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The Tigers were building for December after beating FAMU

The Tigers were building for December after beating FAMU

Jackson State football coach TC Taylor knew what was at stake Saturday. He didn’t need a reminder.

The Tigers (5-2, 3-0) lead the SWAC East Division following No. 25 JSU’s 35-21 victory over No. 18 Florida A&M (3-3, 1-1 SWAC) at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium and are the only undefeated team remaining in the conference.

“We’ve been talking about this for the last few weeks,” Taylor said. “You know, we know what the winner of this game has the potential to do. These guys understand that, the staff and everyone else.”

JSU trailed 21-20 for most of the second half, but two defensive turnovers in the final four minutes of the game, including a 22-yard fumble recovery touchdown by defensive lineman Phillip Webb, were the deciding factors.

“That’s the type of team,” Taylor said. “You know, we’re not a selfish team. This team sticks together.”

JSU has three SWAC games remaining against East Division opponents and two against West Division opponents, with all five opponents having a combined record of 11-25.

JSU has 2,764 yards of offense and 34 touchdowns and leads the SWAC this season. Its defense ranks second in the conference in overall stats and didn’t allow FAMU a point in the second half.

The Tigers’ last SWAC championship came in 2022 when they defeated Southern 43-24, and their last postseason game came later in the season, a 41-34 overtime loss to North Carolina Central in the Cricket Celebration Bowl.

“I keep telling these guys that this team is being built for December,” Taylor said. “That was my goal with this football team, and that was a championship game that you saw tonight. It was a championship football game and there were just a lot of mixed emotions.”

Graduate senior running back Irv Mulligan missed the second half of the 2023 season due to injury, but was still the Tigers’ leading rusher with 674 yards on 122 carries and five touchdowns. Mulligan said the Tigers knew critics said they couldn’t finish games and how good FAMU was.

“We kind of took it personally,” Mulligan said of 139 rushing yards with a touchdown against the Rattlers. “Every little thing that happened during the game today or tonight, we weren’t upset about it. We showed championship football and stuck with it. So we continue our revenge tour and it doesn’t stop tonight, believe me.”

MORE: Jackson State vs. FAMU: Final score, highlights from Week 8 game

Running back Emari Matthews said the Tigers are prepared for this point in the season.

“Honestly, we were ready for this spring ball, we pushed it like crazy, spring, summer, fall camp,” said Matthews, who had two rushing touchdowns and 22 yards. “So we knew that we had our destiny in our own hands ever since. Today we just filmed it.”

Michael Chavez, among other things, covers high school sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.