2020 Jackson State Tigers football team

The 2020 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tigers were led by Pro Football Hall of Famer and first-year head coach Deion Sanders and played their home games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi as members of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

2020 Jackson State Tigers football
ConferenceSouthwestern Athletic Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record4–3 (3–2 SWAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMichael Pollock (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinatorJason Phillips (1st season)
Offensive schemeRun and shoot
Defensive coordinatorDennis Thurman (1st season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumMississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 24 Alabama A&M x$   3 0     5 0  
Alabama State   3 2     3 3  
Jackson State   3 2     4 3  
Mississippi Valley State   1 3     1 3  
West Division
Arkansas–Pine Bluff x   4 0     4 1  
Southern   4 1     5 1  
Prairie View A&M*   2 1     2 1  
Texas Southern   1 2     1 2  
Grambling State   0 4     0 4  
Championship: Alabama A&M 40, Arkansas–Pine Bluff 33
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • Note: The SWAC played a spring conference-only schedule (February–May 2021) due to COVID-19 pandemic. Alcorn State opted out of the spring season; all of their scheduled games were counted as forfeit wins for their opponents.
    * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions.
Rankings from STATS Poll

On July 20, 2020, the Southwestern Athletic Conference announced that it would not play fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes the football program.[1] The conference ultimately moved its football schedule to the 2021 spring semester.

Schedule

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Due to the SWAC's postponement of the 2020 football season to spring 2021, games against Florida A&M, Langston, Southern Miss, and Tennessee State were canceled.[2][3][4][5][6][7] The SWAC released updated spring schedules on August 17.[8]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
February 211:00 p.m.Edward Waters*ESPN3W 53–011,000
March 612:00 p.m.at Grambling StateESPN3W 33–286,340
March 142:00 p.m.Mississippi Valley State
  • Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
  • Jackson, MS
ESPN2W 43–722,000
March 203:00 p.m.at Alabama StateESPN2L 28–355,908
April 34:00 p.m.Southern*
ESPNL 14–3422,000
April 102:00 p.m.Alabama A&M
  • Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
  • Jackson, MS
ESPNL 43–5220,051
April 17at Alcorn StateW 2–0 (forfeit)

[9][10]

Staff

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Name Position Consecutive season at
Jackson State
in current position
Deion Sanders Head Coach 1st
Otis Riddley Director of player personnel 1st
Michael Pollock Co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks 1st
Jason Phillips Co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach 1st
Dennis Thurman Defensive Coordinator 1st
Alan Ricard Special teams coordinator 1st
T.C. Taylor Tight ends coach 2nd
Mike Markuson Offensive line coach 1st
Gary Harrell Running Backs Coach 1st
Jeff Weeks Defensive line coach 1st
Andre' Hart Linebackers Coach 1st
Kevin Mathis Defensive backs coach 1st

Game summaries

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Edward Waters

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Edward Waters at Jackson State
1 234Total
EWU Tigers 0 000 0
JSU Tigers 10 21616 53
     
Statistics Edward Waters Jackson State
First downs 8 27
Total yards 104 435
Rushing yards 21 183
Passing yards 83 252
Turnovers 0 0
Time of possession 28:35 31:25
Team Category Player Statistics
Edward Waters Passing Roshard Branch 9/21, 83 yards
Rushing De'Shaun Hugee 6 carries, 10 yards
Receiving Samuel Thompson 3 receptions, 28 yards
Jackson State Passing Jalon Jones 17/19, 163 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing Kymani Clarke 18 carries, 92 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Warren Newman 8 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD

At Grambling State

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Jackson State at Grambling State
1 234Total
JSU Tigers 7 2006 33
GRAM Tigers 14 077 28
     
Pregame line Over/under
GRAM −10.5 50
Statistics Jackson State Grambling State
First downs 21 29
Total yards 473 422
Rushing yards 293 182
Passing yards 180 240
Turnovers 2 1
Time of possession 28:06 31:54
Team Category Player Statistics
Jackson State Passing Jalon Jones 12/18, 180 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing Tyson Alexander 17 carries, 184 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Daylen Baldwin 4 receptions, 95 yards, 1 TD
Grambling State Passing Geremy Hickbottom 24/35, 237 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Geremy Hickbottom 16 carries, 81 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Dorrell James 6 receptions, 87 yards

Mississippi Valley State

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Mississippi Valley State at Jackson State
1 234Total
Delta Devils 0 007 7
Tigers 7 23013 43
     
