Grambling shows Jackson State the dark side

GRAMBLING – Jackson State didn’t know the power of the dark side (defense for Grambling State that is).

With five defensive takeaways, including a pick six by Caleb Lee-Collins and a fumble recovery scoop-and-score by Patrick Marshall, GSU (3-1) roared past rival Jackson State 41-20 in front of a packed house at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium with its self-named ‘darkside defense’ turning The Hole into a black hole that JSU couldn’t climb out of, finishing with its most turnovers against GSU since 2014.

“I think that this program’s respected. When you say respect, that means every time this program comes out, they want to beat us. So, my thing was getting back to dominance, dominating people like we’re supposed to. Respect – they’re always going to respect Grambling. They’re never going to disrespect Grambling. They may say it with their mouth but when they get on that field, they know it doesn’t matter what Grambling team and they’re going to get the best from that team.

“So, when I say restore the order, bring the dominance back.”

You wan dominant? GSU’s defense is a prime example through four games. Grambling’s defense now leads the FCS in defensive touchdowns (4) and interceptions (9) through four games. It’s quite a turnaround for a GSU defense that had 14 interceptions in 11 games last season. The takeaway show by GSU had a rowdy crowd watching on, with Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium holding 19,085 fans on Saturday – the most for a GSU home game since 2007.

Joseph credited his defense with another rock-solid performance. They may have given up nearly 500 yards to Jackson State, including 200 in the second half, but the visiting Tigers managed just one score in the second half. JSU’s 20 points are its fewest in a road game with GSU since 2017.

“Coach [Jason] Rollins and that defensive staff, they do a great job. They play multiple players. They do a good job with their rotations, and they do a good job with ball-hawking and stripping the ball,” Joseph said. “They’ve been doing good so far.”

The night started with GSU’s offense putting up two touchdowns in the first quarter, racking up 131 yards in the first 15 minutes alone, with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Myles Crawley to JR Waters and a rushing score by Ke’Travion Hargrove.

But for a long time after, it was a quiet night offensively for the Tigers as they punted on their next six drives and managed just six yards of offense in the second quarter. Luckily for them, senior defensive back came up with a 22-yard pick six to put GSU ahead 21-13 at halftime.

Linebacker Brenden Barley, who grabbed his team-leading third interception in the win, said the darkside defense is a dangerous place for opposing teams to face. If they didn’t know before, Barley said Saturday’s win proved it.

“It’s somewhere you don’t want to be. Darkside; bad things happen over there. We’re flying around,” Barley said. “It’s something where if you’re not a part of it, you don’t want to be over there.”

Linebacker Andrew Jones continued his early campaign for SWAC Defensive Player of the Year with 11 tackles, 2.5 TFL, and a sack – putting him at 25 tackles, 6.5 TFL, and 1.5 sacks overall.

“I feel like it was our preparation on our end and just being focused on the small keys to help us be in position to make plays,” Jones said.

GSU’s defense comes up big once again in the second half for its second defensive score on a fumble recovery touchdown with 42 seconds left in the third to lead 28-21 by defensive back Patrick Marshall for GSU’s 4th defensive score of the year to lead the FCS.

For good measure, as time expired in the quarter, GSU added another interception from Barley.

The INT set up a Ke’Travion Hargrove 1-yard touchdown to put GSU up 35-20 to end six straight punts offensively. JSU turned the ball over on downs on its next drive and then fumbled, turned it over on downs again, and ended the night with a fitting fumble recovered by Calvin Henderson. Two late field goals from Reed Harradine. helped the Tigers seal their win as well.

GSU (2-1) travels to Dallas, Texas, next Saturday for the State Fair Classic against Prairie View A&M (1-3).