It’s been quite a season for the Grambling State Tigers.
The season comes to an end Saturday against Southern University in the 52nd annual Bayou Classic in the Caesars Supdome in New Orleans. Kickoff is 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast by NBC.
Grambling State brings a 7-4 record into the game, an improvement of two wins over Mickey Joseph’s first season as head coach. The Tigers are assured of their first winning season since 2019.
It has been a tumultuous season for Southern. Head Coach Terrence Graves was fired after the Jags started just 1-6. That came after Southern went 8-5 and reached the SWAC Championship Game last season, Graves’ first as head coach. Fred McNair was named interim head coach.
The change hasn’t resulted in more wins as the Jags will take a 1-10 record into the Classic.
According to media reports, Southern is set to hire NFL great Marshall Faulk, a New Orleans native, as its next head coach. Faulk is currently serving as the running backs coach at Colorado.
Joseph told reporters Monday that the teams’ records are meaningless In the Classic.
“You throw the records out the door,” he said. “We won’t look at their record. We know that they have a really good football team. They ran into some injuries just like everybody else and they hadn’t played their best ball. But they’re going to play their best ball Saturday because of the magnitude of this game.”
While it’s obviously been a successful season, Grambling State has faced adversity.
Starting quarterback C’Zavion Teasett suffered a serious injury late in the Tigers’ 26-24 victory over Jackson State in Las Vegas.
There has been little information on his current condition. Joseph recently told reporters that Teasett has been “up and talking,” according to his mother.
Hayden Benoit, a freshman out of Loreauville High School, has taken over at quarterback. After a shaky start in a victory over Alabama A&M, he threw four touchdown passes in a 31-23 win over Bethune-Colman.
In the Tigers’ last game, a 26-17 road loss to Jackson State, Benoit completed 16-of-33 passes for 142 yards with no TDs or interceptions. That loss snapped a four-game winning streak.
Tre’ Bradford leads the Tigers in rushing with 569 yards on 102 carries. Andre Crews has gained 368 on 72.
Keith Jones Jr. is the leading receiver with 30 catches for 414 yards. Tyson George has 26 for 374.
Neither team has been lighting up the scoreboard. Grambling State averages 23.82 points per game. Southern averages 17.7.
The Jaguars rank 11th out of 12 teams in the SWAC, allowing 36.7 points per game. They rank 11th in total offense at 308.3 points per game and ninth in defense at 423.0.
Defense has been a strong suit for GSU. The Tigers rank third in the conference, allowing 336.6 yards per game.
They rank 10th in offense at 319.0 yards per game.
Southern came close to getting a victory in its last game, falling to Texas Southern 35-30 at home on Nov. 15.
Ashton Strother passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. The Jags had 172 yards rushing. Lawrence Butler C and KJ Cooper led the team with 65 and 58, respectively.
Dupree Fuller caught three passes for 77 yards. Former Airline star Cam Jefferson caught two for 55.