SWAC Football Championship - SCG 2007
SWAC.org
GRAMBLING STATE vs JACKSON STATE
Saturday, December 15 - 1 p.m. CT
Birmingham, Ala. - ESPN Classic
Legion Field
THE TEAMS: Grambling State (8-3, 8-1 SWAC) is the Western Division winner and will be the visiting team. Jackson State (7-4, 7-2 SWAC) is the Eastern Division winner and will be the home team.
SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: The concept of championship game was the idea of several office and institutional administrators. With the re-location of the conference headquarters to Birmingham, Ala. in 1999, the concept of the conference championship game was realized. More than 249,000 fans have witnessed the pageantry of the game first hand. The game has been played at Legion Field since its inception.
SWAC CHAMPIONS: Grambling will be vying for its 22nd SWAC Championship and first since 2005. JSU will attempt to win its 16th SWAC title and first since 1996. GSU's Rod Broadway and JSU's Rick Comegy will both be going after their first conference crown.
TELEVISION: ESPN Classic will televise the game nationally
SERIES: Grambling leads the series 34-21-1. In past 15 years, Grambling is 9-6 against Jackson State (4-3 at home and 5-3 in Jackson). Grambling currently holds a three-game winning streak over JSU.
THE COACHES: Rick Comegy is in his second year as head coach at Jackson State. He carries an overall record of 121-60 and a school mark of 13-9. James Woody serves as the team's offensive coordinator while Darrin Hayes is the team's defensive coordinator.
Rod Broadway is in his first season as head coach of Grambling State - his fifth overall. He has a career record of 38-14 and a school mark of 8-3. James Spady serves as offensive coordinator; Cliff Yoshida serves as defensive coordinator.
GSU & JSU IN THE SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: This marks Grambling's fifth appearance in the contest, while this is Jackson State's second showing. GSU is 4-0 in its previous visits to Birmingham. JSU is 0-1. Grambling defeated Alabama A&M 14-6 in 2000, and Alabama State 38-31 in 2001. The G-Men then came back in 2002 and defeated AAMU 31-19 and beat the Bulldogs again in 2005 45-6. JSU played in the inaugural championship game and fell to Southern University 31-30 in 1999.
LAST MEETING: Oct. 20, 2007 in Jackson: Grambling defeated Jackson 30-20. Grambling scored first with a two-yard touchdown run from Cornelius Walker. JSU's signal caller Jimmy Oliver answered back with 71-yard TD pass to wide receiver Chris Johnson. The G-Men scored in the second quarter on a 49-yard TD pass from Brandon Landers to wide receiver Clyde Edwards. GSU went up 17-10 and never relinquished its lead. Jackson State tied the game at 17 all with a one-yard TD run by running back Eric Haw. However, that is as close as JSU would come, as Grambling rattled off 13 points, inlcuding a touchdown was result of a JSU turnover. Landers completed 22 of 41 passes for 348 yards and one TD and two interceptions for Grambling. JSU's Oliver completed 14-21 passes for 224 yards and one touchdown. Edwards finished with three catches for 115 yards and one touchdown.
LAST FIVE SEASONS: Grambling has been one of the winningest teams in the SWAC, while JSU has returned to its past glory. The G-Men are 37-20 in the past five seasons, completing four winning seasons. Jackson State is 21-35, with two straight winning seasons in 2006 and 2007.
SCG HISTORY: During the 1999 football season, the Southwestern Athletic Conference began playing an East - West Divisional format in football. This new format was put in place to allow the SWAC football championship to be decided "on the field", by allowing the winners of the Eastern and Western division to battle in a season-ending "Classic".
Through an agreement forged with the City of Birmingham, Alabama, the Southwestern Athletic Conference was able to stage this championship game at historic Legion Field. On Saturday, December 11, 1999 the Jackson State University Tigers (East Champion) and the Southern University Jaguars (West Champion) kicked off the inaugural Southwestern Athletic Conference Football Championship game. In a thriller, Southern came from behind for a 31-30 win.
Six member institutions have made it to the championship game. Grambling State served as the West Division representative for SCG games two, three, four and seven while Southern has represented in games one, five and six. Arkansas-Pine Bluff represented the division in SCG eight. The East Division has been seen Jackson State in game one. Alabama State has been in games three, five and six while Alabama A&M has appeared in games one, four, seven and eight.
Grambling State shows a 4-0 record in the SCG, Southern holds a 2-1 record, Alabama State is 1-2; Alabama A&M is 1-3; while Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Jackson State are 0-1.
SWAC Championship Game Results
(since 1999)
SCG 1 Southern 31
Jackson State 30
SCG 2 Grambling State 14
Alabama A&M 6
SCG 3 Grambling State 38
Alabama State 31
SCG 4 Grambling State 31
Alabama A&M 19
SCG 5 Southern 20
Alabama State 9
SCG 6 Alabama State 40
Southern 35
SCG 7 Grambling State 45
Alabama A&M 6
SCG 8 Alabama A&M 22
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 13