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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

With a few exceptions, it wasn’t a good weekend for Mississippi’s college teams. Here’s a roundup of stories on Saturday’s games that you won’t find in your Jackson paper.

Houston 42, Mississippi State 35: Yes, it’s time to push the panic button. Biloxi Sun-Herald, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and Houston Chronicle.
Jackson State 28, Texas Southern 21: Tigers coach James Bell finally wins one. So the heat is off for a week. Houston Chronicle.
Alabama A&M 37, Mississippi Valley 0: So much for good times returning to Itta Bena. Valley can’t score and can’t stop anybody, a brutal combination. Greenwood Commonwealth.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.