Inside a large hotel conference room during SWAC Media Day in Birmingham, Alabama, before the start of the 2023 season, Connell Maynor wanted to provide a reality check.
After learning that Jackson State had been picked to finish second behind Florida A&M in the preseason conference football rankings in its first year without Deion Sanders, the veteran Alabama A&M head coach believed the Tigers should still be respected as a great team with TC Taylor at the helm.
“Jackson State is still going to be good,” Maynor said then. “They still have some players, and TC (Taylor) is a great football coach. He’s going to do a great job.
“They’re not going to just fall off the face of the Earth because Deion Sanders left. They still have a lot of good football players over there. I don’t know why they’re still not favored.”
Even though JSU won just seven games in 2023, the Tigers were competitive and maintained strong recruiting classes.
A little more than a year later, the Maynor prophecy came true after Jackson State won a hard-fought 16-10 battle over Alabama State in Montgomery on Saturday to clinch its third division championship in the last four years.
Jacobian Morgan threw two touchdown passes, and the Jackson State defense held the Hornets to 188 yards of total offense in the win.
Morgan connected with Jameel Gardner Jr. for a 24-yard touchdown in the second quarter and a 7-3 lead at halftime for Jackson State (9-2, 7-0). Morgan teamed up with Ja’Naylon Dupree for a 44-yard score and a 14-3 lead midway through the third quarter.
Morgan completed 8 of 13 passes for 120 yards with one interception for the Tigers. Ashton Taylor sacked Kareem Keye in the end zone for a safety for the only points of the fourth quarter.
The defenses ruled in this one.
JSU had nine tackles for loss and three sacks and registered its fifth straight game without allowing a point in the second half.
“Our defense stepped up today, and that’s what this team has been about all year,” Jackson State coach T.C. Taylor said. “We had each other back all year to cover one another. And they kept saying, ‘Offense, we got you,’ and they went out there and found a way to close this game out for us.”
On to the Next!!!#GuardTheeYard #TheeILove pic.twitter.com/8mUqvYp4cK
— Jackson State Football (@gojsutigersfb) November 17, 2024
Brandon Gilliam kicked a 32-yard field goal late in the first quarter to give Alabama State (5-5, 4-3) the lead.
The Hornets managed just 130 yards of offense before the intermission but held Jackson State to only 85. The Tigers rushed for 134 yards but had minus-4 through the air.
“We always talk about the team that can make adjustments in championship-type games, and that’s what we did today,” Taylor said.”
Daquon Kincey carried 13 times for 144 yards for Alabama State. His 46-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter pulled the Hornets within 14-10. Keye completed 3 of 9 passes for 4 yards with an interception.
Neither team topped 200 yards of offense and both combined to go 5 for 24 on third-down conversions.
Jackson State will host the SWAC Championship Game on Dec. 7 against Southern.