Texas Southern head football coach Cris Dishman has been very vocal about his support for his team recently. First, he had pointed words for Tremaine Jackson in the Labor Day Classic press conference over how well he believes his team will fare against the Panthers.
“It's going to be a very exciting game, and there's a formula I go by. Win third down, win the red zone, less penalties than your opponent and you should win the game. Our 11 is better than their 11. It's not about Tremaine and I; it's about our 11. Our 11 is better and we should win the game,” he said in Monday's presser.
Now, he's taking things even further and putting the entire SWAC on notice. Dishman spoke up his team's prospects in Monday's SWAC Coaches Call, the first of the season.
“Our guys know that this game can propel us into winning the SWAC championship. And they know with this game, if we lose this game, we have to play catch-up to win. So this game can make or break a team, but it won’t break us because we’re going to win the West,” Dishman said. “We’re going to be in Atlanta. That’s our goal. Our goal is always going to remain the same no matter who’s on the other side of the football or not. Our goal is to win the West. Our goal is to win in Atlanta and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Dishman and his Tigers started the year off in promising fashion, securing an important victory over Prairie View A&M in last year's Labor Day Classic to break up a nine-game losing streak that dated back to 2015. They then lost their next two conference games to eventual SWAC championship finalists Jackson State and Southern University before ultimately finding their footing in conference and finishing the season 5-6 (4-4 SWAC).
Last year's record was better than the 2023 tally of 3-8, but if Dishman wants the Tigers to make an appearance in Atlanta in December.
