What we learned, trending now and final thoughts from Southern's 14-8 win against SC State

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- WHAT WE LEARNED

Southern can win games with its defense. With the Jaguars offense being held down in the second half of Sunday’s season opener, it was up to the defense to keep South Carolina State out of the end zone. Mission accomplished. Southern’s veteran-heavy defense swarmed to the football Sunday and carried over its trademark from last year: forcing important momentum-swinging turnovers. There are definitely some things that still need to be ironed out defensively, but Southern looks like it has made some big-time strides on that side of the ball. If that defense translates over to the SWAC side of things, where offense reigns supreme, this could be a boon for Southern’s chances.

TRENDING NOW

How about first-timers? Sophomore safety Montavius Gaines, making his first career start, earned Defensive MVP honors for Southern after making four tackles — two for loss — with a crucial fumble recovery and a pass broken up. Redshirt freshman Devon Benn took his first career carry for a 27-yard touchdown, then added a 33-yard catch and run on his second career touch. Benn finished with a team-high 88 total yards on just eight touches. Potential quarterback of the future Glendon “Bubba” McDaniel played most of the fourth quarter as Austin Howard was held out for precautionary reasons, and while he didn’t do anything special, he didn’t make any freshman mistakes in a tight game.



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