Jackson State beats Southern 35-17

Team pages: Southern · Jackson State

Boombox Classic
Southern2-317
Jackson State4-035Final
Sat, Sep 26 · Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jackson, Miss. · Crowd 38,973ESPN+

Jackson State beat Southern 35-17.

We had Jackson State favored. It won.

Next: Southern lost to Arkansas-Pine Bluff 41-10, Sat Oct 3

Next: Jackson State beat Alabama A&M 31-28, Sat Oct 3

Box score

Jackson State 35, Southern 17

Southern covered +20.5 by 2.5. The total, 52, stayed under 57.5.

Southern leaders

  • Passing Christian Johnson 16 of 29, 153 yds
  • Rushing Trey Holly 26 for 97 yds, 1 TD; Mike Franklin 4 for 59 yds, 1 TD
  • Receiving Miles Dixon 2 for 48 yds; Floyd Jones 3 for 48 yds

Jackson State leaders

  • Passing Jared Lockhart 12 of 18, 165 yds, 2 TD
  • Rushing Nate Blount IV 17 for 135 yds, 2 TD; Emari Matthews 7 for 45 yds
  • Receiving Nathan Rembert 5 for 87 yds, 1 TD; Jency Riley 2 for 42 yds

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last 4 games

Southern · 2-2

Rated 201st in our preseason ratings, 234th now.

2-2 in its last 4 — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

W 50-31 vs Louisiana Christian

Southern won 50-31 vs Louisiana Christian. Chance to win started at 60%, low 55%, high better than 99%.

L 6-77 @ HoustonTop 25 #23 of 668

lost by 71 as a 51.5-point underdog

Southern lost 6-77 at Houston. Never had a real chance.

W 34-15 vs Kentucky State #287 of 668

Southern won 34-15 vs Kentucky State. Chance to win started at 57%, low 45%, high better than 99%.

L 17-30 @ Alabama State #128 of 668

lost by 13 as a 19.5-point favorite

Southern lost 17-30 vs Alabama State. Chance to win started at 84%, low 3%, high 95%.

Last three games

Jackson State · 3-0

Rated 110th in our preseason ratings, 129th now.

Three straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.

W 41-7 vs Tuskegee #335 of 668

Jackson State won 41-7 vs Tuskegee. Chance to win started at 49%, low 47%, high better than 99%.

W 66-14 vs Edward Waters #313 of 668

Jackson State won 66-14 vs Edward Waters. Chance to win started at 63%, low 43%, high better than 99%.

W 26-24 @ Tennessee State #191 of 668

won by 2 as a 12.5-point favorite

Jackson State won 26-24 at Tennessee State. Chance to win started at 77%, low 38%, high 95%.

Week by week

Jackson State

Wk 1: W 26-24 at Tennessee State▲2Tennessee StateWk 1: W 66-14 vs Edward Waters▲52Edward WatersWk 3: W 41-7 vs Tuskegee▲34Tuskegee
  • Wk 1Wat Tennessee State26-24
  • Wk 1Wvs Edward Waters66-14
  • Wk 3Wvs Tuskegee41-7

Southern

Wk 1: L 17-30 at Alabama State▼13Alabama St.Wk 1: W 34-15 vs Kentucky State▲19Kentucky St.Wk 2: L 6-77 at Houston▼71HoustonWk 3: W 50-31 vs Louisiana Christian▲19L. Christian
  • Wk 1Lat Alabama State17-30
  • Wk 1Wvs Kentucky State34-15
  • Wk 2Lat Houston6-77
  • Wk 3Wvs Louisiana Christian50-31

Power rating by week

Jackson State is rated 5.7 points ahead as of week 3. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

-3-7-11Wk 0Wk 2Wk 3Jackson StateSouthern

The series

Jackson State leads the series 13-8

21 meetings since 1977 · Jackson State has won the last 7

Jackson State wonSouthern won1977: Jackson State by 382007: Jackson State by 62008: Southern by 72009: Jackson State by 82010: Jackson State by 42011: Jackson State by 42012: Southern by 72013: Jackson State by 52014: Southern by 142015: Southern by 192016: Southern by 42017: Southern by 182018: Southern by 342019: Southern by 62021: Jackson State by 42022: Jackson State by 352022: Jackson State by 192023: Jackson State by 132024: Jackson State by 182024: Jackson State by 282025: Jackson State by 2519772025
  • 2025Jackson State 38-13
  • 2024Jackson State 41-13
  • 2024Jackson State 33-15
  • 2023Jackson State 27-14
  • 2022Jackson State 43-24

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Our model and the betting line don’t fully agree on Jackson State’s chances here.

50-50Model 88% · Line 95%SouthernJackson State

Jackson State favored by 20.5 · Total 57.5

The market

The books’ cut: 5.4%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Home-field advantage: Bottom third of FBS.

0% at home, 0% on the road against FBS opponents (0-0 home, 0-6 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -1.0 at home vs. away over 40 games — inside the ±7.5 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 138 miles to get here.

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.