BATON ROUGE - Southern University and Mississippi Valley State hope to get their feet back under their teams this weekend in a more even matchup than their respective openers.

The Jags lost at Louisiana Tech 62-15, while the Delta Devils were shut out in New Mexico 66-0.

Southern still comes into the game as the two-time defending SWAC West division champs, while rival Valley State finished last in the East the past two seasons.

The Jaguars will look for a better showing out of their offense and quarterback Austin Howard, last year's SWAC Freshman of the Year. Howard threw for less than 100 yards in Southern's opener, completing 12 of 20 for 95 yards with two interceptions.

Kickoff Thursday night is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU from Itta Bena, Miss.