Tag: Jacksonville State Gamecocks

Troy, Jacksonville State renew rivalry in Salute to Veterans Bowl

Posted on | by Field Level Media

A pair of predominantly 20th century in-state rivals will meet for the first time in 24 years on Tuesday, as Troy and Jacksonville State battle in the Salute to Veterans Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.

Separated by less than 200 miles, the two programs have met 63 times, but haven’t played since 2001, when Troy became an FBS program.

In head coach Gerad Parker’s second season at the helm, the Trojans (8-5) are looking to win their seventh bowl game while earning bragging rights in the “Battle for the Ol’ School Bell.”

“You’ve got two storied universities that are coming together in a great place and the great city of Montgomery,” Parker said. “Two universities that have similar paths of winning championships and growing through smaller divisions all the way to Division I, where we are now. It’s good for the state.”

Troy’s season was highlighted by a five-game winning streak and an appearance in the Sun Belt championship game, a 31-14 loss to James Madison. In four games since returning from injury, quarterback Goose Crowder has thrown for seven touchdowns and added another on the ground as the hard-nosed leader of the team.

“He’s gotten better every week,” Parker said of Crowder. “I’m proud of him. He’s grown. I think he got better in each game he played since he returned.”

Troy will be without leading rusher Tae Meadows (695 rushing yards, six touchdowns) as the junior intends to enter the transfer portal. Jordan Lovett (317 rushing yards) will be relied on in the Trojans’ ground game.

After a successful run at the FCS level, Jacksonville State has continued to excel at the highest level, playing in its third bowl game in as many seasons. The Gamecocks (8-5) fell 19-15 to Kennesaw State in the Conference USA title game, but have an opportunity for a postseason win under first-year head coach Charles Kelly.

“The state of college football right now, you’re managing the roster and doing the things it takes to be able to play for championships and go to a bowl game. It’s challenging,” Kelly said. “But we’re very thankful to be here and very humbled to be playing a great opponent.”

Jacksonville State is paced by CUSA Player of the Year and the nation’s leading rusher in Cam Cook. The junior has run for 1,659 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, spearheading FBS’ fourth-best ground attack. The Gamecocks average 258 rushing yards per game.

“First of all, he’s very competitive,” Kelly said of Cook. “He’s a great young man. He doesn’t say a whole lot. He’s just a natural back. He can see, he can make cuts, he can do all the things that great backs do.”

Caden Creel has thrown for 1,341 yards in 13 games across his freshman year, while leading the conference’s quarterbacks with 1,085 yards on the ground.

Jacksonville State is searching for its second bowl victory after beating Louisiana in the 2023 New Orleans Bowl.

-Field Level Media

Dec 20, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Ohio Bobcats running back Anthony Tyus III (2) reacts after a play against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in the second quarter at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Parker Navarro leads Ohio past Jacksonville State in Cure Bowl

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Parker Navarro accounted for four total touchdowns, all in the first half, and Ohio held on to beat Jacksonville State 30-27 in the Cure Bowl on Friday in Orlando, Fla.

Navarro racked up 365 yards — 255 passing, 110 rushing — and Anthony Tyus III finished with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown catch as Ohio (11-3) clinched its first 11-win season in program history.

Jacksonville State (9-5) entered the game with the second-best rushing offense in FBS at 267.3 yards per game. The Bobcats held the Gamecocks to 48 rushing yards on 33 carries.

Tyler Huff completed 20 of 32 passes for 349 yards with a touchdown and an interception to guide the Gamecocks’ comeback efforts.

Down 30-14 early in the fourth quarter, Jacksonville State managed a 3-yard touchdown run by Tre Stewart with 9:52 left. The Gamecocks attempted a two-point conversion to make it an eight-point game, but Ohio’s Adonis Williams Jr. blew up the handoff in the backfield.

Ohio drove to the opponent’s 15-yard line, but Ky’won McCray batted a pass high in the air and tracked down the interception. The Gamecocks then rolled down the field, converting two fourth downs before Stewart punched it in again from the 1.

However, the Bobcats ran out the final 3:35. Tyus converted a key third-and-9 with a catch-and-run for 13 yards.

On Ohio’s third possession, Navarro kept the ball on an option, faked a throw on the run and scrambled in from the 17-yard line to open the scoring. Navarro’s 29-yard rush up the middle on the next drive helped set up his second touchdown, an 8-yard run.

Jacksonville State got on the board with just one play on the ensuing drive. Huff hit Cam Vaughn on the run for a 75-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 by first quarter’s end.

With 4:59 left in the second quarter, Navarro rolled right and scored on a 7-yarder. The PAT missed, leaving it 20-7 Ohio.

