After a disappointing loss this past Saturday against McNeese St, Head Coach Terrence Graves and the Southern University Jaguars look to notch the first win of the season this week when they take on Savannah St, a former member of the MEAC that now finds themselves playing Division II football. Today, Graves as well as a number of Jags players opened themselves up to questions from the media, both addressing some things from last week’s game as well as previewing their opponent this week.
The Jags may have come up short in last week’s game, but there were still plenty of positives to take away from the performance. For large chunks of the game, the defense was dominant, and Coach Graves made sure to highlight that.
“Defensively I thought we played well enough to win. Holding a team scoreless going into the 4th quarter says a lot. That’s tough to do on any level. For us to do that defensively, those guys did a great job. Now, did they do everything right? No. We still have things we have to clean up. But, to play the way that we played defensively for the whole football game to give us a chance to win.”
Southern University Head Coach Terrence Graves
On the offensive side of the ball, things were bit more rocky. Starting quarterback Noah Bodden made a a few good plays, but he was not able to lead the team to more than the 7 points that were scored throughout the game. Near the end of the game, Bodden was benched for backup Czavian Teasett. Coach Graves, however, confirms the decision that was made at the beginning of the season: Bodden will continue to be starter going into the Savannah St game.
“Noah played well at times, got us out of some situations, but other times he pressed too much. He tried to make the big play as opposed to just letting the game come to him. That’s what he has to do – he has to relax, play his game, and do what the offense tells him to do. Make sensational plays if you get an opportunity to do it, but you have to protect the football, trust what you see, and just play.”
Southern University Head Coach Terrence Graves
The most talked about play after the fact was the blocked field goal that turned a potential 10 point lead for the Jags into a short field for the Cowboys, which led to a crucial game typing score. Coach Graves had some choice words about what happened.
“And then there was the botched field goal. It wasn’t blocked, it was botched. The kick was low. It went off of one of our guys’ backs. Most of the times a kick goes back with that kind of force, it goes off an offensive pad. We’ll have to coach that and clean that up.”
Southern University Head Coach Terrence Graves
Now the team moves on to next week as they continue to look for their first win of the season. Their next opponent is the Savannah St Tigers, a Division II team that is playing up against an FCS opponent for this week. Savannah St being in a lower division means Southern has a great chance to bounce back from the opening loss, but that kind of game also brings some concerns. There are some bigger expectations for success when you “play down”, and some teams are liable to overlook the competition in this situation.
“We’re not caught up with them being a Division II program because there’s a lot of talent in those Division II schools. We’re going to respect everybody, but not fear anybody. We have to get this taste out our mouth, and the only way to do that is to defeat our next opponent, and they just happen to be our next opponent.”
Southern University Head Coach Terrence Graves
You can check out the full press conferences from both Head Coach Terrence Graves and starting quarterback Noah Bodden here!
This game is also the Pete Richardson Classic, which has been celebrated at Southern’s first home game of the season every year since 2018, in celebration of the 5-time SWAC championship winning head coach for the Jags from 1993-2009. The game is also a white out for any Jags fans in attendance. The game is Saturday, September 7th, at 6:00 P.M. For any further information on Southern or any other football related news, make sure to stay posted at gridironfootballusa.com.
