2023 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

2023 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football

New Orleans Bowl champion
New Orleans Bowl, W 34–31 ^OT vs. Louisiana
Conference	Conference USA
Record	9–4 (6–2 C-USA)
Head coach	Rich Rodriguez (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Rod Smith (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread option
Defensive coordinator	Zac Alley (2nd season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Conference USA football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 25 Liberty y$	8	–	0	13	–	1
New Mexico State y	7	–	1	10	–	5
Jacksonville State*	6	–	2	9	–	4
Western Kentucky	5	–	3	8	–	5
Middle Tennessee	3	–	5	4	–	8
UTEP	2	–	6	3	–	9
Sam Houston*	2	–	6	3	–	9
Louisiana Tech	2	–	6	3	–	9
FIU	1	–	7	4	–	8
Championship: Liberty 49, New Mexico State 35
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant * – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team represented Jacksonville State University as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gamecocks were led by second-year head coach Rich Rodriguez and played home games at the Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama as first-year members of Conference USA.^[1]

Due to the lack of bowl-eligible teams, and despite a two-year transition period to FBS with a ban from postseason play, the Gamecocks received a bid to the New Orleans Bowl, where they defeated Louisiana 34–31 in overtime.

Offseason

Transfers

Outgoing

Player	Position	Destination
DJ Coleman	DL	Unknown
Amon Scarbrough	S	Alabama State
Brevyn Jones	OT	West Georgia
Osiris Smith	LB	Grambling State
TJ Lockley	WR	Unknown
Aaron McLaughlin	QB	Unknown
Kraeton Muenchau	IOL	Unknown
Patrick Jackson	RB	Unknown
Charles Padgett	OT	Unknown
Ahmad Edwards	WR	Ball State

Incoming

Player	Position	Previous school
Logan Smothers	QB	Nebraska
Travis Collier	CB	Western Kentucky
Dallan Wright	WR	Virginia Tech
Quae Drake	EDGE	ULM
Austin Ambush	S	Maine
Jamarye Joiner	WR	Arizona
J'Wan Evans	RB	San Manteo
Malik Jackson	RB	ULM

^[2]

Preseason

Conference USA media poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Conference USA media poll
1	Western Kentucky	(18)
2	Liberty	(4)
3	Middle Tennessee
4	Louisiana Tech
5	New Mexico State
6	UTEP
7	Jacksonville State
T8	FIU
T8	Sam Houston

Source:^[3]

Schedule

Jacksonville State and Conference USA announced the 2023 football schedule on January 10, 2023.^[4]^[5]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 26	4:30 p.m.	UTEP	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	CBSSN	W 17–14	17,982
September 2	1:00 p.m.	East Tennessee State*	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN+	W 49–3	21,276
September 9	6:00 p.m.	at Coastal Carolina*	Brooks Stadium Conway, SC	ESPN+	L 16–30	16,006
September 23	4:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan*	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN+	W 21–0	20,966
September 28	7:00 p.m.	at Sam Houston	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX	ESPNU	W 35–28 ^OT	14,566
October 4	7:00 p.m.	at Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN	ESPNU	W 45–30	13,066
October 10	7:30 p.m.	Liberty	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPNU	L 13–31	21,745
October 17	6:30 p.m.	Western Kentucky	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPNU	W 20–17	17,977
October 25	6:00 p.m.	at FIU	Riccardo Silva Stadium Westchester, FL	CBSSN	W 41–16	14,074
November 4	11:00 a.m.	at South Carolina*	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ESPNU	L 28–38	75,348
November 18	1:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN+	W 56–17	20,252
November 25	3:00 p.m.	at New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM	ESPN+	L 17–20	15,702
December 16	1:15 p.m.	vs. Louisiana*	Caesars Superdome New Orleans, LA (New Orleans Bowl)	ESPN	W 34–31 ^OT	14,485
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Central time

Game summaries

vs UTEP

UTEP Miners (0-0) vs Jacksonville State Gamecocks (0-0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	0	7	0	7	14
• Gamecocks	3	7	7	0	17

Date: August 26
Location: Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium
Jacksonville, Alabama
Game start: 4:30 p.m. CST/2:30 p.m. PST
Elapsed time: 3 hours and 15 minutes
Game attendance: 17,982
Game weather: Sunny, 97 °F (36 °C)
Referee: Ron Hudson
TV announcers (CBSSN): Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst), Amanda Guerra (sideline)

Sources:

Scoring summary

1st	4:57	JSU	Alen Karajic 41-yard field goal	JSU 3–0

2nd	13:26	JSU	Ron Wiggins 4-yard run (Alen Karajic kick)	JSU 10–0

2nd	0:00	UTEP	Deion Hankins 1-yard run (Buzz Flabiano kick)	JSU 10–7

3rd	7:47	JSU	Malik Jackson 7-yard run (Alen Karajic kick)	JSU 17–7

4th	12:19	UTEP	Kelly Akharaiyi 32-yard pass from Gavin Hardison (Buzz Flabiano kick)	JSU 17–14

