Two teams with different offensive styles will clash on Saturday in Mississippi.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will face Jackson State at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium for JSU’s homecoming game.
UAPB (3-5, 2-2 SWAC) has typically relied on its passing game this season, while the Tigers bring the SWAC’s top rushing offense into this game.
UAPB coach Alonzo Hampton said JSU, which is receiving votes in the FCS Top 25, will be the best team the Golden Lions have played since No. 11 Central Arkansas in the non-conference finale.
“They big on the offensive line,” Hampton said. “They got about three running backs, possibly four. Quarterback is seeing it really well. They got receivers that, I mean, they look like a Group of Five school.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Jackson State (6-2, 4-0) leads the conference with 247.5 rushing yards per SWAC game and nine touchdowns. Running back Irv Mulligan leads the conference with 119.5 rushing yards per game and five touchdowns.
The Tigers are coming off a 349-yard rushing performance at Bethune-Cookman in which Mulligan finished with 171, both season highs.
The Golden Lions have struggled to stop the run all season. Other than Prairie View A&M, every Division I team to play UAPB this year has rushed for at least 135 yards. Two teams, UCA and Alcorn State, broke 300.
Last week, Mississippi Valley State rushed for a season-high 184 yards after not previously exceeding 136, which came the week prior against Bethune-Cookman.
Hampton said UAPB must stop the run this week to have a chance against a team he said should play for a SWAC championship.
“They’ve been able to run the ball on everybody, and we’ve been kinda bend don’t break,” Hampton said. “We’re going to get a couple more bodies back on defense. We need them. Man, we’ve just literally been down bodies. So, even this past week, people been able to run the ball on us.”
UAPB’s defensive line has remained relatively healthy this season, but the Golden Lions have been shorthanded at linebacker with players such as Kyle Vocque, Jonathan Goins and Kaylon Bradley missing time.
A bright spot for UAPB has been the improvement in its own run game. UAPB’s first four Division I opponents held the Golden Lions below 100 rushing yards, but UAPB has exceeded that number against the past three. Last week, the Golden Lions rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns against MVSU, both season highs against Division I opposition.
The Golden Lions’ trademark, though, has been its passing game. UAPB is averaging 234.5 yards per SWAC game, third in the league. The Golden Lions are tied with Florida A&M for the most passing touchdowns thus far in SWAC play with eight.
JSU coach T.C. Taylor said the Tigers must keep track of UAPB quarterback Mekhi Hagens and the SWAC’s leading receiver, JaVonnie Gibson.
“(Hagens) does a great job of throwing the football around and escaping when things aren’t clean, so we gotta keep him bottled up in the pocket,” Taylor said. “(Gibson) might be the best in the SWAC, one of the best in the SWAC. He got good size. They do a good job of scheming things up to get him the football, so we just gotta know where he is on the field, and when he catches it, get him to the ground.”
Jackson State’s defense has allowed 208.8 passing yards per SWAC game, second-most in the league. Of note, the Tigers have faced the two teams averaging more passing yards than UAPB, Alabama A&M and Florida A&M, and defeated both.
Last week, the Tigers entered halftime tied with Bethune-Cookman at 17 after trailing multiple times to the 1-7 Wildcats. JSU bounced back in the second half, outscoring Bethune 20-0.
Taylor said he didn’t recognize the JSU defense in the first half, and he told his players after the game they must come out ready to play from the beginning.
“Third quarter, that was the JSU brand of football that I was accustomed to seeing, and that’s something they’re going to carry into this game,” Taylor said. “We just gotta play our game, the game that we’re accustomed of playing, and I know we’ll be fine as a football team.”