By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Lincoln Parish Journal
LAS VEGAS — To say the Grambling State football season hasn’t gone the way the Tigers hoped would likely be an understatement.
But at 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s West Division, the Tigers still have half a season left to play.
Even if a shot at earning a berth in the SWAC championship game is highly unlikely at this point, the G-Men relish the chance to play spoiler.
They will get that chance this weekend as they face off against the No. 1 team in HBCU football, Jackson State, in a game set for a 5 p.m. CT kickoff on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Jackson State stands at 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the SWAC East Division with its lone loss of the season coming by the score of 38-20 at Southern Mississippi on Sept. 6.
Grambling defeated Jackson State 41-20 last season, and GSU coach Mickey Joseph knows his G-Men will be facing a team looking for revenge despite having gone on to win the National Black College Championship last season.
And he knows what a strong performance can do for his football team.
“Anytime you can, you can play a team of this magnitude, you know, a really good football team and you can go and
throw blows with them, I think you got to be excited for that opportunity that we that we’re getting, but it’s a lot in a game of this magnitude,” Joseph said.
“We played Ohio State, the number one team in the country, and now we play the number one HBCU team. It’s the games like this you look forward to when you come to Grambling. The kids understand who we’re about to play. They read all this stuff. You try to tell them, ‘Don’t read everything,’ but they do read everything. How many times do you get the opportunity, you know, in life or or in football, or any sport, to play two number one teams?
Joseph also knows the Tigers will almost be facing two opponents in this game — Jackson State and all the extras surrounding playing the game at the NFL stadium in Las Vegas.
“Just getting the boys ready, mentally to prepare for the travel, you know, leaving on Thursday, is a challenge,” Joseph said. “We’re skipping two time zones, so we have to make sure that they listen to what we’re telling them, what the medical staff’s telling them.
“It’s gonna be more off the field things and then on the field, we’re playing a very good Jackson State team, a very well-coached football team. There are a lot of things mentally that we have to overcome going out there. But these kids, they’ve been locked in for the most part. So, we got to really get them locked in this week.”
Joseph said getting his team locked on ball security will also be a key after watching his G-Men give up three fumbles in last week’s 20-16 win at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
“We got to understand that we’ve got to hold on to the ball securely. We have said that over and over again. So we’re going to continue working at this and try to cut it out this week,” he said. “And you know, what’s a better week to cut out the bad habits than against the number one team in HBCU football?”
Contact Scott at tscottboatright@gmail.com