Football | 9/23/2022 7:07:00 PM
JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Valley State University football program will have to fight the heat and an intimidating atmosphere as well as one of the hottest teams in the nation on Saturday as the Devils look to burn the Blue Bengals in the SWAC opener.
What You Need to Know:
- Time and Date: Saturday, September 24, 2022 (1 p.m.)
- Records: Mississippi Valley State (0-3, 0-0 SWAC) | Jackson State (3-0, 1-0 SWAC)
- Location: Jackson, Mississippi – Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
- Series History: Jackson State Leads 60-5-3
- Last Meeting: October 30, 2021 | #16 Jackson State 28, Mississippi Valley State 19 | Itta Bena, Mississippi (Rice-Totten Stadium)
- Winning Streak: Jackson State (W7) | Mississippi Valley State's Last Official Win: 1994 (18-16)
- *Valley defeated Jackson State on October 11, 2014 by a score of 27-23, but it was later vacated due to NCAA violations.
- All-Time History vs. SWAC Opponents: SWAC Leads 296-135-9
Mississippi Valley State Overview:
MVSU will look to extend its winning streak in SWAC contests to three straight dating back to last season, when the Devils knocked off both Alabama State and Prairie View A&M to conclude the campaign.
The Green and White have caused disruption in every backfield it has faced so far, averaging 6.7 tackles for loss and three sacks per game to rank top-40 and top-25 in the FCS, respectively.
Senior
Ronnie Thomas has been nothing short of dominant through three games, slotting fourth in the country with 2.8 tackles for loss on average, seventh in sacks per night at 2.8, and 30th regarding forced fumbles a contest with 0.33 to go along with a team leading 23 tackles.
Special teams have been a big bright spot as
Donald Johnson III has the third-highest kickoff return average in the SWAC (22.2) and
Orlando Fernandez is considered one of the top-25 punters in the FCS, launching punts about 42.6 yards per punt.
The offense has been run through familiar faces,
Caleb Johnson and
Jacory Rankin, rushing for 166 yards and catching 77 yards via receptions, respectively.
Scouting The #11 Jackson State Tigers:
The defending SWAC Champions have been shown little resistance against its first three opponents, all HBCUs, posting the fourth-most points per game in the country (47.0) on top of allowing the fourth-fewest points a contest in the FCS as well (10.0).
Signal-caller Shadeur Sanders has followed up his SWAC Rookie of the Year campaign with another award worthy performance, positioning himself in the top-five nationally for completion percentage (73%), QBR (175.0), passing yards (956),passing touchdowns (10), and points responsible for (72).
Dallas Daniels has been his favorite target by far, going to the wideout for four of his touchdowns (fourth in FCS) and a SWAC-leading 230 receiving yards.
The Jackson State defense has snagged seven turnovers by six different Tigers with Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig notching an interception and a fumble recovery each.
Nyles Gaddy has made a name for himself with a team-high 4.5 sacks while the number one recruit from last season's recruiting class, Travis Hunter, may return to the lineup after breaking up a pair of passes in his collegiate debut versus Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic to open the season.
Follow the Mississippi Valley State football program on Twitter (
@ValleyStateFB) and Instagram (
@ValleyStateFB).
Follow the Delta Devils and Devilettes on Facebook (
Valley State Athletics), Twitter (
@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (
@ValleyStateAthletics).
#WhiteOut | #BattleTestedWeReady | #ElevateVState | #ValleyInMotion
