Southern Jaguars 2026 Football Schedule: Marshall Faulk's First Season, a Houston Road Trip and the 53rd Bayou ClassicBATON ROUGE, La. - Marshall Faulk will begin his first season as an HBCU football head coach at a neutral site in Birmingham, Alabama, and finish it at the Caesars Superdome.The Pro Football Hall of Fame running back and College Football Hall of Famer spent last season coaching running backs at Colorado under head coach Deion Sanders, who previously coached at Jackson State. Faulk takes over a program that was in shambles. Last season, the Jaguars finished 2-10 overall and 1-7 in SWAC play under former head coach Terrence Graves and interim head coach Fred McNair, who completed the season for the Jags. McNair is returning as a senior advisor on Faulk's current staff.#Southern fall camp under Marshall Faulk has begun. The QB competition continues on with Ashton Strother, Wyatt McCauley (#9), and now Christian Johnson (#10). Johnson transferred from Hutchinson CC earlier in the summer. pic.twitter.com/EYnkzz8z3z— Kevin Batiste (@KBatisteJr) August 1, 2026SWAC coaches and sports information directors picked Southern to finish fifth in the Western Division. Coach Faulk believes in focusing on preparation during Fall camp. "The separation from the guys who are first in the conference to the guys who are last is the preparation," he told reporters after Saturday's practice. "The separation is in the preparation. We got to make sure that we prepare right."Marshall Faulk | Jan 31, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Indianaplis Colts former running back Marshall Faulk on the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors award ceremony at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesSouthern 2026 Football ScheduleAug. 29 – Alabama State | Birmingham, Ala. | 3 p.m. / ESPNUSept. 5 – Kentucky State | A.W. Mumford Stadium, Baton Rouge, La. | TBD / SWAC TVSept. 12 – at Houston | TDECU Stadium, Houston | TBDSept. 19 – Louisiana Christian | A.W. Mumford Stadium, Baton Rouge, La. | TBD / SWAC TVSept. 26 – at Jackson State (Boom Box Classic) | Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jackson, Miss. | TBDOct. 3 – Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Homecoming) | A.W. Mumford Stadium, Baton Rouge, La. | TBD / SWAC TVOct. 10 – at Prairie View A&M | Panther Stadium, Prairie View, Texas | TBD / SWAC TVOct. 17 – Open dateOct. 24 – at Texas Southern | Reliant Stadium, Houston | 2 p.m.Oct. 31 – at Florida A&M | Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee, Fla. | TBDNov. 7 – Bethune-Cookman | A.W. Mumford Stadium, Baton Rouge, La. | TBD / SWAC TVNov. 14 – Alcorn State | A.W. Mumford Stadium, Baton Rouge, La. | 2 p.m. / HBCU GONov. 21 – Open dateNov. 28 – Grambling State (Bayou Classic) | Caesars Superdome, New Orleans | 1 p.m.Kickoff times and network designations are subject to change."The separation is in the preparation."This is probably the 1st of several catchy lines Marshall Faulk will say this year.Find out what he is prioritizing in Southern football's fall camp before the season opener vs Alabama State on Aug. 29 ⬇️STORY: https://t.co/cNym58jVF5 pic.twitter.com/9V8QaChlII— Toyloy Brown III (@TJ3rd_) August 1, 2026Quarterback Andrew Body during the Alabama State University football practice on the ASU campus in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday July 30, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectWeek 0 opener against Alabama StateThe Jaguars start their season on Aug. 29 against Alabama State at the inaugural Birmingham Football Classic. The game kicks off at 3 p.m. on ESPNU and is a nonconference matchup. This is the second year in a row that Southern has opened in Week 0 at a neutral site.Southern will host Kentucky State on September 5, travel to Houston on September 12, and return home to face Louisiana Christian on September 19. The game in Houston is the only Football Bowl Subdivision matchup on their schedule.Scheduling tiers draw scrutinyKentucky State plays in Division II and Louisiana Christian is part of the NAIA, considered to be not on the Jaguars' level. Their inclusion on the schedule has sparked ongoing debate in HBCU football. Some critics say Division I teams should not schedule games against lower-division opponents, which the Southwestern Athletic Conference may phase out. Athletic administrators, however, believe these games help with preparing the team for grueling conference battles, home-game guarantees, ticket sales, and roster development.Cedric the Entertainer performs with Jackson State University's Sonic Boom of the South during the game against the Southern Jaguars in Jackson, Miss., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectConference slate runs through three classicsSouthern begins SWAC play on Sept. 26 at Jackson State in the Boom Box Classic, and will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff for homecoming on Oct. 3. Next, the Jaguars do a Texas-two-step, playing back-to-back road games at Prairie View A&M on Oct. 10 and at Texas Southern's homecoming at Reliant Stadium on Oct. 24.The TSU game was rescheduled from Oct. 17 to Oct. 24 because the Texas Southern Board of Regents was forced to approve an adjusted schedule after losing games at Shell Energy Stadium. Last year, Southern played Texas Southern at A.W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge and lost 35-30. Reliant Stadium, which seats over 72,000, will be the largest venue for Faulk's team until the Bayou Classic in Caesars Superdome, which seats over 73,000 spectators.Grambling and Southern University met in the 46th annual Bayou Classic at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Nov. 30. Grambling would lose the game 30-28.