Ohio linebacker Shay Taylor was ejected after suplexing a Jacksonville State player and stepping on him afterwards.

The Gamecocks couldn’t convert a 45-yard field goal, and Ohio made them pay as Navarro engineered an eight-play, 80-yard drive in just 1:19. He flipped an 11-yard TD pass to Tyus for a 27-7 halftime score.

A bad Ohio punt gave Jacksonville State possession at the Bobcats’ 20-yard line. Three plays later, Huff ran in from 7 yards to cut it to 27-14.

–Field Level Media

Louisville Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough (9) catches the ball during their game against the Austin Peay Governors on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

No. 22 Louisville hosts ‘well-coached’ Jacksonville State

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Ranked in the Top 25 in September for the first time since 2020, No. 22 Louisville looks to continue its strong start on Saturday at home against Jacksonville State.

The visiting Gamecocks were favored in last week’s opener against Coastal Carolina, but coach Rich Rodriguez’s team turned the ball over three times, allowed 552 yards of total offense and dropped a 55-27 decision at home.

On the flip side, the Cardinals were heavily favored at home last week and decked Austin Peay 62-0, allowing just 106 yards of total offense.

“(It’s) a great opportunity for our players be in a great venue against a really good team,” Rodriguez said. “Our guys know the challenge in front of them, and I think they’ll give great effort, great focus all week by getting the chance to play Louisville, who I think is, probably the best team in the ACC, at least one of the best teams.”

Louisville has 41 newcomers on the roster after going 10-4 last season, making it to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game for the first time in school history. Second-year coach Jeff Brohm has warned his team that Jacksonville State “will be ready for this opportunity.”

Brohm and Rodriguez met once before, when the former’s Purdue squad edged Arizona 38-35 in the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl.

“He’s very good and he’s been doing this a long time,” Brohm said of Rodriguez, who also coached at West Virginia and Michigan.

“You know when you are going against him there’s a lot to prepare for. He understands the game, he gets it, he’s done it and he knows how to take players and maximize their talent level. So, we’ll have our hands full. This is a well-coached team and they’re going to be hungry coming off a loss at home.”

Louisville’s Tyler Shough, a transfer from Texas Tech, passed for 232 yards and four touchdowns in one half of play against Austin Peay. The Cardinals saw 15 players catch at least one pass and were led in rushing by true freshman Isaac Brown, who had 123 yards and one TD on five carries. Brown’s rushing total was the most by a true freshman in a debut in school history.

On defense, the Cardinals had 14 tackles for a loss and seven sacks.

The Gamecocks rotated two quarterbacks against Coastal Carolina and Rodriguez said that will likely continue, with Logan Smothers starting and Tyler Huff also playing. Huff completed 7 of 14 passes for 173 yards and one TD but two interceptions. Smothers had 61 yards on 7-of-13 passing.

“It’ll be a very, very talented team that plays hard, and like I said, they’ve got good players across the board, but we do too,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve got good players and it’ll be a fun game.”

This will be the first time Jacksonville State, a member of Conference USA, has played an ACC foe since upsetting Florida State in 2021.

–Field Level Media

Oct 28, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler (7) looks for a pass against Texas A&M Aggies during the first quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-USA TODAY Sports

South Carolina looks to end skid vs. Jacksonville State

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The South Carolina Gamecocks might be down, but they’re not out.

That’s the message from coach Shane Beamer, whose team steps out of the rugged Southeastern Conference to host Jacksonville State of Conference USA on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, S.C.

South Carolina (2-6) fell to 1-5 in the SEC when it lost 30-17 to Texas A&M last weekend in College Station, Texas. Now Beamer’s team needs victories in its last four games — all in Columbia — to reach six wins and gain bowl eligibility.

If that appears somewhere between highly unlikely and downright impossible, nobody told the players.

“You would have thought we were playing for the freaking Super Bowl the way we practiced out there today,” Beamer said Tuesday at his weekly press briefing.

Quarterback Spencer Rattler has completed 69.5 percent of his passes and thrown for 2,117 yards and 12 touchdowns. The offense is averaging 25.4 points per game.

However, South Carolina’s downfall has been its defense: No. 106 of 130 FBS teams in scoring defense at 31.5 points per game, and 114th in total defense (435 yards per game).

An additional problem for Beamer came Sunday when defensive back DQ Smith, who was ejected against Texas A&M after a targeting penalty, lost his appeal to the NCAA and will have to sit out the first half on Saturday.

Jacksonville State (7-2) is looking to capitalize, although it enters as a 15-point underdog.

Coach Rich Rodriguez’s team has played its last five games on weeknights, leading to the tag of a “reality show.”

