Chance at undefeated home slate motivates Southern against Mississippi Valley State

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- From a purely logical standpoint, Saturday’s home finale against Mississippi Valley State is a meaningless football game for Southern.

With the ultimate goal in mind — representing the SWAC West in the conference championship game — a loss to the lowly Delta Devils has zero consequences. Regardless of what happens Saturday, the Jaguars’ fate entirely rests on whether they can beat Grambling next week, and the same applies for Grambling.

Southern could win this week, Grambling could lose to Texas Southern and the Tigers could still advance to the title game by beating Southern next week — or vice-versa. It’s all about the head-to-head tiebreaker.

When this idea was posed to Southern coach Dawson Odums, along with the notion that key players may be in line for an early trip to the bench, Odums got a sour look on his face.

“We’ve never been undefeated at home, so we’ve got a lot to play for,” Odums said, referring to the fact that Southern has never won all its home games during his tenure. “It’s all about playing the team that is in front of you. Our goal all year has been 1-0, nothing has changed about that.



CONTINUE READING