A glance ahead to the Jackson State and Grambling showdown
Kickoff: Saturday, September 21, 2024 - 7PM EST
GSU head coach Mickey Joseph on QB Myles Crawley ahead of another scrimmage: "I think Myles is in a great place in life. When you're in a great place in life, it sets you up for success." pic.twitter.com/EPFsqRL2dm
— Matt Belinson (@BelinsonMatt) August 17, 2024
Jackson State has "Good Problems" at quarterback... The rushing attack looks to be the most potent in the SWAC.
Jackson State head coach TC Taylor came into the season thinking that he has an extremely productive product as it relates to the Jackson State offense.
So far that assessment has been spot on, as the Tigers have been balanced and potent offensively en route to a 2-1 record.
JSU is averaging an eye-popping 35 points a game through three games, and around 373 yards of total offense during that stretch. That offensive bounty has been powered by two dual-threat magicians at QB in incumbent JaCobian Morgan and 2nd stringer (in name only) Cam'Ron McCoy.
Both have had a big part in the offensive metrics that the Tigers have been putting up. As good as the JSU offense has been, the Tiger run defense has been just as good. Case in point?
The Tigers held rival Southern University to a paltry 29 rushing yards from scrimmage in their 33-15 win this past week.
Grambling has turned into the 'Cardiac Kids' of the Conference.
Grambling State's exhilarating overtime walk-off win against Texas A&M-Commerce was a case study of the Tigers' penchant for the dramatic moment this year. How do you compensate for being out-gained in total yardage 479 to 247?
Try having your defense force an eye-popping 6 turnovers in the game (including a game-sealing interception in the Overtime period). The Tiger defense was as opportunistic as we've seen this year when they absolutely needed it to be so.
Myles Crawley has proven to be among the more effective signal callers in the conference to this point of this season, sporting a passer rating of 130.29. He'll have an opportunity to build on that rating this weekend, particularly if the Grambling run game isn't able to make any headway against the Jackson State defensive front.
Head coach Mickey Joseph has done a good job of stacking skilled players at skill positions on the offensive side of the ball.
Will the opportunism of the GSU defense be a factor against probably the most balanced offensive product the Tigers will have faced to this point of the season? It will need to be if the Tigers hope to send JSU home to Mississippi with a loss.
What does a win mean for both JSU and Grambling?
The margin of error is thin when it comes to Southwestern Athletic Conference league play.
This year is no different, with pre-season favorites falling by the wayside and opening a path to the SWAC Championship game in both the East and West divisions of the league.
The offensive balance of Jackson State to this point of the season has been stellar, and having two effective quarterbacks to run that offense is going to be a hard road to travel for most defenses in league play. The X-factor may be the locale itself.
The "Hole" (Eddie G. Robinson Stadium) has been a veritable house of horrors for SWAC opponents over the years.
With that said, Grambling will need to play an extraordinary game defensively to pull out a positive result. A win for either will give both a leg up in what's turning into a free-for-all for SWAC East & West supremacy.
PREDICTION: Jackson State 27, Grambling State 24
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