Grambling State Tigers Kick Off The Mickey Joseph Era

The season opener for the Grambling State Tigers will kick off against UL Ragin' Cajuns.

Grambling State Tigers - Mickey Joseph Era / Credit: GSU Athletics

GRAMBLING, La. - The 2024 edition of the Grambling State University football team is set to open the season on the road versus the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday evening at Cajun Field.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (pxp) and Eric Mouton (color) providing commentary. Fans can also listen to game live on KGRM 91.5 FM and KPCH 99.3 The Peach. 

The Tigers, led by first-year head coach Mickey Joseph, hope to get the season off to strong start and make a statement with a victory over an FBS program.

Grambling State will sport almost an entirely new roster with 68 new G-Men suiting up this season. GSU is seeking its first win over an FBS program since defeating Oregon State 23-6 in 1985 - a win that gave legendary head football coach Eddie Robinson his 323rd career win. 

• Grambling State opens the 2024 season on the road against the University of Louisiana. Saturday's game will be the second meeting all-time between the Tigers and Ragin' Cajuns. Louisiana leads the all-time series 1-0, defeating GSU 49-17 in 2018.

• Saturday's game will mark the debut of Grambling State head coach Mickey Joseph. Joseph, who served as wide receivers coach at GSU in 2014, returns to Grambling following assistant coaching stints at LSU and Nebraska.

• Grambling State enters the season following a 2023 campaign that saw the Tigers go 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the SWAC. The Tigers are also seeking their first season opening win since 2021 when they beat Tennessee State 16-10 in the Black College Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. GSU was picked to finished third in the SWAC West. 

• Grambling State starting quarterback Myles Crawley was selected as the preseason SWAC Offensive Player of the Year. He was also placed on the Walter Payton Watch List. Last season, the Redshirt-Senior from Lithonia, Ga. threw for 2,303 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing 60.1 percent of his passes (197-of-328). He was the first Grambling State quarterback to throw for at least 2,000 yards in a season since Devante Kincaid in 2017 and the first GSU QB to throw at least 16 touchdowns since Geremy Hickbottom in 2018. 

• Grambling State's roster features 60 players from the state of Louisiana. This year's team is also full of new faces with 68 new players wearing the black & gold this season.

• Louisiana is led by head coach Michael Desormeaux in his third full season. UL returns 54 letterwinners and 19 starters. The Ragin' Cajuns, who finished 6-7 overall, earned their school-record sixth straight bowl appearance in 2023.

• Grambling State finished the 2023 campaign with a 5-6 overall record and a 4-4 mark in SWAC. The Tigers got off to a strong start in conference play, opening with a pair of victories over Texas Southern and eventual SWAC West Champion Prairie View A&M. The Tigers nearly clinched its first winning season since 2019, but a last second defensive stop by Southern in the Bayou Classic thwarted that opportunity. 
• In 2023, GSU showed promise under signal caller Myles Crawley who had a stellar debut season for the Tigers.

• Saturday's game will be the second meeting between Grambling State and Louisiana with the Ragin Cajuns holding a 1-0 series lead. 
• The Tigers fell to UL 49-17 in 2018. In that contest, GSU led 3-0, but 28 unanswered points flipped momentum the way of the Ragin' Cajuns.

• Returning to the field for the G-Men in 2024 is sophomore wide receiver Javon Robinson. The Homestead, Fla. native was named the SWAC Freshman of the Year following a season that saw him make a name for himself on offense and special teams. Robinson made 30 receptions for 368 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 44 rushing yards on 10 carries. On special teams, he had 10 kick returns for 190 yards and fielded seven punts for 53 yards. 

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