Jackson St. 35 vs Tenn. St. 29

For a second straight year, Casey Therriault’s arm led Jackson State to a victory over Tennessee State, 35-29, in front of a crowd of 43,532 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Therriault completed 27 of 39 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for another, as he claimed his second SHC MVP award. After losing seven in a row to its rivals, JSU has now won the last two Classics.

The first half was a back-and-forth shootout that saw TSU take a 24-21 halftime lead. Holding a 28-26 fourth quarter lead, Therriault threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Rico Richardson to give JSU some breathing room.

TSU answered with a field goal, then nearly recovered an onside kick, but the ball hit a TSU player before going the required 10 yards, ending its chances of a comeback.