Statistics	UTEP	Jacksonville State
First downs	22	15
Plays–yards	72–364	62–277
Rushes–yards	156	210
Passing yards	208	67
Passing: comp–att–int	17–29–2	10–20–0
Time of possession	34:38	25:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UTEP	Passing	Gavin Hardison	17/29, 208 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Torrance Burgess Jr.	12 carries, 58 yards
	Receiving	Kelly Akharaiyi	4 receptions, 102 yards, 1 TD
Jacksonville State	Passing	Zion Webb	10/20, 67 yards
	Rushing	Malik Jackson	13 carries, 76 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Ron Wiggins	2 receptions, 24 yards

vs East Tennessee State

East Tennessee State Buccaneers (FCS) (0-0) vs Jacksonville State Gamecocks (1-0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers (FCS)	3	0	0	0	3
• Gamecocks	14	7	21	7	49

Date: September 2
Location: Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium
Jacksonville, Alabama
Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST/11:00 a.m. PST
TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD

Sources:

Scoring summary

Statistics	East Tennessee State	Jacksonville State
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
East Tennessee State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Jacksonville State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Coastal Carolina

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (2-0) vs Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (0-1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	6	3	0	7	16
• Chanticleers	7	3	13	7	30

Date: September 9
Location: Brooks Stadium
Conway, South Carolina
Game start: 6:00 p.m. CST/4:00 p.m. PST
TV announcers (ESPN+): TBD

Sources:

Scoring summary

Statistics	Jacksonville State	Coastal Carolina
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Jacksonville State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Coastal Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Eastern Michigan

Eastern Michigan Eagles (2-1) vs Jacksonville State Gamecocks (2-1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	0	0	0
• Gamecocks	7	7	7	0	21

Date: September 23
Location: Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium
Jacksonville, Alabama
Game start: 4:00 p.m. CST/2:00 p.m. PST
TV announcers (ESPN Networks): TBD

Sources:

Scoring summary

Statistics	Eastern Michigan	Jacksonville State
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Eastern Michigan	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Jacksonville State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Sam Houston

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (3-1) vs Sam Houston Bearkats (0-3)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	7	0	7	14	28
Bearkats	14	7	0	7	28

Date: September 28
Location: Bowers Stadium
Huntsville, Texas
Game start: 7:00 p.m. CST/5:00 p.m. PST
Elapsed time: 3 hours and 36 minutes
Game attendance: 14,566
Game weather: Sunny, 90 °F (32 °C)
Referee: John Lehring
TV announcers (ESPNU): Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Louis Riddick (Analyst), and Harry Lyles Jr. (sideline reporter)

Sources:

Scoring summary

1st	9:47	JSU	Malik Jackson 26-yard run (Alen Karajic kick) (4 plays, 86 yards, 0:51)	JSU 7–0

1st	8:10	SAM	John Gentry 56-yard pass (Colby Sessums kick) (4 plays, 75 yards, 1:37)	TIE 7–7

1st	1:37	SAM	Noah Smith 22-yard pass (Keegan Shoemaker kick) (3 plays, 38 yards, 1:02)	SAM 14–7

2nd	10:20	SAM	Trapper Pannell 3-yard run (Colby Sessums kick) (11 plays, 89 yards, 5:02)	SAM 21–7

3rd	8:32	JSU	Michael Pettway 31-yard pass from Logan Smothers (Alen Karajic kick) (5 plays, 60 yards, 1:46)	SAM 21–14

4th	8:44	JSU	Logan Smothers 16-yard run (3 plays, 31 yards, 0:57)	SAM 21–20

4th	1:11	SAM	Trapper Pannell 1-yard run (Colby Sessums kick) (7 plays, 20 yards, 3:00)	SAM 28–20

4th	0:13	SAM	Perry Carter 28-yard pass from Logan Smothers (Quinton Lane kick) (8 plays, 75 yards, 0:58)	TIE 28–28

OT	0:00	JSU	Sean Brown 24-yard pass from Logan Smothers (Alen Karajic kick) (2 plays, 25 yards, 0:00)	JSU 35–28

Statistics	Jacksonville State	Sam Houston State
First downs	20	25
Plays–yards	393	435
Rushes–yards	196	136
Passing yards	197	299
Passing: comp–att–int	16–33–1	23–39–1
Time of possession	17:36	42:24

