Deion Sanders leads Jackson State to first unbeaten regular season in program history with takedown of Alcorn State
LORMAN, Miss. — Jackson State football and coach Deion Sanders did not start slow as much as they were met with heavy resistance against rival Alcorn State on Saturday.
But heavy resistance was no match for Travis Hunter.
Hunter, the No. 1 recruit in the nation in the 2022 class, returned an interception for a touchdown and hauled in a toe-dragging 19-yard TD reception to push Jackson State to a 24-13 victory and secure the first 11-0 regular season in program history.
The Tigers (11-0, 8-0 SWAC) advance to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game Dec. 3, where they will play for a second straight berth in the Celebration Bowl.
Here are five takeaways after Jackson State's victory in the Soul Bowl against Alcorn State (5-6, 4-4):
Travis Hunter's big day
The first defensive touchdown of Hunter's JSU career was a thrill. With 7:39 to play in the second quarter, Hunter backpedaled and broke sharply on the ball to step in front of Monterio Hunt. Hunter picked up a key block, then made a player miss as he skipped into the end zone to give the Tigers a 17-7 lead.
Hunter was at it again in the fourth quarter, hauling in the TD pass from Sanders and dragging his toes inbounds on a play that initially was ruled incomplete before video review.
The performance made it two straight weeks Hunter, riddled by injuries early this season, recorded an offensive touchdown and interception in the same game.
TRAVIS HUNTER'S FIRST OFFENSIVE TDJackson State football's Travis Hunter intercepts first pass on heels of first touchdown
JSU WAS THE ONLY CHOICE FOR HUNTERFor Travis Hunter, Jackson State football was the only choice — 3 reasons he's not alone
SHEDEUR SANDERS POISED TO MAKE HISTORYShedeur Sanders poised to make history for Jackson State football. Deion Sanders wants him to slide
More history for JSU
Deion Sanders' message this season has been to dominate in everything the Tigers do, and that has proven to hold true through the regular season. The win means that JSU is the first SWAC team since 1991 to go undefeated in the regular season and the first SWAC team since Alcorn in 1984 to finish the regular season undefeated and untied.
Shedeur Sanders is sacked four times
The offensive line gave up four sacks. The worst was back-to-back sacks at the JSU 35-yard line and then the 2-yard line. Shedeur Sanders was forced to run a quarterback sneak in order to have punting room. In the second half, Sanders was sacked again and during most of the game did not have time to throw the ball
Turnovers bite Jackson State
Turnovers plagued JSU against Alcorn State. Sanders was intercepted on one play. Shane Hooks fumbled the ball on another. Special teams weren't as crisp as usual.
Defense wins championships
Jackson State's defense came into the game allowing 9.8 points per game, and on Saturday it was a big reason JSU finished the regular season unbeaten. In the first quarter, the defense held the Braves to a field goal when a touchdown was possible. In the third quarter, with Alcorn driving and the ball at JSU's 10-yard line, Jeremiah Brown sacked Alcorn quarterback Tre Lawrence to force another field goal. The defense held Alcorn to two field goals inside the 10-yard line. Coming up big for Jackson State's Justin Ragin, who along with Brown had two sacks.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Deion Sanders, Jackson State take down Alcorn State for unbeaten regular season
