MOBILE, Ala. — Jackson State dominated for 2 1/2 quarters Saturday — which was good, because Alabama A&M owned the last 1 1/2.

Jacobian Morgan threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns, and Jackson State built a 28-point lead before hanging on to beat Alabama A&M 45-38 in the Gulf Coast Challenge in Mobile.

Alabama A&M (2-3, 0-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) scored 21 unanswered points in the last 16:14 of the game. DJ Moffett’s 4-yard touchdown run with 2:46 left got the Bulldogs to within 45-38.

Jackson State then picked up two first downs on its final drive to seal it.

Irv Mulligan finished with 86 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Jackson State (4-2, 2-0). Joanes Fortilien caught six passes for 83 yards and two TDs, and Travis Terrell Jr. had a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown.

Alabama A&M quarterback Xavier Lankford was 21-of-42 for 245 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown.

In other SWAC games on Saturday, Alcorn State beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 38-28 on homecoming; Florida A&M beat Alabama State 28-13; Texas Southern topped Virginia Lynchburg 28-10; Nicholls State knocked off Southern University 51-7; and Incarnate Word beat Prairie View A&M 56-28.

Huntingdon 45, Belhaven 31
Dorian Smith threw three touchdown passes during a 35-point second quarter that propelled Huntingdon (2-2, 2-0 USA South) past Belhaven (1-3, 1-1).

Smith finished 13-of-19 passing for 226 yards. He started the big second quarter with a 55-yard TD pass to RJ White on the first play, then added a 23-yard TD to Brody Covington and an 8-yarder to White with seven seconds left for a 35-17 halftime lead.

Belhaven never got closer than 11 points in the second half.

Blake Kirby was 15-of-31 passing for 257 yards and one touchdown for Belhaven. He threw two interceptions and was sacked three times.

West Florida 31, Mississippi College 0
Kyriee Lewis scored on a 52-yard interception return, Virgil Lemons on a 58-yard punt return, and West Florida (2-2, 1-1 Gulf South Conference) shut out Mississippi College (0-5, 0-3).

Jay Sharp rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown for West Florida, which totaled 266 yards as a team on the ground.

Mississippi College had minus-27 rushing yards, seven total yards, and two first downs as its offensive woes continued. The Choctaws have scored a total of 44 points this season and been held to seven or less in four of their five games.

Delta State 54, Chowan 9
Cole Kirk threw three touchdown passes, and Delta State (4-1, 1-0 Gulf South Conference) ran for 248 yards as a team as it rolled over Chowan (1-3, 1-1).

Kelvin Smith led the Statesmen’s rushing attack with 80 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries. He got the rout started with scoring runs of 18 and 7 yards in the first quarter.

Kirk added 42 yards and one TD rushing to go with his 163 passing yards. Two of his passing touchdowns went to Jaylen Green for 48 and 2 yards.

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The 165th Mississippi State Fair will likely excite many across the state, but two major parts of its history are largely unknown or forgotten.

Much of the cultural identity of Jackson and Mississippi is tied to the fair. The Mississippi Agricultural Bureau and the Mississippi Agricultural Society sponsored the first state fair back in 1858. The fair on the 105-acre Mississippi State Fairgrounds now brings in over 500,000 people and $50 million of economic impact annually. Simply put, it offers many things to many people every October.

However, two things related to the fair’s past and present are largely unknown. Below is the overview.

Like many aspects of Mississippi life, officials segregated the state fair. By the 1960s, the fair had days where only white or Black residents attended. Residents, community and civil rights groups led a boycott of the fair in 1962. Only 3% of Black residents went to it that year.

In the summer of 1965, state legislators were in a special session to repeal Mississippi’s discriminatory voting laws. About 500 people came to the capital to protest their legitimacy as representatives of all Mississippians. About half of the protestors were teenagers.

Many were still arrested by Jackson police and transported to the state fairgrounds in paddy wagons and garbage trucks. Police housed protestors in facilities meant for livestock.

165th Mississippi State Fair opens to the public

Each year, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) employees make about 100,000 biscuits for the public during the Mississippi State Fair. However, the culinary tradition now synonymous with the fairgrounds is a relatively new development.

Longtime Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Jim Buck Ross’s visit to the Missouri State Fair inspired the start of the Mississippi phenomenon. Since the early 1970s, MDAC employees have made buttermilk biscuits from scratch and served them with Blackburn Made Syrup to fairgoers.

For those who cannot wait until October 3 to have those biscuits, below is the recipe.

The Legendary Mississippi State Fair Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees

• Lightly coat a large baking dish or cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray

• In a large bowl, add flour

  • Dig a well in the middle and add the shortening

  • Cut the shortening into flour until crumbly by using a hand, fork or pastry cutter

• Dig a well, add buttermilk and stir until a soft ball of dough forms

• Lightly flour a flat surface and put the soft ball of dough on it

  • Using your hands, flatten to 1/2 inch thickness

  • Use a 2-inch tin can or biscuit cutter, flour can or cutter before each cut. Do not twist when cutting

  • Cut out round biscuits and place them on a baking sheet

• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown

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Mississippi State football has a chance to regroup before getting back into the SEC grind.

The Bulldogs (1-4, 0-2 SEC) have lost four consecutive games, with their lone win coming against Eastern Kentucky in the season opener. Since then, they’ve lost to Arizona State, Toledo, Florida and Texas.

REQUIRED READING: How Mississippi State football, Jeff Lebby are approaching open week before Georgia game

Mississippi State and first-year coach Jeff Lebby are already without starting quarterback Blake Shapen, a first-year transfer from Baylor who underwent season-ending surgery on his shoulder after suffering an injury against Florida. He has been relieved by true freshman Michael Van Buren Jr., who was 12 of 23 for 144 yards in his first career start against the Longhorns in Week 5.

The slate doesn’t get any easier for the Bulldogs, who face No. 5 Georgia (3-1, 1-1) in their next game after the bye week. Lebby and Co. will certainly have their work cut out if they want to make a bowl game this season.

Here’s everything to know about Mississippi State’s upcoming bye week:

Watch select Mississippi State football games live with Fubo (free trial)

Does Mississippi State play today?

No, Mississippi State does not play in Week 6 of the 2024 college football season. The Bulldogs resume play in Week 7 on the road at Georgia.

The off week is the first of two for the Bulldogs this season, as they also are off Nov. 16, a week after facing Tennessee on the road and a week before hosting Missouri.

Mississippi State football schedule 2024

Here’s a look at the Bulldogs’ 2024 football schedule:

All times Central

• Saturday, Aug. 31: vs. Eastern Kentucky (W, 56-7)
• Saturday, Sept. 7: at Arizona State (L, 30-23)
• Saturday, Sept. 14: vs. Toledo (L, 41-17)
• Saturday, Sept. 21: vs. Florida (L, 45-28)*
• Saturday, Sept. 28: at No. 1 Texas (L, 35-13)*
• Saturday, Oct. 5: BYE
• Saturday, Oct. 12: at No. 5 Georgia* | 3:15 p.m. | SEC Network (Fubo)
• Saturday, Oct. 19: vs. No. 21 Texas A&M*
• Saturday, Oct. 26: vs. Arkansas*
• Saturday, Nov. 2: vs. UMass | 3:15 p.m. | SEC Network (Fubo)
• Saturday, Nov. 9: at No. 4 Tennessee*
• Saturday, Nov. 16: BYE
• Saturday, Nov. 23: vs. No. 9 Missouri*
• Friday, Nov. 29: at No. 11 Ole Miss* | 2:30 p.m. | ABC (ESPN+ or Fubo)

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