2017 Southern Jaguars football team

The 2017 Southern Jaguars football team represented Southern University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Jaguars were led by fifth-year head coach Dawson Odums and played their home games at Ace W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as members of the West Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They finished the season 7–4, 5–2 in SWAC play to finish in second place in the West Division.

2017 Southern Jaguars football
Conference	Southwestern Athletic Conference
Division	West Division
Record	7–4 (5–2 SWAC)
Head coach	Dawson Odums (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Chennis Berry (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Trei Oliver (2nd season)
Home stadium	Ace W. Mumford Stadium
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Alcorn State xy		5	–	2					7	–	5
Alabama State		4	–	3					5	–	6
Alabama A&M		3	–	4					4	–	7
Jackson State		3	–	4					3	–	8
Mississippi Valley State		1	–	6					2	–	9
West Division
No. 16 Grambling State xy$		7	–	0					11	–	2
Southern		5	–	2					7	–	4
Prairie View A&M		4	–	3					6	–	5
Texas Southern		2	–	5					2	–	9
Arkansas–Pine Bluff		1	–	6					2	–	9
Championship: Grambling State 40, Alcorn State 32
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Due to NCAA APR violations, the Jaguars were ineligible to participate in the SWAC Championship or the Celebration Bowl.^[1]

Preseason

The Jaguars were picked to finish in second place in the Western Division.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	1:30 p.m.	South Carolina State*	Ace W. Mumford Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (MEAC/SWAC Challenge)	ESPN2	W 14–8	10,006
September 9	6:00 p.m.	at Southern Miss*	M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	STADIUM	L 0–45	24,337
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at UTSA*	Alamodome San Antonio, TX		L 17–51	25,093
September 23	6:00 p.m.	at Alcorn State	Casem-Spinks Stadium Lorman, MS		L 31–48	23,738
September 30	6:00 p.m.	Fort Valley State*	Ace W. Mumford Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 31–14	12,958
October 7	6:00 p.m.	Alabama A&M	Ace W. Mumford Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 35–14	15,279
October 21	6:00 p.m.	at Jackson State	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)		W 35–17	14,000
October 28	4:00 p.m.	vs. Arkansas–Pine Bluff	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 47–40	16,760	[3]
November 4	4:00 p.m.	Prairie View A&M	Ace W. Mumford Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 37–31	13,085
November 11	5:00 p.m.	at Texas Southern	BBVA Compass Stadium Houston, TX	AT&T SW	W 33–7	12,427
November 25	4:00 p.m.	vs. Grambling State	Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, LA (Bayou Classic)	NBCSN	L 21–30	66,650
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Central time

^[4][5]