Jackson State football struggles on both side of the ball, falls on homecoming to Alabama State

The 30,945 fans who flooded into Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium through the first quarter Saturday witnessed Alabama State coach Eddie Robinson Jr.'s, wish being granted. Robinson said he wanted to play Jackson State for its homecoming. The Hornets raced out to a 10-0 lead before rallying to hand Jackson State a 24-19 loss.

The loss puts the Tigers (4-3, 2-2 SWAC) two games behind Florida A&M and a tiebreaker behind Alabama State (3-3, 2-2) in the East Division. JSU's loss gives each team in the East except Florida A&M two losses and hurts the Tigers' potential for the postseason.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

Special teams play needs help

Special teams cost Jackson State. The Tigers gave up two easy touchdowns because of poor punting. On Alabama State's first touchdown, the Hornets started at JSU's 30-yard line because of a bad punt. On its second scoring drive, Alabama State started at JSU's 45-yard line and ended up scoring a touchdown on a 12-yard run by quarterback Damon Stewart to take a 17-13 lead for good in the fourth quarter.

On the other hand, Jackson State found a field goal kicker in Dylan Wasson. Wasson converted field goals from 45 and 46 yards. If not for his foot, Jackson State would have struggled to score.

Jackson State defense struggles late against the run

Jackson State's defense had been dominant in its previous two games -- both wins -- and in the first half was stout. The Tigers seemed to wear down in the second half. Alabama State rode the legs of running back Marcus Harris II and quarterback Damon Stewart, as each scored touchdowns in the second half, to give itself a 24-13 lead with 8: 52 to play.

Jackson State offense had a rough day

Mind boggling. Jackson State faced a fourth-and-1 at the Alabama State 29-yard line with the clock ticking and no timeouts. Out of an Alabama State timeout, JSU called a quarterback keeper with Jason Brown running. He fumbled as he hit the ground, and after a made scramble among the players for the ball and a lengthy delay as the referees sorted out what did and didn't happen, the Tigers were allotted three seconds on the clock for a final play. Brown's pass to the end zone fell incomplete.

Jackson State had its hands full with Alabama State's defense the whole game. It received juice when Wasson hit field goals of 45 and 46 yards to give JSU a 13-10 lead with 2:21 to play in the third quarter.

Jackson State lost three fumbles, and an injury put the SWAC's leading rusher, Irv Mulligan, out of the game. His replacement, Desmond Moultrie, was the lone bright spot of the second half. Moultrie rushed 10 times for 65 yards and caught five passes for 30 yards and scored a touchdown after entering five minutes into the third quarter.

MULLIGAN INJURED Jackson State running back Irv Mulligan, SWAC's leading rusher, injured vs. Alabama State

Jackson State does not have quick-strike offense, and that cost it against Alabama State. It also was slow to move back to the line of scrimmage after a play. Until the final possession, JSU showed no sense of urgency despite trailing. JSU was looking to the sideline for a play call instead of having two plays called and running them. With the clock running down by the goal line, the coaches sent in Jacobian Morgan to run its jumbo package. Morgan was stopped by the Hornets defense and ended up being replaced by Brown.

Brown was 30-of-44 for 234 yards but no passing touchdowns. Mulligan, seen sitting on the sideline during the fourth quarter, had 57 yards on 11 carries.

Fabian McCray led all Jackson State receivers with eight catches and 79 yards.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State football: Offense comes up short on homecoming