The Jackson State football team is good enough and the schedule is favorable. The Tigers could be undefeated when they face Alabama State and Alcorn State in the final two games of the 2024 season.
For Jackson State to reach the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game, it must face three tough and exciting games – against traditional rival Southern (September 14), on the road against Texas Southern (September 28) under former -NFL player Chris Dishman and a showdown with reigning black national champion Florida A&M (October 19).
Trap games happen when Jackson State will be favored to beat smaller opponents, teams that the Tigers should be favored to beat.
Here are three opponents that Jackson State shouldn’t ignore that beat the Tigers.
Grambling
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Last meeting: JSU won, 22-16, on September 23, 2023, at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
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Grambling’s last win: 44-21, on Oct. 5, 2019, at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
New Grambling coach Mickey Joseph added 17 FBS players of the transfer portal. Also returning is quarterback Myles Crawley, who participated in Peyton Manning Camp this summer. In 2023, Crawley completed 60% of his passes for 2,303 yards with 16 touchdowns.
Jackson State will play on the road the week after the rivalry game against Southern, and it’s a challenge to immediately turn your focus to the next game.
Alabama A&M
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When: 4pm on October 5, 2024, in Mobile, Alabama, at the Gulf Coast Challenge
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Last meeting: JSU won 45-30, Oct. 7, 2023, in Mobile
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Alabama A&M’s last win: 52-43, on April 10, 2020, at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Alabama A&M football coach Connell Maynor is in the final year of his career contract. He needs to win this game. Maynor has lost two straight Magic City Classic games to rival Alabama State and has not beaten Jackson State in the last three games.
Maynor signed eight players from FBS Transfer Portal. He has second-team All-SWAC running back Donovan Eaglin, defensive back, and Emari Pait returning.
Sandwiched between the game at Texas Southern and the one against defending black national champion Florida A&M, this could be a challenge for the Tigers.
Bethune-Cookman
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Last meeting: JSU won, 22-16, on September 23, 2023, at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
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Bethune-Cookman’s last win: 36-15, on September 1, 2019, at the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta.
Bethune-Cookman absorbed a challenging offseason in 2023. The Wildcats signed Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed. After a media nightmare, Bethune-Cookman gave up on the Reed experiment and hired veteran Florida Atlantic assistant coach Raymond Woodie Jr. After being hired late, Woodie went 3-8, including 2-6 in the SWAC.
This offseason, Woodie bolstered the roster with 12 FBS players in the transfer portal, including his son, Robert Woodie III. Woodie III played at Florida State before transferring to California and former Oklahoma and Charlotte quarterback Micah Bowens II.
In 2023, Jackson State had to hold on after Bethune-Cookman led 9-8 at halftime.
Jackson State will play Bethune-Cookman in the Wildcats’ emotionally challenging homecoming game a week after the Tigers’ contest against Florida A&M, especially if the Tigers enter the game with their undefeated SWAC season intact.
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JT Keith is the Clarion Ledger’s HBCU sports editor. Email him at JKeith@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @JTKEITH1.
This article originally appeared in the Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State football must be careful with these three trap games in 2024