“The five-week reality show is over, and now it’s a normal Saturday. It’s not normal when you’re playing an SEC team on the road, but at the same time, it’s a great opportunity,” Rodriguez said.

“If you polled most of our players, it’s like, yeah, I love playing an SEC team or playing against the best to measure themselves, and that’s what they get to do this weekend.”

The tag-team quarterback duo of Zion Webb and Logan Smothers have combined to throw for 1,386 yards and eight touchdowns with five interceptions, and running back Malik Jackson is averaging 5.4 yards a carry en route to 615 yards.

In Jacksonville State’s 41-16 defeat of host Florida International in Miami on Oct. 25, Webb threw for 105 yards and one score, and rushed for 125 yards and two more touchdowns.

Saturday’s game will mark the first time that collegiate teams using the Gamecocks mascot have faced each other.

–Field Level Media

May 6, 2022; Ashburn, Virginia, USA; A view of game balls in an equipment bag during Washington Commanders rookie minicamp at Inova Performance Center In Ashburn, VA. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Former Bucs TE Calvin Magee dies at 59

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Calvin Magee, who was in his first year as an assistant coach at Jacksonville State, died at age 59 after a suffered heart attack last weekend.

The school announced news of Magee’s death on Friday. No funeral details have been announced.

“Our hearts are broken with the loss of our beloved friend Calvin Magee,” Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez said in a statement. “Calvin was a great husband, great father and grandfather, great coach, great friend and great man. He impacted my life and the lives of so many others in such a positive way. … Our world is less, but heaven got better. I miss him dearly already. I love you my brother.”

Magee, who was hired by the school in December, also held titles of offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. He spent 25 of the previous 26 seasons at numerous FBS spots and served as offensive coordinator at five of them: West Virginia, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Arizona and New Mexico.

Magee was a star tight end at Southern University who was eventually inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2000. He joined the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 1985 and spent four seasons with the team.

The Buccaneers released a statement that reda, “Calvin Magee was part of the Tampa Bay community for many years, first as a Buccaneers player, and then as a high school and college coach. We send our condolences to his family, friends and the countless players he impacted in his more than three decades coaching the game.”

In his four NFL seasons, Magee caught 114 passes for 1,379 yards and 11 touchdown passes in 56 games (34 starts).

–Field Level Media

Sep 11, 2021; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive back Sidney Wiliams (23) knocks the ball loose from Jacksonville State Gamecocks wide receiver Ahmad Edwards (9) during the first quarter at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Jacksonville St. stuns Florida St. on final play of game

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Jacksonville State quarterback Zerrick Cooper threw a game-winning, walk-off 59-yard touchdown pass to Damond Philyaw-Johnson to complete a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback and shock host Florida State 20-17 on Saturday.

The shocking final play spoiled the storybook ending for Florida State QB McKenzie Milton.

The Seminoles came up short on a critical short third-down play nursing a 17-14 lead late. That miss gave the Gamecocks the ball back with 1:32 to go. From there, Cooper drove the Gamecocks from their own 17 to their 41.

Three plays later, the Gamecocks faced fourth down, and Cooper uncorked his deep throw for Philyaw-Johnson, who caught the ball around the 10, made one defender miss, and crossed the goal line for the win as time expired.

Cooper completed 17 of 38 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns.

Jacksonville State got within striking distance thanks to an 11-play, 97-yard touchdown drive with 4:45 left in the fourth. Cooper found Ahmad Edwards alone at the goal line for a 23-yard score.

As it did in going up 14-0 a year ago, Jacksonville State (0-2) struck first, scoring on a 15-play, 79-yard drive culminating in a Josh Samuel 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Cooper, who led the Gamecocks to an FCS playoff quarterfinals appearance in 2020, set the school record for passing yards (7,653) on the following drive, before a Pat Jackson fumble ended the scoring threat.

That turnover sparked the Seminoles. Milton completed two quick throws on the ensuing drive and Jashaun Corbin capped off the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run to even things up.

Florida State’s touchdown drive at the end of the first half came two possessions later and covered six plays and 45 yards.

Milton, the UCF transfer who recovered from a gruesome leg injury, completed 18-of-31 passes for 133 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown pass to Wyatt Rector with 9 seconds left in the first half to give the Seminoles (0-2) a 14-7 halftime lead.

It was Milton’s first touchdown pass since Nov. 23, 2018, against South Florida.

A 10-play, 35-yard drive culminated in a Ryan Fitzgerald 53-yard field goal with 4:20 left in the third to give Florida State a two-score lead.

Corbin, who wrecked the Gamecocks in a 41-24 win in 2020, rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

–Field Level Media