BATON ROUGE — Jackson State and Alcorn State will be on the road this weekend.

Jackson State at Southern University

Saturday, Sept. 9

6 p.m. CT, Baton Rouge

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When you see a steady stream of vehicles headed south down Interstate 55 with flags and decals that proudly proclaim, “Thee I Love,” then you know Jackson State is headed to play at Southern University in Baton Rouge.

The pageantry of the day is further emphasized by the bands as JSU and The Sonic Boom of the South and Southern’s Human Jukebox both put on a show worth the cost of admission.

JSU whipped South Carolina State 37-7 in Atlanta to kick off the season but took a step back with a 28-10 loss to Florida A&M last week in Miami.

SU has a handful of Co-Lin alums on its roster in tight end Harold Rhodes, offensive lineman John Mitchell, linebacker Jalen Campbell and offensive lineman Joshua Trask. The Jags lost 14-10 in their opener last week at Alabama State.

The Jaguars have a first-year starter at quarterback in Harold Blood, which is a pedestrian first name paired with a killer surname.

JSU head coach TC Taylor inserted backup quarterback Zy McDonald against FAMU and the former Ridgeland High product had success moving the ball. A transfer who started his career at Louisiana-Lafayette, McDonald possesses the ability to scramble and make plays with his legs.

The Tigers topped the Jaguars twice last season, including a 43-24 win for JSU in the SWAC Championship.

Alcorn State at Stephen F. Austin

Saturday, Sept. 9

6 p.m. CT, Nacogdoches, Tx.

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The Braves make the trip to Nacogdoches a year after the SFA Lumberjacks visited Lorman last season. Again, why a school in east Texas has a timber-based mascot while no one in Mississippi does is beyond me.

The Jacks won 31-27 last season in a game that Alcorn led 24-10 at halftime. Stephen F. Austin finished 6-5 last year and won the WAC football championship. You’re probably like this writer in not knowing the WAC was even still around.

Scratch that, the WAC is done as the Lumberjacks now play in the United Athletic Conference, which was born out of a merger of the WAC and ASUN.

The UAC is part of the FCS (Football Championshin Subdivision) of college football. We used to call the FCS by the title of Division I-AA and that made too much sense, so the NCAA changed it to FCS while Georgia and Alabama and all their smaller siblings play in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision).

A win by Alcorn over SFA would not only be great for the school, but great for the SWAC in general. The SWAC, MEAC and Ivy League are all conferences that do not send their conference champion to the FCS playoffs. Again, another bad decision by people who make much more money than me.

SFA is 0-1 after losing 48-30 to FBS school Troy University last week. Alcorn State is 0-1 after losing 40-14 at FBS member Southern Miss on Saturday.