Deion Sanders loses grandmother, then son Shedeur Sanders throws 5 TDs in Jackson State's rout of FAMU

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Deion Sanders wanted his Jackson State football team to dominate to provide some relief for their community affected by the Jackson Water Crisis back home in Mississippi.

They accomplished the mission — all while Sanders dealt with a personal loss before the game.

Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of Deion, threw a career-high five touchdown passes to beat Florida A&M, 59-3, on Sunday in the Orange Blossom Classic at Hard Rock Stadium.

The season-opening victory came as Sanders — the Pro Football Hall of Famer turned third-year college football coach — received news his grandmother, Hattie Mae Mims, passed away.

“Grandma had a good run. Grandma was well into her 90s. Grandma was the patriarch of our family. Grandma was the one who took me to church. Grandma was the one who taught me about the lord,” Sanders said.

“Grandma was the one I stayed with when I was ignorant. Grandma was the one who whooped my butt. Grandma used to look out the window when I went across the street to hoop and play ball and I would see that little face looking out the window because I knew I had to be home before it got nighttime. Because Grandma didn’t play. Grandma was a disciplinarian. Grandma was a God-fearing woman until the day she left. Grandma was everything. So, I lost a real, a real woman. A real woman.”

CFB WEEK 1 OBSERVATIONS: Impressive starts for Oklahoma, Arkansas

SPORTS NEWSLETTER: Sign up now to get top sports headlines delivered daily

The younger Sanders kicked off his sophomore season completing his first 17 passes, finishing 29 of 33 for 323 yards. He threw touchdown passes to receivers Shane Hooks (two), Dallas Daniels, Rico Powers and tight end Hayden Hagler.

Defensive back Ke’Vric Wiggins Jr. returned an interception, linebacker Aubrey Miller Jr. returned a fumble, and safety Herman Smith returned a blocked punt all for touchdowns in the rout.

Freshman cornerback Travis Hunter, who spurned Florida State for Jackson State on National Signing Day, had three pass breakups in his college debut.

“We expect that. We don’t expect nothing less,” Sanders said of the blowout win.  “That wasn’t a surprise.”

MORE: Deion Sanders says Jackson's water crisis is 'way bigger than football'

Despite the outcome on the field, which saw JSU outpace FAMU 471-155 in total yards, both teams will leave this Classic in better shape than they came to Miami earlier in the week among national headlines.

And that’s encouraging news for the state of HBCU football teams striving for stability, notoriety, and a seat at the table in the ever-evolving world of college football, TV contracts and expanded playoff fields.

City officials in Jackson, Mississippi, informed residents Sunday they should have increased water pressure with increased storage levels in water tanks at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant. Earlier this week, a state of emergency was declared by both state governor Tate Reeves and President Joe Biden after the city was devoid of running water. Still, a boil-water notice is in effect.

Still, Jackson State must house its football players in hotel rooms, find food vendors to feed them, and must figure out how to wash all their clothes and equipment, practice, and travel to Memphis before their next game against Tennessee State on Saturday.

Sanders said the tall task costs the university about $15,000 per night, and “we got a deal on that.”

“How can we go out there and dominate like that, and take a child back to something that’s shut down and you have no water? You can’t flush the darn toilet. You have no air. You have to think about all that stuff,” Sanders said.

“These are the thoughts going through my head, making sure these kids are taken care of. How do we do all we’re doing, asking these kids to do what they’ve done, asking these kids to play on national television and then we take them back to some foolishness? Those are the type of things that are happening.”

CFB WEEK 1 WINNERS, LOSERS: Georgia off to dominant start, ECU stumbles

As Jackson State dominated, FAMU looked like a team that missed nearly a third of its players for the first two weeks of their season due to ineligibility issues. More than 89 players signed a letter addressed to the school's president raising issues with the registrar's office, compliance department and academic advisement.

FAMU coach Willie Simmons welcomed back at least 18 players to his roster in the last week. A total of 26 FAMU players were deemed ineligible due to NCAA compliance concerns in their season-opening loss at North Carolina last week. Eight players remain ineligible.

FAMU president Larry Robinson was put on the hot seat by the board of trustees last Friday, and said there are plans to add two academic advising positions and five compliance employees to the athletics department. Currently, FAMU has only one compliance officer for more than 300 student athletes.

FAMU outside linebacker Isaiah Land, considered the best HBCU NFL prospect, hired a lawyer to assist in his eligibility battle, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. He was back on the field less than four days from the initial report and had a sack in the first half of the game.

“Hopefully, we can get through all these certification issues this week and get through the season,” Simmons said. “We should be a better team because of that.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders' son Shedeur stars in Jackson State win over Florida A&M