Pregame line Over/under
JSU −17.5 55
Statistics Mississippi Valley State Jackson State
First downs 15 21
Total yards 271 456
Rushing yards 147 153
Passing yards 124 303
Turnovers 4 2
Time of possession 34:08 25:52
Team Category Player Statistics
Mississippi Valley State Passing Jalani Eason 17/34, 117 yards, 1 INT
Rushing Darius Williams 9 carries, 65 yards
Receiving Jarius Clayton 5 receptions, 35 yards
Jackson State Passing Jalon Jones 14/27, 250 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing Tyson Alexander 6 carries, 136 yards, 3 TDs
Receiving Daylen Baldwin 6 receptions, 136 yards, 3 TDs

At Alabama State

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Jackson State at Alabama State
1 234Total
Tigers 0 6157 28
Hornets 0 14021 35
  • Date: March 20, 2021
  • Location: New ASU Stadium
    Montgomery, AL
  • Game start: 3:07 p.m. CDT
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 51 minutes
  • Game attendance: 5,908
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C) • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Wind: NE 7 MPH
  • Referee: Tony Ross
  • Television network: ESPN2
        
Pregame line Over/under
JSU −8.0 46
Statistics Jackson State Alabama State
First downs 24 21
Total yards 350 466
Rushing yards 170 209
Passing yards 180 257
Turnovers 2 3
Time of possession 29:56 30:04
Team Category Player Statistics
Jackson State Passing Jalon Jones 19/50, 180 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Rushing Jalon Jones 22 carries, 94 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Corey Reed Jr. 8 receptions, 99 yards, 1 TD
Alabama State Passing Ryan Nettles 27/42, 257 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing Ezra Gray 23 carries, 195 yards, 3 TDs
Receiving Michael Jefferson 8 receptions, 76 yards

Southern

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Southern at Jackson State
1 234Total
Jaguars 7 10107 34
Tigers 0 707 14
    
Pregame line Over/under
SCSU −1.5 59
Statistics Southern Jackson State
First downs 26 16
Total yards 474 309
Rushing yards 294 66
Passing yards 180 243
Turnovers 2 1
Time of possession 42:49 17:11
Team Category Player Statistics
Southern Passing John Lampley 9/14, 116 yards, 1 TD
Rushing Jerodd Sims 17 carries, 79 yards
Receiving Ethan Howard 4 receptions, 54 yards
Jackson State Passing Jalon Jones 17/29, 243 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing Tyson Alexander 8 carries, 38 yards
Receiving Daylen Baldwin 3 receptions, 91 yards, 1 TD

Alabama A&M

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Alabama A&M at Jackson State
1 234Total
Bulldogs 7 211014 52
Tigers 7 14715 43
          
Pregame line Over/under
SCSU −10.0 53
Statistics Alabama A&M Jackson State
First downs 28 26
Total yards 533 463
Rushing yards 93 140
Passing yards 440 323
Turnovers 0 0
Time of possession 29:12 30:48
Team Category Player Statistics
Alabama A&M Passing Aqeel Glass 27/40, 440 yards, 6 TDs
Rushing Gary Quarles 16 carries, 86 yards
Receiving Zabrian Moore 4 receptions, 114 yards, 1 TD
Jackson State Passing Quincy Casey 30/47, 323 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing Santee Marshall 19 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Daylen Baldwin 6 receptions, 135 yards, 1 TD

References

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  1. ^ Stephenson, Creg (July 20, 2020). "SWAC becomes latest FCS conference to postpone 2020 football season to spring". AL.com. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  2. ^ Visser, David (July 21, 2020). "SWAC Suspends Fall Football Season". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Kelley, Kevin (June 17, 2020). "2020 Southern Heritage Classic canceled due to COVID-19". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Carpenter, Mark (June 17, 2020). "NAIA issues update on 2020 fall sports". People's Defender. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  5. ^ Witz, Billy (June 17, 2020). "First Cancellations Emerge for Major College Football". The New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  6. ^ Wilmer, Brian (June 25, 2020). "FAMU adds Jackson State to 2020 football schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "MEAC suspends all fall sports for indefinite period". ESPN.com. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "SWAC Releases 2021 Spring Football Schedule". swac.org. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  9. ^ "Spring 2021 Schedule". Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  10. ^ "Jackson State Tigers". ESPN. Retrieved August 15, 2021.