MIAMI, Fla. – A near-perfect opening quarter from its offense and a swarming defense lifted Jax State to a resounding 41-16 Conference USA victory over Florida International on Wednesday.
 
The Gamecocks (7-2, 5-1) raced to a 21-point lead at FIU Stadium by scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions and limiting the Panthers to 32 total yards during the first half.
 
Quarterback Zion Webb ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, accounting for 230 scrimmage yards as Jax State continued making its case for bowl game selection with a second straight impressive effort before a national TV audience.
 
Former Jacksonville High standout Ron Wiggins returned from a five-game absence due to injury and contributed two rushing touchdowns, finishing with 61 yards on nine carries.
 
"We talked all week that we haven't gotten off to a fast start all year," said Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez. "We got off to a great start – we got control early and that was good to see.
 
"We were seeing the field well and executing well. The guys played hard and it was good enough to win."
 
FIU, which needs two wins in its last three games to secure one of CUSA's guaranteed bowl slots, fell to 4-5 and 1-5.
 
The Gamecocks welcomed the return of running backs Wiggins and Malik Jackson from injuries and both made an immediate impact. Jax State rushed for 265 yards vs. FIU and averaged almost five yards per carry.
 
Anwar Lewis lined up behind Webb in the backfield to start the game and ripped off a run of 21 yards to get Jax State's offense into gear. Webb did the rest with completions of 17 and seven yards, then finished off the TD drive with a 13-yard run at the 9:17 mark in the first quarter.
 
The lead went to 14-0 as the Gamecocks needed just five plays to find the end zone again.
 
Wiggins, making his first appearance since sustaining an injury at Coastal Carolina on Sept. 9, gained 12 yards on his initial carry, then scored his third touchdown of the season with a nifty 22-yard run to finish off a 61-yard drive at the 6:23 mark in the first.
 
Webb connected with tight end Sean Brown on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 1:14 remaining in the opening quarter as the Gamecocks moved 60 yards in nine plays for their third touchdown.  Junior kicker Alen Karajic's third PAT extended the lead to 21-0.
 
Karajic sent Jax State to the locker room with a 24-3 edge at the break with a 28-yard field goal with five seconds to go. He added a 38-yard field goal early in the third as Jax State extended its lead to 27-3.
 
Jax State out-gained the Panthers 269-32 through the first two quarters.
 
FIU sliced the deficit to 27-16 by the end of the third quarter with a pair of touchdown passes in a span of seven minutes.
 
Wiggins and Webb had fourth-quarter touchdown runs of 16 and three yards, respectively, as Jax State turned back the Panthers' rally.
 
Linebacker Laletia Hale, Jr., was Jax State's leading tackler with nine.
 
Jax State will play its first Saturday game in 42 days when it travels to Columbia, S.C., on Nov. 4, to face Southeastern Conference foe South Carolina for a battle of the Gamecocks. The matchup marks the ninth SEC opponent Jax State has faced in history.
 
Kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium is scheduled for 11 a.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
 
 
Jax State Postgame Notes – Florida International
October 25, 2023 • FIU Stadium • Miami, Fla.
 

• JSU Captains: Redshirt senior linebacker Quae Drake, redshirt senior Jamarye Joiner, redshirt senior defensive lineman Jeff Marks
• JSU won the toss and elected to defer.
• Head Coach Rich Rodriguez is now 16-4 at the helm of Jax State in his second season.
• Jax State moves to 2-0 all-time against FIU with both games coming in Miami.
• Wednesday's game was the fifth in a string of six consecutive nationally-televised games for the Gamecocks – four straight on ESPNU followed by one on CBS Sports Network, and another on ESPNU versus South Carolina on Nov. 4.
• Junior defensive end Chris Hardie moved past Chris Landrum (39.5 from 2013-15) into second place on Jax State's career tackles for loss list with his 40th on a sack of FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins in the first quarter. Hardie trails only Darius Jackson, who recorded 60.5 TFLs from 2014-17.
• Redshirt-senior safety Jeremiah Harris finished with six tackles to move pass Kenny Brown (2002-06) and Jonathan Crutcher (2001-04) to eight on Jax State's career tackles list with 240.
• FIU finished with 12 first downs, but had just four in the first half as the Gamecocks held their largest halftime lead of the season at 24-3 at intermission.  
• Ron Wiggins made his first appearance in the first quarter since an injury at Coastal Carolina on Sept. 9 and gained 12 yards on his first carry and had a 22-yard TD run on his second rush.
• The Gamecocks, who had only two penalties for 13 yards a week earlier against Western Kentucky, were flagged just one time for 15 yards vs. FIU
• Junior kicker Alen Karajic connected on both of his field goal attempts (28, 38 yards) against FIU for his 42nd and 43rd career field goals to close in on the school record of 49 held by Gavin Hallford (2004-08).
• Karajic has now tallied 24 points in two appearances at FIU. Karajic kicked four field goals and a PAT in the Gamecocks' 19-10 win over the Panthers in the abbreviated 2020 fall schedule, and added a pair of field goals and five extra points Wednesday night.
• With 125 yards rushing, senior quarterback Zion Webb tied Kory Chapman, Daniel Jackson and Josh Samuel with his sixth career 100-yard rushing contest.
• Junior linebacker Laletia Hale led the Gamecock defense with nine tackles.