JSU Tigers' Richardson scores with 2 seconds left to cap frenetic finish

Rico Richardson said it was a simple "go route."

With 9 seconds left in the game and Jackson State trailing Southern University by four points, the Tigers receiver raced straight down the field for what he hoped was a game-winning touchdown. Seven seconds later, Richardson fell head first across the goal line to cap one of the wildest finishes college football has ever seen and give JSU a history-making victory over its rival from Louisiana.

"This is destiny," linebacker Todd Wilcher said afterward. Said JSU coach Rick Comegy: "Unbelievable." Richardson's 28-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Casey Therriault with 2 seconds left lifted Jackson State over Southern 49-45, and capped a frantic fourth quarter that won't be forgotten around these parts for a long, long time.

Out-of-breath QB Therriault leads wild win

Jackson State quarterback Casey Therriault nicely asked a reporter for a moment immediately following his team's wild win Saturday night. He was granted it. "You'll have to give me a few seconds," he said, "my heart is pounding." Rightly so.

Therriault didn't have his best game Saturday in Jackson State's 49-45 win over Southern University. He threw an interception - he only had two all season - and forced plenty of balls into blanketed coverage. But in the end, the transfer from a Michigan junior college helped the Tigers get a fourth win in five years over Southern.

Photo Gallery: JSU - Southern

JSU outlasts Southern

JACKSON, Miss. — When all the madness finally ended, when there were no more wild plays, no more magic tricks left to pull, most of Southern’s football players stood on the visitors’ sideline at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Actually, most of them rested on one knee. The game clock flashed three zeroes, but they didn’t move. In complete and utter disbelief, they stared straight ahead, slackjawed, exhausted and emotionally spent. The final score — Jackson State 49, Southern 45 — was like the final frantic minutes of Saturday night’s game itself: Amazing, stunning and completely unbelievable. But absolutely true.

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Attendance: 42,053