Jackson Free Press

Last week might have been the http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/weblogs/sports/">worst week in the history of college football in the state of Mississippi. From Thursday to Saturday night, every four-year college and university lost its game.

This past Saturday, Sept. 24, nine of those 10 teams had a chance to get the win that was so sorely lacking last week. While it wasn’t perfect, it was a turnaround for the state.

The day began in Oxford with a top-25 matchup between the http://www.olemisssports.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2016-2017/gm04_uga.html">University of Georgia and the University of Mississippi. This was an important game for the Rebels after blowing a 21-point lead to the University of Alabama just one week ago.

The Rebels jumped out to a 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 27-0 lead at the half. By the end of the third quarter, UM was ahead 45-7.

By the time the fourth quarter began, the game was over in every sense, except for the fact that there was time still on the clock. The Rebels allowed Georgia to score, but the outcome was never in question in the 45-14 win.

While the Rebels and Bulldogs were finishing the second quarter, http://gomajors.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=3788">Millsaps College and Hendrix College prepared for their 1 p.m. kickoff. The Majors quickly found themselves down 7-0 in the first quarter.

Hendrix built a 21-6 lead over Millsaps before the break. The Warriors didn’t slow down in the second half, either, building a 28-6 lead in the third quarter.

Millsaps put up a meaningless touchdown near the end of the game to make the final score 42-14 in favor of Hendrix. The loss dropped the Majors to 1-3 for the season.

http://www.hailstate.com/boxscore.aspx?id=3927&path=football">Mississippi State University took a long road trip to face the University of Massachusetts. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Minutemen broke out with an 83-yard run to take a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

MSU added another field goal before UMass scored its second touchdown to go up 14-6 in the second quarter. The Bulldogs scored a late touchdown to bring the game to 14-13 at halftime.

In the third quarter, MSU started to take over, outscoring UMass 28-7 to take an overall 41-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The pesky Minutemen wouldn’t go away, though, and they cut the Bulldogs to 41-35 in the final quarter.

The Bulldogs scored a late touchdown to finally put away UMass, escaping with a 47-35 win over a team that has battled in all three of its losses.

While the Bulldogs were dealing with the Minutemen, closer to home, http://mvsusports.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=1491">Mississippi Valley State University was kicking off against Prairie View A&M University.

For the second time, a team from Mississippi found itself outmatched in a game. The Panthers quickly got out to a 7-0 lead on the Delta Devils.

MVSU tied the game briefly at 7-7 before Prairie View scored 15 unanswered points to go up 22-7 after two quarters of play. The Panthers kept pouring it on in the third quarter, outscoring the Delta Devils 20-7 to bring the overall score to 42-14.

Prairie View added two more touchdowns in the fourth before MVSU found the end zone in a game that was already decided in the Panthers’ 56-21 win. The Delta Devils are now the last winless team in the state.

http://www.swac.org//ViewContent.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27400&CONTENT_ID=1893379">Jackson State University kicked off against the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the same time as MVSU and Prairie View. The Tigers were looking for the first win of the Tony Hughes era.

JSU finally got off to a fast start with a 48-yard touchdown run and an interception returned for touchdown with a successful two-point conversion to take a 15-0 lead. UAPB cut the Tigers’ lead near the end of the first quarter, bringing the score to 15-7.

Jackson State added a field goal and a touchdown to go up 25-7 on the Golden Lions near halftime. UAPB kicked a field goal as the second quarter ended to make it a 25-10 game at halftime.

The Golden Lions attempted a comeback in the third quarter, scoring a touchdown and another field goal to gain on JSU, coming in at 25-20 with 2:28 left in the third quarter.

JSU then put the game away with a touchdown in the waning seconds of the third quarter to go up 32-20 for the win. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter, and Hughes got his first win as a head coach.

http://www.gostatesmen.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=3092">Delta State University, http://www.alcornsports.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=2056">Alcorn State University, and the http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/092416aaa.html">University of Southern Mississippi both kicked off at 6 p.m. The Golden Eagles hit the road against the University of Texas-El Paso, the Braves were at Grambling State and the Statesmen took on Shorter University.

USM kicked a field goal to go up 3-0, but the Miners scored a touchdown to take a first-quarter lead. Southern Miss’ offense exploded in the second quarter, and the team outscored UTEP 21-0 to lead 24-7 at halftime.

The Golden Eagles scored the only points in the third quarter from a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown, bringing the score to 31-7 at the end of three quarters. USM added a field goal in the fourth quarter to finish off its 34-7 win.

Things started out great for Grambling State as they struck first for an 7-0 lead on touchdown pass. ASU bounced back for an 8-7 lead, off a safety and a touchdown with a missed extra point.

The Tigers scored a safety of its own and a touchdown to take a 16-8 lead into the break. ASU kicked a field goal to cut the GSU lead to 16-11 early in the third.

Grambling State pulled away with 13 unanswered points to end the third quarter as their lead ballooned to 29-11. The Tigers scored a touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter only to see ASU run back the ensuing kicking 87-yards for the touchdown.

GSU added style points with a final touchdown to cap its 43-18 win. The two-time defending SWAC champion, Braves are now on a two-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, Delta State jumped on Shorter early and didn’t look back. The Statesmen had a 13-0 lead after the first quarter and a 27-0 lead at halftime.

Shorter outscored DSU 7-0 in the third, but it wasn’t nearly enough to win against the Statesmen. DSU scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to put a bow on its 47-7 blowout win.

The day ended with http://www.gochoctaws.com/boxscore.aspx?path=football&id=5998">Mississippi College at home against Cumberland University out of Lebanon, Tenn., with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Both teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter, with MC going up 7-0 and CU scoring but missing the extra point.

The Choctaws went up 14-6 in the fourth quarter as both offenses were on fire. The Phoenix tied the game with a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion.

MC retook the lead with a touchdown in the second quarter at 21-14. CU added a touchdown but missed a second extra-point attempt that loomed large later in the game.

The Choctaws took a one-point lead at halftime, and neither team could score in the third quarter. MC added to their lead with a field goal early in the fourth quarter to go up 24-20.

The Phoenix scored a touchdown to bring the score to 26-24 but couldn’t convert the two-point try. The Choctaws hit a 37-yard game-winning field goal as time expired to win 27-26.

As a whole, Mississippi bounced back with a 6-3 record, and Jackson State got its first win of the season. USM is still the only team with a winning record in the state, and MVSU is still looking for its first win.