Bethune-Cookman Stuns No. 22 Jackson State 24-21 on Late Rickie Shaw II Touchdown

Third-and-11. Nineteen yards from the end zone. Down four, with the clock inside the final minute and a ranked opponent waiting to celebrate. Tyler Jefferson had every reason to throw it away and live for fourth down. Instead, he scrambled, kept his eyes downfield and found Rickie Shaw II in the right corner of the end zone.

That throw gave Bethune-Cookman a 24-21 win over No. 22 Jackson State on Oct. 24 at Daytona Stadium, and it has a strong case as the biggest win of the Raymond Woodie era in Daytona Beach.

The Wildcats improved to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the SWAC, good for a share of first place in the East Division. Jackson State fell to 6-2 and 3-2. It was Bethune-Cookman's first win over Jackson State since the two programs became SWAC rivals, the Tigers' first loss in the series since 2019, and the Wildcats' first win over a ranked FCS team since the 2019 Florida Classic.

A 14-0 start built on mistakes

Jackson State came to Daytona Beach with one of the most productive offenses in the conference, averaging around 450 yards a game. For a quarter, it could not get out of its own way.

The Tigers' first scoring chance went nowhere when Andrew Ivaniciuc missed a 41-yard field goal. Then they handed the Wildcats a short field. Punter Kye Collins could not handle a snap, and Naim Lassiter dropped him at the Jackson State 21. Jefferson needed little time to cash it in, hitting Josh Evans for a 21-yard touchdown with 6:30 left in the first quarter.

The next Jackson State series went backward, too. A fumbled snap cost the Tigers 9 yards, and Isaiah Washburn added a sack. Bethune-Cookman took over and drove for another score, with Rashon Brown finding the end zone from 33 yards out with six seconds left in the quarter. It was 14-0.

Jackson State's arms race

Good teams do not stay rattled, and Jackson State is a good team. The Bethune-Cookman defense kept squeezing in the second quarter, as Stephen Sparrow Jr. sacked Jared Lockhart and forced a fumble that Washburn recovered deep in Tigers territory. But the Wildcats went three-and-out and came away with nothing, and that let the visitors back in.

With 3:22 left in the half, Lockhart threw a short pass to Nate Rembert, who did the rest on a 43-yard touchdown. It was 14-7.

Bethune-Cookman answered before the break. Tre Rigby returned the kickoff 42 yards, Jefferson broke a 32-yard run, and Aiden Lanier hit a 23-yard field goal with 17 seconds left. The Wildcats took a 17-7 lead into halftime.

The Tigers kept chipping. With 7:58 left in the third quarter, Lockhart found Jabari Jones for a 30-yard touchdown, and the lead was down to 17-14. Bethune-Cookman then drove deep into Jackson State territory but came up short on fourth-and-1, when Micah Gay made the stop.

The snap that nearly cost everything

For most of the second half, the Wildcats' defense held the line. Then, with about three minutes left, a snap sailed over the head of punter Isaac Gallagher-Cheetham. He kicked it out the back of the end zone, an illegal touching penalty followed, and Jackson State soon cashed in. Li'Darius Pryor scored from a yard out, and the Tigers led 21-17 for the first time all day.

That is the kind of moment that ends a season for some teams. Bethune-Cookman did not blink.

The drive

The Wildcats took over at their own 25 needing a touchdown. Redshirt freshman Deanwar Johnson got it started with a 36-yard run, part of a career-high 81 rushing yards. A few plays later, Bethune-Cookman faced third-and-11 at the Jackson State 19.

Jefferson scrambled, kept his eyes downfield and hit Shaw in the right corner. The 19-yard touchdown finished an eight-play, 75-yard drive and put the Wildcats ahead 24-21 inside the final minute.

Jackson State still had one more push. Lockhart hit several big throws, including one on fourth down, and moved the Tigers into range for a 49-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer. Ivaniciuc, already 0-for-1 on the day, pushed it wide left, and the upset was complete.

The defense was the star

Jefferson's three touchdown passes will get the headlines, and they should. He threw for 113 yards and three scores, both season highs, and added the 32-yard run that set up the field goal before halftime. He and Sparrow both earned SWAC weekly honors.

But the real story is what the Bethune-Cookman defense did to the Jackson State run game. The Tigers ran 36 times for 33 yards, less than a yard per carry. Pryor had 23 carries for 61 yards, and Lockhart lost 22 yards on six attempts, largely because the Wildcats sacked him four times. Bethune-Cookman finished with 10 tackles for loss.

Sparrow led the way with a career-high 11 tackles, along with the sack and forced fumble. Washburn had a sack and a fumble recovery. Lassiter's tackle on the botched punt set up the first touchdown.

That pressure turned Jackson State into a one-dimensional offense. Lockhart completed 13 of 27 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns, and Rembert was dangerous all day with five catches for 118 yards. Jones caught two passes for 51 yards. But with no ground game to lean on, the Tigers had to hit big plays to move the ball, and Bethune-Cookman made them earn every one.

The numbers that matter

The box score tells you this was a game won on the margins. Bethune-Cookman outgained Jackson State 281 to 244, ran for 168 yards on 50 carries and held the ball for 33:07 to the Tigers' 26:53. Third downs were a near wash: the Wildcats went 5-of-16, Jackson State 5-of-14.

The difference was ball security. Bethune-Cookman did not turn it over. Jackson State lost one fumble, and its special teams gave away a short field on the bad punt snap that led to the first touchdown.

The Wildcats did not play a clean game. They were flagged six times for 49 yards, came up empty on two scoring chances and needed a late field goal miss to survive. Jackson State was penalized just once for 10 yards. But Bethune-Cookman won the turnover battle and the line of scrimmage, and that was enough.

For Jackson State, linebacker Tymon Wells led the defense with 11 tackles, Gay and Keith Bass Jr. had seven each, and Kazarius Bowie had six tackles with two for loss. The full sheet is in the official box score (opens in a new tab).

What it means

Bethune-Cookman is now 3-1 in league play and tied for first in the East, with a win over a ranked team to point to when the division is settled. Next on the schedule was a Halloween trip to Arkansas-Pine Bluff, followed by another road game at Southern on Nov. 7.

For Jackson State, the loss stings in more ways than one. The Tigers were ranked and had not lost to the Wildcats since 2019. Now they have two conference losses and a bye week to think about it before hosting Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 7.

The school's official recap (opens in a new tab) has the full play-by-play story, and WLBT (opens in a new tab) has the view from Jackson.

The last word

Woodie was quick to give credit to the detail work that does not show up on highlights. "We work on the little details, because if you don't work on the little details, it can cost you in crucial situations," Woodie said on the SWAC coaches call, as reported by ClutchPoints (opens in a new tab).

The celebration has a short shelf life, too. "We have a 24-hour rule," Woodie said. "We're not there yet, so we have to worry about us and not worry about the opponent."

Sources: Bethune-Cookman Athletics recap and box score, WLBT, the Daytona Beach News-Journal and ClutchPoints. More college football coverage on Undrafted.