Jackson State is obviously riding high after its emotional 35-21 win over defending HBCU national champion Florida A&M to take the outright lead in the SWAC East Division.
The Tigers haven’t been in first place since this late into the regular season since November 2022 — the last time the program won the division and conference championship.
And with the Tigers’ next three opponents — Bethune-Cookman, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Mississippi Valley State having a combined 3 wins between them — it would be easy for JSU to rest on its laurels during what appears to be a soft stretch.
But head coach TC Taylor will not allow the Tigers to regress.
In fact, staying focused has been a key point of emphasis for the group ahead of a road homecoming matchup with 1-6 Bethune-Cookman on Saturday in Daytona Beach.
“The word of the week has been complacent,” said Taylor about his post-FAMU victory message to the team. Let’s not get complacent and understand the level of play that’s allowing us to look dominant. They get it. The goal is December for this football team.”
Jackson State (5-2 overall, 3-0 SWAC) has looked every bit the part of a contender for a SWAC championship.
Save for a disappointing four-turnover 41-20 stumble at Grambling State on Sept. 21, the Tigers have scored at least 35 or more points, rushed for at least 200 yards, and held a double-digit lead at some point in every game since.
Quarterback Jacobian Morgan and running back Irv Mulligan have each garnered SWAC Offensive Player of the Week honors during the Tigers 3-0 run.
The Tigers’ strength has been their defense, which has held opponents to 23 points per game and registered a SWAC-high 20 sacks on the season, including Tru Thompson’s strip-sack on Florida A&M quarterback Daniel Richardson late in the fourth quarter that led to the game-winning touchdown.
The complementary elements in the way in which the Tigers have won to surge to the top of the SWAC East standings give Taylor confidence there will be a drop-off.
“If you see us in practice, they go after each other in practice — they understand,” said Taylor. “I know no matter who the opponent is, they will go out and play hard.”
I told the team we have played a lot of football games up to this point, but we still have five on the (regular season) schedule and two more in the postseason (SWAC Championship Game and Celebration Bowl). That’s seven games, so we still have a lot of football to play this year. They get it; they will be ready to go.”