis Terrell Jr. (1,283 all-purpose yards, 5 TDs; SWAC Freshman of the Year influences a game as a runner, receiver and returner), DE Joshua Nobles (51 tackles, 11 TFL, 9 sacks, 2 FF, 5 QBH; one of the SWAC’s more underrated defensive players causes chaos in opposing backfields)
Notable – From 1999 to 2017, the SWAC championship game was held at a neutral site (Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, for the first 14 games before NRG Stadium in Houston took over duties). The title game has since been hosted by the division champ with the best conference record. This is the third time for Jackson State (Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium also hosted the spring 2021 title game without the Tigers playing in it). Southern has never been the host, although its ninth SWAC championship game appearance ranks second to Grambling State’s 10.
Up Next – The winner will face MEAC champion South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 14 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Prediction – The SWAC championship game comes down to will and execution. Under Taylor, the SWAC coach of the year, the Tigers have proven this season they operate at a higher level more often than anyone else in the conference. Their rushing attack has been dominant, which has allowed them to enjoy balance with the passing attack (behind quarterback Jacobian Morgan) and keep their defense fresher as they relentlessly attack opponents. They already possesses the blueprint for defeating Southern. Are the Jaguars better than they were nearly three months ago? Absolutely, but not 23 points better. Jackson State 23, Southern 13
Top Photo: Jackson State running back J.D. Martin (8) runs away from Southern’s Jamarius Brown during the teams’ Sept. 14 matchup. (JSU Athletics)
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