The Soul Bowl rivalry matchup between Alcorn State and Jackson State lived up to the hype as the Braves won 28-24 over the Tigers. Jackson State hoped to finish their season with a decisive win over their rival while Alcorn hoped to remain in contention for the SWAC Championship.

The game started with Alcorn scoring two straight touchdowns in the first quarter to go up 14-0. Jackson State stormed back, scoring two touchdowns of their own to tie the game up 14-14 leading into halftime.

Jackson State's defense was able to contain star running back Jarveon Howard, holding him to 9 yards on 4 rushing attempts. Although he scored the first touchdown of the game, he wasn't as effective as he could be in determining the outcome of the game.

While they stopped the run, Aaron Allen had an amazing day throwing the football. He finished the game with 225 yards with 3 touchdowns and one interception on 16/24 passing. JaCobian Morgan matched his level of play, as he finished the game 151 yards and 3 touchdowns on 11/16 passing. Jason Brown, who kicked off the year as the starter for Jackson State, came into the game and went 11/18 for 81 yards but threw a costly interception of a flea-flicker gone wrong.

That play wasn't the only thing that didn't go right for Jackson State. They received costly penalties that essentially cost them the game. They were in prime position to set up a game-winning drive after a Jaheem Hazel interception of Allen. However, they received triple penalties that pushed them back 30 yards after two holding penalties and a facemask penalty. When it was all said and done, they were looking at a 1st and 30 from their own 15-yard line.

They were unable to get a first down, even after they elected to go for it on a 4th and 17. Once Alcorn received it back, they drained the clock and secured the victory.

With the loss, Jackson State finished the season 7-4 (7-3 in FCS). The mark is higher than many HBCU fans and prognosticators believed they would achieve after the departure of Deion Sanders to Colorado. Head coach T.C. Taylor was able to continue the success of the program and start a new era of Jackson State football with momentum.

Meanwhile, Alcorn State finished another successful season with a satisfying rivalry win but they were unable to make the SWAC Championship after Prairie View A&M beat Alabama State 21-14. Alcorn looks to build on their success as they head into next season, hoping to once again win a SWAC Championship after they were moved to the SWAC West following the addition of Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman to the conference.