JACKSON — There wasn’t much smack talk delivered during Tuesday’s Capital City Classic football coaches luncheon at the Steam Room Grille.

Having just five wins between Alcorn State and Jackson State leaves both teams with little to brag about. But a win Saturday, coupled with a Mississippi Valley State win at home against SWAC Eastern Division leader Alabama A&M, would catapult Saturday’s Classic winner in the SWAC Championship game against Prairie View (7-1, 7-0 SWAC). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium between the Tigers (3-6, 3-4 SWAC) and the Braves (2-6, 2-4).

About the best line of the day came from Alcorn State interim athletic director Brenda Square.

“When we beat the baby meows we’ll be able to have a good barbecue afterwards,” Square said to a roar of laughs.

Braves starting sophomore center Issac Williams added, “Maybe we can have ourselves some barbecue Tiger.”

Jackson State coach Rick Comegy wasn’t in the mood to discuss barbecue plans. A 3-6 season is enough to leave him in a grumpy mood.

“Obviously, I’m not to use to having a year like this,” Comegy said of his team’s three-win season. “We’ve been so up and down. It’s been a tough season. But, we’re looking for some big things on Saturday.”

The 15th annual Capital City Classic will be the second for Alcorn State coach Ernest Collins, but his first as the head coach. He was the Braves’ defensive coordinator last season under Ernest Jones.

“I’ve been a part of great rivalry when I was at Kansas and it was Missouri week,” Collins said. “But that was a lot of hatred there. This one you have folks from both sides working in the same building or even the same household. The one thing I witnessed last year as a defensive coordinator was that the Jackson State crowd left after halftime. They better not leave early Saturday.”

“We know Jackson State is a good football team. It won’t be any problem getting up for them.” added Williams.

Alcorn State quarterback Tim Buckley said the Braves have made strides since an early season start when  Southern Miss and Eastern Michigan blasted the Braves by a combined 100-0 margin.

“We had some first game jitters at Southern Miss and we had to play a lot of young guys early on offense, but they’ve gotten better,” Buckley said.

Alcorn State won two straight conference games over Mississippi Valley and Alabama A&M to move into a tie for the Eastern Division lead but has since lost two straight.

“We lost some players to injuries,” Collins said. “We lost a starting defensive lineman, our Mike linebacker, the backup at linebacker and our starting free safety.”

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com