How to watch Southern vs. Grambling in the Bayou Classic: TV, live stream, storylines for Saturday’s game
Renewing one of college football’s longest and fiercest rivalries, Grambling State and Southern University will meet in the 52nd edition of the Bayou Classic with a 2 p.m. kickoff Saturday at the Superdome.
In what’s known as the grandaddy of HBCU classic matchups, Southern leads 27-24 in the series since the annual meeting was moved to New Orleans in 1974, and the Jaguars have won three consecutive and six of the past seven.
But it’s been a down year for Southern as the preseason favorite to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference has struggled to 0-7 in the SWAC and 1-10 overall.
Grambling State performs at Battle of the Bands
Grambling State’s band performs during Battle of the Bands at halftime of the Grambling State-Southern Bayou Classic.
It’s the opposite story for Grambling (4-3 SWAC, 7-4), which is enjoying its first winning season in the past six years and its most victories since 2017.
The rivalry between the Louisiana schools dates to 1932 when Southern beat Grambling 20-0 and won the next seven meetings before Grambling’s first victory in 1947. Southern leads the overall series 42-34, and the teams have played annually since 1959 when Grambling joined the SWAC.
There have been 24 games in the series decided by one score or less, including three of the past six (Southern won 27-22 in 2023; Grambling won 29-26 in ’21; and Southern triumphed 30-28 in ’19).
The marching bands from Grambling and Southern will compete Friday night in a Battle of the Bands before both perform at halftime. Grambling’s “World Famed Tiger Marching Band” (which started in 1926) has appeared in six Super Bowl halftime shows, and Southern’s “Human Jukebox” outfit has performed at four Super Bowls.
How to watch Southern vs. Grambling State:
- When: Saturday, Nov. 29
- Where: Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Time: 2 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC
- Live Stream: Peacock
- Announcing team: Chris Lewis (play-by-play), Anthony Herron (analyst) and Lewis Johnson (sideline reporter).
Grambling State overview
Under second-year coach Mickey Joseph, the Tigers have established a reputation for consistent rallies — their five fourth-quarter comebacks rank first in Division I this season.
Grambling’s defense leads the SWAC with 31 sacks and is second in takeaways (19) with cornerback Markel Linzer best in the conference with four interceptions and defensive end Warren Robinson ranked second with 8.5 sacks.
The Tigers are on their fourth starting quarterback this year with freshman Hayden Benoit taking over under center. Benoit, who inherited the job after injuries to three other quarterbacks, was named the SWAC newcomer of the week after throwing for 220 yards and four touchdowns in his starting debut against Bethune-Cookman.
Tre Bradford leads Grambling with 569 rushing yards but has missed the past two games, and freshman running back Andre Crews has stepped up by leading the Tigers on the ground (including a career-high 130 yards in the win over Bethune-Cookman).
Southern overview
In the midst of a program-record losing streak of nine games, the Jaguars are coached by Fred McNair (older brother of late NFL MVP Steve McNair), who took over on an interim basis when Terrance Graves was fired for a 1-6 start. Southern is expected to name its next coach after the Bayou Classic and has narrowed its list of candidates to 10 with NFL Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk (currently a Colorado assistant to Deion Sanders) reportedly a favorite.
Southern’s star player is defensive end Ckelby Givens, who tops the SWAC in sacks (nine) and tackles for a loss (17). Givens also is the FCS active career leader in tackles for a loss (75.5) and second in sacks (33.5) and forced fumbles (10).
The Jaguars have been improving on offense behind quarterback Ashton Strother, averaging 25.8 points per game under McNair after a 13.1 ppg average in their 1-6 start. Running back Trey Holly missed the most recent game but ranks second in the conference for all-purpose yardage (98.7 yards per game). Barry Remo ran for a career-high 120 yards in Holly’s absence against Texas Southern.
Southern is being plagued by 9.2 penalties per game, the worst in the SWAC and third-worst in the FCS,
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- National Dog Show: Thursday, noon ET
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- College football: No. 2 Indiana vs. Purdue, Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET
- College football: UCLA at USC, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
- NFL: Denver Broncos vs. Washington Commanders, live coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with Football Night in America
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