Jackson Free Press

This ain't your daddy's SWAC. And that's a shame.

The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser's Josh Moon laid out the sad situation when he recently wrote: "It has probably been said at least a hundred times this year, but it's worth repeating once more: The SWAC stinks this year.

"You know what the biggest out-of-conference win was for the entire league? (Alabama State's 17-13) win over Division II Tuskegee.

"Would you like an even sadder example of how bad things are? Consider this: Jackson State, the SWAC's East Division champion, will enter the conference title game with a 7-4 record and without a single win over a team with a winning record."

Ouch. That last one has to hurt even the most casual Tiger fan.

JSU will meet Grambling State on Saturday in the SWAC Championship Game in Birmingham. (1 p.m., ESPN Classic/1300 AM). The game is a rematch of the 2007 title game. JSU won that one, 42-31, giving the Tigers their 16th SWAC crown and first since 1996.

JSU struggled early in the season, stumbling to a 1-4 start. During that slump, JSU lost 14-5 at Grambling. The Tigers have won six straight since.

The Tigers' improvement has been tied to the progress of quarterback Trae Rutland. In JSU's first four games, Rutland threw three touchdowns and seven interceptions. He's thrown just one interception since. Rutland has suffered from shoulder tendonitis, which forced him to sit out the second half of JSU's game against Alcorn State. The Tigers' offense went nowhere without him.

Neither JSU nor Grambling is an offensive juggernaut. Both rank in the bottom half of the SWAC in total offense. But they are outstanding on defense. JSU leads the SWAC in total defense, giving up an average of 233.5 yards per game, and third in scoring defense, allowing an average of 18.8 points. Grambling is third in total defense (266.8 ypg) and second in scoring defense (13.4 ppg).

Grambling has won nine consecutive games since a 1-2 start. And the G-Men's regular-season victory over the Tigers isn't necessarily a sign of things to come. Grambling won 2007's regular-season meeting, too.

JSU coach Rick Comegy has led the Tigers to the SWAC title game for the second time in his three years in Jackson. He sounds confident and wants his players to be, too. "I don't want them to read a whole lot of stuff about what they're saying about Grambling and forget who they are," Comegy told The Clarion-Ledger. "I think we've got a pretty good football team, too.

"Don't let people make us forget that we can play, too."

So why has SWAC football declined? The most obvious reason is that many of the players who used to play for SWAC schools now play in the SEC or C-USA.

The NFL draft is evidence of that. There was a time when the SWAC produced first-round NFL draft picks almost every year. Only one SWAC player was selected in the 2008 NFL draft, however.

Another problem is the SWAC Championship Game itself. The SWAC has never won an NCAA playoff game. And Grambling and Southern have skipped the playoffs for years, preferring instead to cash in with the Bayou Classic. That cost the SWAC its automatic berth in the playoffs.

Then the entire SWAC decided to opt out of the playoffs totally and play the championship game instead. This self-imposed exile from the playoffs has obviously hurt the league in recruiting and scheduling.

Since coming to JSU, Comegy has said he would like to play in the I-AA playoffs. Here's hoping he gets a chance one of these days.

Talk sports at JFP Sports.