Les East: Alcorn State’s visit Saturday would be the perfect time for Southern to put it all together

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern has all the pieces.

This is the week that the puzzle has to come together.

The Jaguars passed the halfway point in the Southwestern Athletic Conference season when they beat Texas Southern 40-21 on Saturday in soggy Houston.

They improved to 4-1 in SWAC play and, over the course of those five games, they have established themselves as a contender for a third consecutive West Division title. But each performance — the four victories as well as the defeat — has featured blemishes.

The one constant has been the passing game, which has been one of the most dynamic and efficient in the SWAC. With Austin Howard distributing the ball to a half-dozen or more productive receivers, the Jaguars have consistently moved the ball through the air, the primary reason they have scored at least 40 points in every SWAC game.

The only times in conference play that Southern has had limited success in the passing game have been when it didn’t need to throw much — such as Saturday, when the running game and the defense dominated.



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