JACKSON STATE

Much at stake for JSU, Alcorn Saturday

Tyler Cleveland

The Clarion-Ledger

Alcorn State receiver Marquis Warford (10) tries to break away from Jackson State linebacker Kwame Bowens during last year's rivalry game in Jackson.

Alcorn State is headed to the SWAC Championship to face either Grambling State or Southern. Jackson State will finish with a losing record for the third straight year.

And while nothing that happens Saturday when the two teams meet in Lorman is going to change that, both teams are preparing for the game like it’s the Super Bowl.

JSU coach Tony Hughes knows the implications winning the rivalry game could have going forward, especially on the recruiting trail.

“It does have a bearing on recruiting,” Hughes said. “I have relatives – all of my aunts and uncles, cousins and friends either went to Jackson State or went to Alcorn, so I know what it means.”

The Tigers (3-7, 3-5 SWAC) also want to win for the fans that would like to regain bragging rights. Jackson State has the highest average attendance in the SWAC this year, averaging 19,298 fans for home games, despite their recent struggles on the field.

While Jackson State has won three of the last five meetings between the teams and six of the last 10, it's still feeling the sting from last year’s 14-10 loss at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“We know they are a team and a program that’s hungry for a win,” Alcorn State linebacker Darien Anderson said. “We know they are going to come in here and give us their best shot, but we are confident in our ability and what matters most is our execution.”

Alcorn State may have its eyes on the bigger prize — the SWAC Championship game set for Dec. 3 at NRG Stadium in Houston — but it’s not like the Braves (4-5, 4-4) are going to let that deter them from the task at hand Saturday.

The SWAC East champs would love to roll into the conference championship game with a .500 record and more importantly hand their rival back-to-back losses for the first time in a decade. But Braves coach Fred McNair said earlier this week that records, stats and conference standings can all be thrown out the window when it comes to the rivalry game.

“We’ll approach it like we approach every game,” he said. “We won’t change anything this week as far as preparation and game-planning. We’re going to do what we always do — we’re going to try to start fast and finish strong.”

The game has always meant something to Alcorn State fans and hosting the game at the Lorman campus for just the second time in 23 years makes it even more significant. The game was known as the Capital City Classic and played in Jackson from 1993-2011 before Alcorn exercised its right to host the game every other year starting in 2012, when Jay Hopson became the head coach.

The Jackson city council passed a non-binding resolution last year supporting an effort to move the game back to Jackson permanently, but Alcorn State hasn’t budged.

“Even when I played it was a big deal,” McNair said. “We used to go up to Memorial Stadium and fill it up. But now that we’re hosting it here, it means a lot to this program and our fans to host this game here on campus.”

Contact Tyler Cleveland at 601-961-7371 or tcleveland@gannett.com. Follow @TylerCleveland on Twitter.