No. 13 Gulf Coast faces No. 11 Hinds on the road

Mississippi Gulf Coast continues a tough opening section of its schedule Thursday, heading back on the road to Hinds.

The Bulldogs (2-1, 1-0 MACJC South) moved up one spot in the latest NJCAA poll to 13^th, with the Eagles (3-0, 1-0) leapfrogging them to 11^th.

It will be Gulf Coast's third road trip in its first four weeks, the second time it's played a ranked team on its own field.

"They're 3-0 for a reason," Gulf Coast head coach Chad Huff said. "They're playing really well right now. We're going to have to go on the road and handle the environment."

The game will be broadcast on SuperTalk 103.1 FM and streamed online at BulldogLIVE. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m.

Gulf Coast has won the last 10 meetings dating back to 2005. The Bulldogs lead the overall series 43-32-1.

One point of emphasis for the Bulldogs this week has been taking care of the ball. They are plus-1 in turnover ratio – the same as Hinds – but they haven't played a clean game so far.

Gulf Coast has thrown an interception and fumbled seven times, losing three of those.

"We haven't had a week where we haven't turned the ball over," Huff said. "Ball security is continuously being addressed."

Hinds is led by quarterback Jaquez Parks, who has completed 32 of 65 passes for 521 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions.

Javon Wims has 15 catches for 33 yards and four of those TDs. Jahmmir Taylor is a big receiver who has eight catches for 122 yards.

"They've got some speed at wideout," Huff said. "They've got a great system and do a great job executing the offense. We're going to have to be able to stop the run and the pass."

Tyus Raine has run 26 times for 151 yards, but the team is averaging more than 200 yards per game with four running backs with at least 88 yards.

The defense has sophomore transfer Marcus Loud up front leading them with 19 tackles. Loud played at Missouri and also has a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

"They do a good a good job of mixing their defenses, from a three-man front to a four-man," Huff said. "There are some different looks. We're going to have to do a tremendous job executing and making our calls."

Gulf Coast picked up its intensity last week in a 30-14 win over East Central. Keeping that momentum will require another similar effort.

"We want to focus on doing our jobs, winning the individual battles," Huff said. "If we can all do that at the same time, we've got a chance to be successful. We're just trying to become a better football team in all phases."