Marshall Faulk says Southern football is forming the wrong kind of identity after Jackson State loss

Southern's head football coach Marshall Faulk coaches against Jackson State during the match up held at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Ms. PHOTO BY APRIL BUFFINGTON JACKSON, Miss.

- Marshall Faulk was asked what he told his team after Southern's loss to its rival. The first-year coach refrained from sharing specific details, but he said it wasn't an understated message.

"There's a lot of things that you can tell them," Faulk said. "I want to keep what I told them to myself, you know, but it was very spirited.

It's a lot about today, but most importantly, moving forward, how we're going to move forward. " The Jaguars want to move forward properly and as quickly as possible after a35-17 loss to Jackson State(4-0, 1-0 SWAC) on Saturday at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.

They not only lost to a rival for an eighth straight time but also dropped the SWAC opener. Faulk said he and Southern (2-3, 0-1) players were emotional after the loss and that the team is forming the wrong kind of identity after following each win with a loss.

"I just know that we're better than what we did today, but if we continue to come out and be inconsistent and inconsistent, that becomes who we are," Faulk said. "And that's who we are right now.

" While the Jaguars didn't have the result they wanted, they can take away a stronger defensive showing after halftime as a sign of in-game progress. The only score given up in the second half came with 2:45 left in the game after a deflected pass by linebacker Herman Bister was hauled in by Jackson State center Alex Valbuena for a four-yard touchdown.

"I feel like we played with way better intensity," cornerback Donald Johnson said. Second half is who we are as a defense, and we just played harder in the second half.

" Southern's defensive growth, however, can't occur halfway through a game if it wants to win against SWAC contenders like Jackson State, which appeared in the conference title game four of the last five years. A huge issue for Faulk's defense was the run defense, as Jackson State's Nate Blount had nine carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone.