Southern faces brutal non-conference schedule with No. 16 TCU in season opener

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- With the release of the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Monday, Southern officially has one of the toughest non-conference schedules of any team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

The Jaguars open the season at No. 16 TCU on Sept. 1, making them one of two SWAC teams to face a Power 5 program in 2018. Alabama State travels to No. 7 Auburn on Sept. 8.

It’s the first time Southern faces a ranked opponent since a 2015 trip to No. 7 Georgia — a 48-6 loss for the Jags.

“Tough non-conference schedule. Probably the toughest in the conference,” Odums said. “Who else has one tougher?”

Southern’s recent non-conference slate has been a bit of a mixed bag of results over the years.

Under Odums, the Jaguars are 5-10 when playing away from the SWAC, including his win against Florida A&M as an interim coach in 2012.



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