TC Taylor can overtake Deion Sanders in the Celebration Bowl

JACKSON — As the clock ticked down Saturday at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jackson State football coach TC Taylor writhed and was visibly awash with emotion on the sideline.

“I think I was standing on the 40-yard line toward the end of the game,” Taylor said. “I couldn’t move. I was stuck in that moment.”

It wasn’t so much about the game itself, a 41-13 win over Southern (8-5) in the SWAC championship game, but rather the process of getting there. The Tigers (11-2) earned an easy victory by posting an explosive second half behind backup quarterback Zy McDonald. Although the game turned into a bust, getting there was an arduous process just two years into Deion Sanders’ successful tenure as coach.

“When I took this deal, the cupboard was bare,” Taylor said. “This is something we have built. I have great people around me… building it was a process.”

Jackson State had a 7-4 record last season in Taylor’s first year after Sanders transferred to Colorado after two SWAC titles. This season, the Tigers finished undefeated in the SWAC.

The Tigers play South Carolina State (9-2), which Sanders failed to win in his two tries, in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 14 (11 a.m. CT, ABC) in Atlanta.

Taylor praised his staff’s recruiting efforts to rebuild Jackson State. That was evident Saturday with McDonald, who transferred from Louisiana to Jackson State last season.

McDonald, who came off the bench just before halftime to replace injured starter Jacobian Morgan, was electrifying. He ran for 95 yards on eight carries and threw for 75 yards on 6-for-11 passes. He scored two touchdowns and was a great compliment to running back Irv Mulligan, who had 116 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

“My mindset was just go out there and play my game,” said McDonald, who was named the game’s offensive MVP. Trust my trainers. Trust the plan. Trust my teammates. Ask the boys to gather around me and lead them around the field.”

At halftime, with the game tied 10-10, Taylor asked McDonald what he was happy with. He also asked his team a simple question, albeit admittedly in harsher terms, which he described after the game: “Do you want this to be the last time you put your pads on?”

McDonald called plays that gave him the freedom to run, and Taylor, a former JSU quarterback who played for the Tigers from 1998 to 2001, framed the second-half play call accordingly. Jackson State outscored Southern 31-3 in the second half.

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