Southern’s offense proved up to the challenge Saturday against Alcorn State, the highest-scoring team in FCS, with quarterback Christian Johnson and running back Trey Holly combining to lead the way.

The Jaguars earned their third straight victory after a 41-28 win on Saturday afternoon at A.W. Mumford Stadium.

With the win, Southern (6-5, 4-3 SWAC) remained in contention for the SWAC West Division crown. The Jaguars are in a three-way tie with Alcorn State (6-5, 4-3) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (6-4, 4-3) for second place behind Prairie View (6-5, 5-2).

Southern is off next week before playing Grambling in the Bayou Classic on Nov. 28 in the Caesars Superdome.

On Saturday, the Jaguars took a 34-28 lead on a 12-yard run by Mike Franklin with 1:44 left in the third quarter. They sealed the win with a 12-yard Holly run with 1:04 remaining in the game.

Linebacker Tay James' interception with 15 seconds closed out the game.

Coach Marshall Faulk credited his team's win to dominating time of possession 42 minutes, 29 seconds to the Braves’ 17:31.

“Having the ball (more than) 42 minutes in the game, you know, takes the air out of any offense,” Faulk said. “We made every possession important for them, and they had to get points. And it's the kind of game we want to play. You play against a team that has a good offense. You've got to be at your best at what you do. And tonight, tonight we were.”

Holly finished with 33 carries for 165 yards and three touchdowns as Southern racked up 296 yards rushing.

Southern's last score was set up by the first turnover of the game when defensive lineman Habib Bello and De'Myrion Johnson forced a fumble recovered by defensive back Donald Johnson.

Alcorn State entered the game first in the FCS in scoring (42.5 points), second in yards passing (3,049) and third in total offense (4,874).

Braves quarterback Jaylon Tolbert, a senior, showed why on the first play of the third quarter. Tolbert flicked an 88-yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Rush, who was uncovered, to give Alcorn a 28-27 lead with 11:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Before Franklin’s response to regain the lead, Southern had to keep up with the high-powered Braves’ offense. While Southern usually prefers to stick to its powerful running game, Faulk leaned more on quarterback Christian Johnson.

He started to take control during a 13-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that gave Southern a 27-21 lead with eight seconds before halftime. During the drive, Johnson had a 25-yard scramble on third-and-12 and threw the ball seven times, including the 3-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Isiah Pina.

“The (offensive) line, the whole game, they led this whole offense,” Christian Johnson said.

After throwing 22 passes in the past two games combined, Johnson completed 17 of 24 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 38 yards.

“His running, his ability to be a dual-threat quarterback for us and scrambling to get the tough first downs, that's huge for us,” Faulk said.

Holly was again the centerpiece of the Southern offense. The 5-foot-7, 192-pound had a 47-yard gain on his second carry before being dragged down at the Alcorn 4-yard line.

Holly ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns on 11 attempts in the first quarter alone. His shorter runs were also effective as he bounced off the first contact often and routinely fell forward.

After Holly had a 19-yard reception with a little less than minutes left before halftime, he didn’t return to close the second quarter after getting shaken up. However, he played the rest of the second half.

Franklin added 85 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown for Southern.

“Seeing Michael Franklin, seeing him run hard, made me we want to get back out there and do the same thing,” Holly said. “Nobody wanted to tackle that man. I don't want tackle him. So just seeing him run hard, he hyping me up when I run him, I’m hyping him up, it's just unstoppable.”

Southern ran 10 straight run plays before Christian Johnson passed 30 yards to wideout Daejawn Smith on a crossing route. Smith finished with six catches for a season's-best 105 yards.

Two run plays later, Holly punched in his second rushing touchdown of the game, giving the Jaguars a 13-0 advantage with 2:36 remaining in the first period.

Johnson was efficient, often throwing when Alcorn State least expected. One of senior adviser Fred McNair’s sharper play calls was for a 3-yard touchdown pass that gave the Jaguars a 20-7 lead with 11:19 left in half. Johnson faked a halfback toss to Holly and fired a pass to the left corner of the end zone to tight end Emeka Iloh.

Faulk said he knew his defensive backfield would be critical in limiting Alcorn State’s offense. Cornerback Ty Lee was active early. While he had a potential interception bounce off his chest, the sophomore also broke up two passes.

Alcorn didn’t score again after its long touchdown to start the third period, and the fourth-quarter fumble on the Southern 12-yard line represented the Jaguars’ will.

“We have been a bend (but not) break mentality,” defensive back Donald Johnson saud. “We knew they were driving the balls, but we refused to let them into the end zone. We weren't going to let that happen.”

Ckeby Givens also made life easier for his defensive backs. On a third-and-22 from Alcorn’s 46-yard line, Givens got his first sack. Givens finished with two sacks and now holds the record for most career sacks in program history (41).