SWAC Football Week 2 Recap: Results, Top Performers, Team of the Week
Florida A&M Rattlers 34, Fort Valley State Wildcats 7
The Florida A&M Rattlers begin a trio of entries of teams that lost in week one bouncing back to get wins in week two.
In the case of the Rattlers, they bounced back from a loss to Jackson State in the Orange Blossom Classic to beat the Fort Valley State Wildcats of Division II’s Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).
After quarterback Rasean McKay was benched last week mid-game in favor of backup Junior Muratovic, it was Muratovic that was benched in this game after throwing two interceptions in each of FAMU’s first two drives.
The Rattlers put their foot on the gas, outscoring the Wildcats 27-0 to cruise to victory. This included the defense forcing four Fort Valley State second-half turnovers converting three of them to points.
Next game: Sept. 18 at USF Bulls
Alcorn State Braves 13, Northwestern State Demons 10
The second of three teams that bounced back from losses to secure their first win in week two was the Alcorn State Braves.
Coming off a loss in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge against the North Carolina Central Eagles, the Braves returned to the field beating the Northwestern State of the Southland Conference.
The Braves were one of two SWAC football teams that won a game against an FCS opponent.
It was not a pretty win for the Braves as they had three drives in the game of 10 plays or more with only one ending in a touchdown.
Meanwhile, the Braves’ defense struggled to get Northwestern State off the field as they did not force a three and out all game. However, they got stops when they needed them including an interception in the fourth quarter that sealed the win.
Next game: Sept. 18 at South Alabama Jaguars
Southern Jaguars 41, Miles Golden Bears 24
Rounding out the hat trick of teams that lost in week one only to bounce back with a win in week two is the Southern Jaguars.
Coming off of getting demolished by the Troy Trojans in their season opener, Southern got in the win column in their home opener against the reigning two-time Division II SIAC champion Miles Golden Bears.
This was Miles’ second straight game against a SWAC opponent losing in week one against the Alabama State Hornets.
Like their game against the Hornets, the Golden Bears hung tough with the Jags leading 17-13 at halftime and led 24-20 with 1:24 remaining in the third quarter.
The Jaguars were able to pull away in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns to secure their first win of the season.
Southern had an excellent game on the ground with 323 rushing yards averaging 8.3 yards per carry.
Next game: Sept. 18 vs McNeese State Cowboys
UCF Knights 63, Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 14
The final score may look lopsided, but the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats put up a solid effort against FBS opponent the UCF Knights.
One of the major positives from the Wildcats in this game is that they put points on the board in their first possession scoring a touchdown on a 14-play 75-yard drive.
However, the talent gap truly showed in this game as UCF scored a touchdown in all but one of their offensive drives.
Next game: Sept. 16 vs Alabama A&M
Southern Miss Golden Eagles 37, Grambling State 0
The Grambling State Tigers took a deep dive from their week one win against the Tennessee State Tigers to getting shut out by the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
This was their first time being shut out in a game since November 2019 against Mississippi Valley State.
It was not a good day for the Grambling State offense only managing 141 total yards while the defense allowed 439 yards.
One of the positives Grambling can take from this game is that their defense recorded three sacks in the game.
Next game: Sept. 18 at Houston Cougars
Baylor Bears 66, Texas Southern 7
The Texas Southern Tigers are yet another team that faced an FBS opponent in week two getting blown out with the culprit in this case being the Big 12’s Baylor Bears.
Texas Southern actually had a very good game on the ground recording 161 rushing yards scoring their lone offensive touchdown that way.
Unfortunately, they did not have any answer for Baylor as they scored on every single offensive drive in the game with all but one coming from touchdowns.
Next game: Sept. 25 at Rice Owls
Jackson State Tigers 38, Tennessee State Tigers 16 (Neutral)
The Jackson State Tigers made up for their lack of scoring in the Orange Blossom Classic against Florida A&M in week one by overwhelming Tennessee State with an offensive outburst in the Southern Heritage Classic.
Jackson State recorded 404 yards of total offense including 362 passing yards. In addition, three of their four offensive touchdowns came through the air.
After what was a low-scoring first half, Jackson State put their foot on the gas in the second half outscoring Tennessee State 28-9.
The Jackson State defense played exquisitely particularly coming from their pass rush recording eight sacks in the game.
This was a great all-around performance and what many fans and pundits expected from this team coming into the season.
Next game: Sept. 18 at Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
Incarnate Word Cardinals 40, Prairie View A&M 9
Another disappointing loss saw the Prairie View A&M lose its first game of the season against the Incarnate Word Cardinals.
One week after making their season debut in what was an impressive offensive performance against the Texas Southern Tigers, A&M struggled to get going in this game.
The Panthers threw four interceptions in the game with three coming from starting quarterback Jawon Pass.
Normally an excellent offensive team, this was the first time the Panthers were held scoreless in the first half since October 2018 when they were shut out by the Southern Jaguars.
The Panthers’ defense was no better as Incarnate Word scored on each of their first four possessions including scoring touchdowns on three of them.
Next game: Sept. 18 vs Houston Baptist Huskies