Southern football has conference championship aspirations internally. High expectations also come from outside the program.

The Jaguars were ranked No. 4 in BOXTOROW’s 2025 Preseason HBCU Football Media Poll on Monday.

They were the second-highest ranked team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, behind Jackson State, which was ranked No. 1 after winning the SWAC championship and the Celebration Bowl last year.

Four SWAC teams were ranked in the top 10 and Southern was the only HBCU to receive a first-place vote outside of Jackson State, which was voted first by 22 of 23 national voters.

Southern, led by second-year coach Terrence Graves, ranked No. 5 in the HBCU poll at the end of the 2024 season after losing the SWAC championship game and finishing 8-5 overall and 7-1 in confer

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