Jackson State football is stacking up W's under Deion Sanders – even when it's not pretty

Jackson State football's 22-14 homecoming victory over Campbell wasn't pretty.

It wasn't the brand of football coach Deion Sanders wants Tigers fans to witness at home, where Shedeur Sanders passing for 300-plus yards and multiple touchdowns has often been the norm.

However, none of that really mattered Saturday. Fans won't likely remember it was a defensive slugfest when Jackson State (7-0, 4-0) welcomes rival Southern to Mississippi Memorial Stadium next Saturday.

All that matters is the Tigers are 7-0 for the first time since 1983, and Deion Sanders is a big reason why. The third-season coach is now 11-2 in home games, including the SWAC championship victory last season.

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"It may not look good," Sanders said. "Especially at the end. I hate giving that touchdown because it would have looked better (and more) indicative of the way we played. But a W is a W. Sometimes you got to take the W and move on because nobody's gonna talk about how the game was playing out two weeks from now."

Jackson State's defense played a large role in the ugly victory. JSU forced seven punts, along with a failed fake punt and a stuffed fourth-and-1 on the Campbell 30-yard line early in the first quarter. The Fighting Camels were held to 247 total yards of offense and only 110 rushing – with 81 of those yards coming in the first half.

Aubrey Miller Jr. led the way with 13 tackles, including two for loss and a sack for the Tigers.

"I told everybody they were like the '85 Bears," said Campbell coach Mike Minter, who played 10 season for the Carolina Panthers. "They thought I was just playing. They thought I was just doing some chess moves and talking them up. I know football and when I watch football I'm gonna tell you the truth."

Jackson State started off slow again, much to the dismay of Sanders, and gave up a 20-yard touchdown run to Hajj-Malik Williams with 6:47 left in the first quarter. Campbell crossed into JSU territory one time over its next nine drives. The Fighting Camels (4-3) scored on their final drive of the game when Williams connected with Julian Hill for a 13-yard TD with 28 second remaining.

It was all window dressing. The outcome of the game wasn't hanging in the balance after a 48-yard TD pass from Shedeur Sanders to D.J. Stevens and a four-yard rushing TD from Sy'veon Wilerson gave JSU a comfortable lead.

JSU only finished with three tackles for loss and a sack from Miller. However, the Tigers continued to disrupt any Campbell rhythm offensively. It all comes down to chemistry between the defensive line and linebackers, according to Miller.

"When they get off the ball like that, penetrating and make sure the quarterback is stuck in the pocket the only thing you can do is just make plays," Miller said. "The secondary is just freezing the quarterback. Just keeping them in a box."

One spark from Saturday's game was the arrival of star freshman Travis Hunter. The former five-star recruit played in JSU's season-opener against Florida A&M before missing the next five games with injury.

Hunter took snaps at wide receiver and defensive back. He finished with four catches for 24 yards on five targets. The lone miscue came in the red zone when Shedeur Sanders looked for Hunter in one-on-one coverage, leading to an interception with 12:51 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Deion Sanders was pleased with the home debut for Hunter.

"He's probably about 75%," Sanders said. "But 75% for Travis is 100% for any normal collegiate defensive back. We tried to feature him a little bit early on and we did. But we just got over aggressive and went to him one too many times. At the goal line, we shouldn't have done that. Shedeur knows better than that and that won't happen again."

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State football keeps stacking up wins under Deion Sanders