NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana -- A theme was forming for Southern: The Jaguars had whiffed on too many opportunities and a third consecutive Bayou Classic win for Grambling was brewing. And so, the Tigers' 25th Southwestern Athletic Conference win in a row seemed fairly inevitable.
That was until Southern snatched a third-quarter fumble and quarterback Austin Howard began generating excellence, as he has for much of the later stages of his senior season, when Southern was emptied of momentum and reliant on hope.
The third quarter’s fumble-score swing muddied any certainty regarding how Grambling's eventual 31-20 win in the 44th annual Bayou Classic would end, diminishing the 17-7 lead Grambling’s smooth offense created by halftime.
Southern linebacker Kaycee Ntukogu forced the fumble as nearly five minutes remained in the third quarter. Howard, 80 seconds later, dropped a beauty in the hands of Kendall Catalon as he gracefully slid across the Mercedes-Benz Superdome's end zone.
Following the touchdown, Saturday's game, the SWAC's Western Division and a bid to the conference championship game was going to go to which of Louisiana's SWAC teams could muster enough to hold off their fiercest rival.
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