There may not be a better opening night in Mississippi football than what the MACCC has lined up for Thursday.
All 14 of Mississippi’s junior college football programs will hit the field, and for the first time under the MACCC’s new scheduling format, there is no division schedule to hide behind. The league has expanded to a 10-game regular season, with each program playing five at home and five on the road.
Before the first football is kicked off Thursday night, Magnolia Coast Sports is ranking all 14 teams. These aren’t necessarily predictions of where everyone will finish in October. Think of them as a starting point — and with seven games Thursday night, there’s a pretty good chance this order looks different by Friday morning.
No. 1 Northwest Mississippi at No. 7 Jones College
If you’re looking for the game of the night, Ellisville is probably the place to be. Northwest comes into 2026 trying to defend back-to-back MACCC championships, and the Rangers immediately get a road test against a Jones program entering Year 2 under Lytrel Pollard. Northwest won last year’s championship game 16-13 over Gulf Coast, and there isn’t much reason to move the Rangers off the top spot until somebody knocks them off.
For Jones, this is a heck of an opportunity. Beat the No. 1 team in our rankings on opening night at Bobcat Stadium, and the Bobcats could make one of the biggest jumps in the rankings before September even arrives.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. — Ellisville
No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast vs. No. 14 Coahoma
Gulf Coast came within three points of winning the MACCC championship last season, finishing 9-2 after losing 16-13 to Northwest in the title game. The Bulldogs enter 2026 with championship expectations again, and Perkinston should provide a good opening-night setting against Coahoma. Gulf Coast won this matchup 56-3 last season, but JUCO rosters turn over so quickly that assuming Thursday will simply be a repeat would be dangerous.
For Coahoma, there might not be a tougher place to begin a season. The Tigers get a chance to find out immediately where they stand against one of the conference’s measuring-stick programs.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. — Perkinston
No. 3 Copiah-Lincoln vs. No. 13 Mississippi Delta
Co-Lin enters the season at No. 3 in our rankings and gets an opportunity to establish itself immediately at home in Wesson. The Wolves have become one of those programs capable of making life miserable for anybody in the conference, and there isn’t much room for easing into things with the new 10-game MACCC schedule.
Mississippi Delta comes in near the bottom of our preseason rankings, but opening night in junior college football can produce some strange results. If the Trojans can hang around into the second half, suddenly all the preseason expectations surrounding Co-Lin won’t mean very much.
Kickoff: Thursday — Wesson
No. 4 East Mississippi at No. 12 Southwest Mississippi
The names change in Scooba, but the expectation rarely does. East Mississippi enters another season as one of the programs everyone in the MACCC measures themselves against, and the Lions begin 2026 on the road in Summit.
That makes this an interesting opening test for Southwest. The Bears get East Mississippi at home with nothing to lose and an opportunity to completely change the perception of their season in one night. If EMCC is going to make another run toward the top of the conference, this is the kind of road game the Lions simply have to handle.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. — Summit
No. 5 Hinds vs. No. 6 Itawamba
This might be the most evenly matched game on Thursday’s schedule. We have Hinds fifth and Itawamba sixth, which means somebody is going to come out of opening night with an early argument that they belong among the conference’s top four.
The Eagles get the advantage of opening at home in Raymond, but Itawamba has become a program that can’t simply be brushed aside in the MACCC conversation. With Northwest, Gulf Coast, Co-Lin and East Mississippi occupying our first four spots, Thursday could be an opportunity for one of these two to crash that group.
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. — Raymond
No. 8 East Central at No. 11 Northeast Mississippi
East Central sits right in the middle of our preseason rankings, which makes Thursday’s trip to Booneville an important one. The Warriors have an opportunity to establish themselves as a team that belongs in the upper half of the league rather than getting lost in what should be a crowded middle tier.
Northeast gets this one at Tiger Stadium, and home field could make it considerably more interesting than the rankings suggest. With a 10-game conference schedule waiting after opening night, getting that first win could become especially valuable later in the season.
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. — Booneville
No. 9 Pearl River vs. No. 10 Holmes
If Hinds-Itawamba is the battle near the top of the middle tier, Pearl River-Holmes might be the hardest game on the schedule to predict. We have the Wildcats ninth and Holmes 10th, and there isn’t enough separation between the two heading into Week 1 to feel particularly comfortable about either side.
Pearl River does get the benefit of opening at Dobie Holden Stadium in Poplarville. For a Wildcats program looking to turn the page and climb back toward the upper half of the MACCC, beating the team sitting directly behind it in our rankings would be a pretty good place to start.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. — Poplarville
Thursday night is going to tell us plenty, but it probably won’t answer everything. That’s part of what makes Mississippi junior college football so entertaining. Rosters turn over, future SEC players can seemingly appear out of nowhere, and the team everyone overlooked in August can look completely different by the middle of September.
For now, Northwest gets the benefit of the doubt at No. 1. Gulf Coast is right behind the Rangers after coming within three points of the conference championship last season, while Co-Lin and East Mississippi round out the first tier.
Magnolia Coast Sports Preseason MACCC Power Rankings
1. Northwest Mississippi
2. Mississippi Gulf Coast
3. Copiah-Lincoln
4. East Mississippi
5. Hinds
6. Itawamba
7. Jones College
8. East Central
9. Pearl River
10. Holmes
11. Northeast Mississippi
12. Southwest Mississippi
13. Mississippi Delta
14. Coahoma
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