Tigers Suffer Second RoadLoss of the Season at Bethune-Cookman
By Sedrick Durr
Jackson Advocate Sportswriter Jackson State has been demonstrated to be a proven winner at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. For , but for whatever reason, going on the road has not been kind in recent weeks of the 2026 Football Season.
After bouncing back from a loss at Grambling two weeks ago and putting to put away Florida A&M at home a week later, the Tigers were not able to do the same vs Bethune-Cookman as they ended up on the wrong end of a 24-21 tightly contested battle in Daytona, Florida.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 14-point lead thanks to two touchdown passes from Quarterback Tyler Jefferson. Despite being nearly equal in time of possession in the first quarter, the Blue Bengals came up short on the first three bites of the apple due to a missed field goal, a botched punt attempt, and a completed punt.
“We been kind of sleepwalking in the first half and it finally caught up with us,” said JSU Head Coach T.C. Taylor. “We got to figure out ways to come out with a faster start rather than just figuring out ways to make adjustments at halftime, and coming out with energy in the second half and that’s on me as a head coach.”
Even in the mix of not putting together a complete offensive performance for four quarters, JSU can however, hang their hats on playing mistake free ball throughout the game. The Tigers were penalized just once for 10 yards.
Additionally, much attention can also be attributed to both teams being nearly equal in total yardage. But , but in contrast to thate balance, the Wildcats cashed in on opportunities when presented with redzone chances. Bethune-Cookman scored twice out of three trips compared to the Tigers one trip to paydirt after reaching the 20-yard line on three occasions.
“It was a great battle in Daytona,” said Taylor. “Two teams got after each other and it came down to a last second kick. Hats off to Coach Woodie (Raymond) and that staff, they did a great job of taking away the running game and causing turnovers (on downs). We just have to get better.”
Taylor also pointed out the accumulative detriment of missing opportunities to win on the road – this . This with the Tigers in the middle of a tight race with every other team in the SWAC East. At 6-2 overall, J-State is currently 3-2 in conference play with both setbacks coming away from the Vet.
“For us and any coach in this conference you know you got to be able to win on the road if you are talking about winning a championship and we did not get that accomplished this past weekend. I think the good thing is that we got the bye week and got some things that we got to get corrected as a program. We will work on things offensively, defensively and special teams and look forward to getting back to the Vet against Valley.”
Jackson State will be idle this weekend before returning home to take on in -state rival Mississippi Valley. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 PM pm on November 7.
