No. 5 JSU blank rivals Southern in BoomBox Classic on historic weekend

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - The atmosphere in Jackson for the rivalry football game was electric on Saturday.

In front of ESPN’s College Gameday for the first time and 53,885 fans in The Vet, thee undefeated No. 5 Jackson State Tigers and their number one defense shutout bitter rivals, the Southern Jaguars, to earn the Tigers’ best start in program history, giving the JSU faithful a reason to believe.

“History? More history, College Gameday, 8-0, we love making history here,” Head Coach Deion Sanders said in the postgame press conference.

The historic weekend began Friday night when the Sonic Boom of the South outplayed Southern University’s band, the Human Jukebox, at the BoomBox Battle of the Bands. Jackson State fans flooded the College Gameday pregame show bright and early the following morning to witness more history on the gridiron.

After a scoreless first quarter, Heisman candidate quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to running back Sy’Veon Wilkerson for the first score of the game early in the second quarter.

Sanders uncharacteristically rushed home a pair of touchdowns in the closing stages of the second quarter to give Jackson State a 22-0 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Wilkerson rushed home a 26-yard touchdown to give JSU a 28-0 lead heading into the fourth, where the Tigers scored a late touchdown following a weather delay to blank the Jaguars 35-0 in an unforgettable BoomBox Classic game and weekend.

JSU improved to 8-0 to start their season for the first time in school history on a day with multiple firsts for the university.

Jackson State’s dominating defense kept an opponent scoreless for the first time this season, led by linebacker Aubrey Miller Jr., who forced a fumble and had another stellar game off the back of his extraordinary performance last week. The No. 1 defense in the nation has held opponents to an average of 8.9 points per game this season.

Sanders recorded a total of 246 yards with 3 touchdowns, with 52 yards and two of those touchdowns coming on the ground.

Wilkerson ran for 96 yards and a touchdown to cap off another consistent performance from the running back.

JSU will travel to Houston, Texas on Saturday, November 5, to take on Texas Southern University. Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. with game coverage being aired on ESPN Plus.

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