Jackson State Blows Out South Carolina State In MEAC/SWAC Challenge
ATLANTA — Jackson State opens the season in dominating fashion, defeating South Carolina State 37-7 to win the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta.
Jason Brown had a record-setting performance, completing 86% of his passes for 356 yards (both game records) and three touchdowns. The rushing attack equally impressive as Irv Mulligan ran for 90 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. The Tigers totaled 210 yards on the ground and 566 yards of offense.
On the other side, it was a nightmare for the Bulldogs. Corey Fields completed 31% of his passes for 59 yards. He did manage to throw a late touchdown to avoid the shutout, but it was otherwise a forgettable performance on both sides of the ball for Buddy Pough.
South Carolina State struggled on its first three possessions, combining for six yards on nine plays, with all the drives ending in punts.
Jackson State, however, spent little time getting on the scoreboard, only needing three plays before Mulligan scored the game's first points with a 46-yard touchdown run. The Tigers had plenty of early success on the ground as Mulligan and J.D. Martin combined for 79 yards in the opening period.
But the Bulldog defense buckled down after the score, keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard for the rest of the quarter, including a hurry on Jason Brown and forcing a missed field goal.
That defensive stand gave the offense the momentum it needed, and South Carolina State finally earned a first down of the strength of its running backs, namely Demetri Simmons and Kacy Fields, the latter which broke for an 18-yard run up the middle.
South Carolina State's defense stepped up again on the next drive after Demarkiss Doe forced a fumble. Marquis Bradley recovered it, allowing South Carolina State to get a couple of plays in before the end of the quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Bulldogs' momentum was quickly halted by a sack from Isaac Peppers. Jackson State's offense came back on the field and marched to the end zone, capped off by a 40-yard pass from Jason Brown to tight end Jency Riley to make the score 14-0 Jackson State.
South Carolina State continued to build momentum on offense, picking up a couple more first downs. But Peppers once again got in the backfield, getting a huge tackle for loss which ultimately led to a punt.
With 4:55 left in the half, the Jackson State offense used a 47-yard pass from Brown to Rico Powers to get inside the red zone, but consecutive negative plays led to the Tigers settling for a punt. The score was 17-0 Jackson State going into halftime.
The Tigers continued its offensive momentum in the second half. marching down the field for 63 yards, including a blown coverage that allowed DJ Stephens to score on a 21-yard pass to make the score 24-0. The very next drive, Brown hits Andre Hunt on a short pass, and Hunt beats the defender to the edge for a 44-yard score, increasing the gap to 31-0.
On the South Carolina State side, the offensive struggles continued, failing to get any points on the first possession, then Fields threw an interception to Tim Steward on the Bulldog 25-yard line, which the Tigers turned into three more points for a 34-0 lead with 4:16 left in the third quarter.
The interception ended Field's night as he was replaced by redshirt freshman Andre Washington, and the Bulldog offense didn't do anything of note for the rest of the game. Jackson State's offense was quiet too, adding only a field goal, but the game was out of hand well before then.
T.C. Taylor's first game couldn't have gone any better, and Jason Brown's record-setting performance was a great sign for the Tigers. But Buddy Pough and Corey Fields' last ride couldn't have gone worse, and now the Bulldogs have to find some answers soon.
Jackson State will play another nationally televised game, the Orange Blossom Classic against Florida A&M, on Sunday, Sept. 3 at 3 p.m. ET. South Carolina State will take on Charlotte next week at 6 p.m. ET.