After a road win against Alabama A&M last week, the Southern University Jaguars would take on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats at home as rain bombarded the skies. In their last match-up last year, the Jags came out with a victory in Jacksonville, 28-18. However, just like their opponent, coming into this one, Bethune-Cookman is coming off of a win at home against the Grambling State Tigers.
Both teams were slow starting this one scoreless in the first quarter, no big difference in the second quarter, with Bethune-Cookman with a field goal going into halftime, 0-3. But just like the first quarter, both teams battled it out in the third quarter, leaving them both, coming out of the third empty-handed. Southern’s redshirt freshman quarterback Czavian Teasett has had success but struggled on making throws, going 8 for 18 for 111 yards. Ultimately, Teasett was replaced, and freshman quarterback Jalen Woods would take the reigns. Jalen Woods would connect with senior wide receiver Chandler Whitfield on an 18-yard passing touchdown, allowing Southern to gain the lead in the 4th quarter 7-3. Bethune-Cookman did respond quickly, retaking the lead 10-7. However, Woods would lead another drive, where senior kicker Joshua Griffin would tie the game at 10-10, making a 27-yard field goal. That is how regulation would end.
Southern would now be faced with their third overtime game of the season. Redshirt senior running back CJ Russell would get everything started, scoring a 6-yard rushing touchdown. BCU would respond, forcing 3rd Overtime. Sophomore running back Kendric Rhymes would score on a 25-yard rushing touchdown, making the game 23-17. Bethune would return the same favor, tying the game at 23. After many 2-point conversion attempts, Southern would finally edge out 25-23
in 5 overtime periods.
The Jaguar fans were expecting a blowout going by numbers on the season, but instead, it was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams. Head Coach Terrance Graves emphasized why he didn’t take Bethune-Cookman for granted, “The paper tells one story; you have to go out there and play the game…Throw that out the window; on any given day, any team can be beaten.” Despite being ranked 11th in the SWAC, the Wildcats showed great toughness, being a tough opponent to beat in this afternoon’s match-up. Sophomore Kendrick Rhymes was an asset to Southern’s win against BCU, but when asked about quarterback change from Czavain Teasett to Jalen Woods, he spoke highly of Woods, “As a freshman, he showed great leadership, came in very poise, didn’t panic or nothing and told the team I got y’all.” Woods had finished throwing for 53 yards, a touchdown, and an interception on 5 for 10 of his passes, while Rhymes rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown.
Graves spoke on the team’s motive going into the match and keeping focused, “Absolutely, no questions about it, we have a relatively young team, and we try as much as possible to guard against the congratulatory and feel-good stuff, reading social media and the newspaper and seeing themselves on the news and it’s like I tell them, it’s a part of the maturation phase.”
Going into next week, Southern has a lot at stake. Southern will take on the University of Pine-Bluff, on Saturday, November 16th, 2024 at 2 PM at A.W. Mumford Stadium. If Southern can beat UAPB, they will clinch the SWAC West and their spot in the SWAC Championship game in December before the Bayou Classic is played.