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Jacksonville State	Passing	Logan Smothers	16/28, 197 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Malik Jackson	13 rushes, 129 yards, TD
	Receiving	Michael Pettway	3 receptions, 74 yards, TD
Sam Houston State	Passing	Keegan Shoemaker	22/38, 285 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	John Gentry	30 rushes, 97 yards
	Receiving	Noah Smith	10 receptions, 97 yards, TD

at Middle Tennessee

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (4-1) vs Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (1-4)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	0	0	0	0	0
Blue Raiders	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 4
Location: Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Game start: 7:00 p.m. CST/4:00 p.m. PST
Game attendance: 13,066
TV announcers (ESPNU): TBD

Sources:

Scoring summary

Statistics	Jacksonville State	Middle Tennessee
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Jacksonville State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Middle Tennessee	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Liberty

Liberty Flames (5-0) vs Jacksonville State Gamecocks (5-1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Flames	0	0	0	0	0
Gamecocks	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 10
Location: Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium
Jacksonville, Alabama
Game start: 7:30 p.m. CST/5:30 p.m. PST
Game attendance: 21,745
TV announcers (ESPNU): TBD

Sources:

Scoring summary

Statistics	Liberty	Jacksonville State
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Liberty	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Jacksonville State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Western Kentucky

Game Eight – Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (4-2) at Jacksonville State Gamecocks (5-2) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Western Kentucky	10	7	0	0	17
Jacksonville State	0	10	0	10	20

at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium • Jacksonville, Alabama

Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Game time: 6:30 p.m. CST
Game weather: Clear, 56 °F (13 °C)
Game attendance: 17,977
Referee: -
TV announcers (ESPNU): Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Derek Mason (analyst)

Game information
First quarter (8:52) WKU – Dalvin Smith 10-yard pass from Austin Reed (Lucas Carneiro kick) (Drive: 8 plays, 53 yards, 2:20; Western Kentucky 7-0) (1:55) WKU – Lucas Carneiro 28-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 79 yards, 5:01; Western Kentucky 10-0) Second quarter (12:45) JVST – Zion Webb 10-yard run (Alen Karajic kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:14; Western Kentucky 10-7) (8:36) WKU – River Helms 3-yard pass from Austin Reed (Lucas Carneiro kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 40 yards, 2:09; Western Kentucky 17-7) (5:35) JVST – Alen Karajic 23-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 3:01; Western Kentucky 17-10) Third quarter No scoring plays. Fourth quarter (4:40) JVST – Anwar Lewis 26-yard run (Alen Karajic kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 91 yards, 3:39; Tied 17-17) (0:00) JVST – Alen Karajic 41-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 2:32; Jacksonville State 20-17)

Game information

First quarter

(8:52) WKU – Dalvin Smith 10-yard pass from Austin Reed (Lucas Carneiro kick) (Drive: 8 plays, 53 yards, 2:20; Western Kentucky 7-0)
(1:55) WKU – Lucas Carneiro 28-yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 79 yards, 5:01; Western Kentucky 10-0)

Second quarter

(12:45) JVST – Zion Webb 10-yard run (Alen Karajic kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:14; Western Kentucky 10-7)
(8:36) WKU – River Helms 3-yard pass from Austin Reed (Lucas Carneiro kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 40 yards, 2:09; Western Kentucky 17-7)
(5:35) JVST – Alen Karajic 23-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 70 yards, 3:01; Western Kentucky 17-10)

Third quarter

No scoring plays.

Fourth quarter

(4:40) JVST – Anwar Lewis 26-yard run (Alen Karajic kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 91 yards, 3:39; Tied 17-17)
(0:00) JVST – Alen Karajic 41-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 2:32; Jacksonville State 20-17)

Statistics	WKU	JVST
First downs	16	27
Total yards	72–339	95–484
Rushing yards	24–89	55–262
Passing yards	250	222
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	24–48–1	23–40–1
Time of possession	26:56	33:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	24/48, 250 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Elijah Young	10 carries, 39 yards
	Receiving	K.D. Hutchinson	4 receptions, 52 yards
Jacksonville State	Passing	Zion Webb	22/39, 218 yards, INT
	Rushing	Zion Webb	28 carries, 146 yards, TD
	Receiving	P.J. Wells	5 receptions, 53 yards

at FIU

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (6-2) vs FIU Panthers (4-4)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	0	0	0	0	0
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 25
Location: Riccardo Silva Stadium
Westchester, Florida
Game start: 6:00 p.m. CST/4:00 p.m. PST
Game attendance: 14,074
TV announcers (CBSSN): TBD

Sources:

Scoring summary

Statistics	Jacksonville State	Florida International
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Jacksonville State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Florida International	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at South Carolina

Game Ten – Jacksonville State Gamecocks at South Carolina Gamecocks – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Jacksonville State	0	0	0	0	0
South Carolina	0	0	0	0	0

at Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina

Date: Saturday, November 4, 2023
Game time: TBD EST
Game weather: -
Game attendance: -
Referee: -
TV announcers (TBD): TBD