JACKSONVILLE – Jax State will hit the road for the first time as a Football Bowl Subdivision member owning an unblemished record after dominating FCS foe East Tennessee State 49-3 Saturday afternoon at Burgess-Snow Field.

The Band Day crowd of 21,276 watched the Gamecocks improve to 2-0 as quarterback Logan Smothers ran for two touchdowns and threw another in his first Jax State start.

The Buccaneers (0-1) took a 3-0 lead on its second series with a 22-yard field goal, only to see the Gamecocks score three touchdowns the rest of the first half. Jax State then exploded for three more TDs in the first eight minutes of the third quarter to quickly turn the contest into a rout.

The Gamecocks' opportunistic defense forced four turnovers, one week after coming up with three turnovers against UTEP. All four Bucs turnovers led directly to Jax State touchdowns.

Xavier Morrow and Jeff Marks recovered ETSU fumbles while Kekoura Tarnue and Jalen Bustamante each intercepted a pass.

"I thought it was a pretty solid performance. I thought we did what we were supposed to do," said Jax State head coach Rich Rodriguez, who earned his 174^th career victory, the ninth most among active FBS coaches. "We didn't have any turnovers and created some turnovers on defense. It was a good, solid win and we got to play a lot of people.

"The best you can be after two games is 2-0 and that's where we are. Now we know the competition gets a whole lot harder."

Smothers was very efficient at the helm of Jax State's offense for the first time as a starter.

The Muscle Shoals native – who learned he was starting on Saturday morning due to Zion Webb's illness – was 13-of-17 passing for 127 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Galban in the first quarter to give Jax State a lead it would never relinquish.

Smothers also ran a team-high 14 times for 40 yards and got into the end zone twice, the first short scoring run coming in the second quarter, and his second on a 3-yard run in the third quarter.

Webb played just one series due to sickness. "I found out I was starting this morning," Smothers said. "I've always had that 'next man up' mentality, so I was ready."

Malik Jackson ran for a game-high 100 yards on 12 carries and was one of four Gamecocks to rush for a touchdown (a 42-yard jaunt in the third quarter). Ron Wiggins had 58 yards, including a 10-yard TD run, J'Wan Evans scored on a pair of 2-yard runs and Smother scored twice on short keepers.

Alen Karajic converted all seven of his extra point tries and now has 224 points, ninth on the school's career scoring list. Karajic needs just three points to surpass Chris Hobbs (1981-84) for eighth place.

Jeremiah Harris, whose interception sealed the Week Zero Conference USA win over UTEP, led the Gamecocks with seven tackles.

The Gamecocks travel to play Sunbelt Conference member Coastal Carolina next Saturday in Conway, S.C. The Chanticleers, who have participated in bowl games the past three years, open their season later tonight at UCLA.

Kickoff at Brooks Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. This will be the first of two trips to the Palmetto State for the Gamecocks this season – they also travel to Columbia to meet South Carolina on Nov. 4.

Jax State is 3-2 all-time against teams from the state of South Carolina (1-0 at Wofford, 2-0 at Newberry, 0-2 at Furman).

Jacksonville State Head Coach Rich Rodriguez 
September 2, 2023 
The ETSU Game  

Opening comments: 
"I thought it was a pretty solid performance. I thought we did what we were supposed to do. Guys played hard; they were into it. Our execution offensively wasn't quite there at times, but we kind of simplified the plan a little bit once we got the lead. I thought our defense did another really good job on third down - was really active. Our special teams were solid. I think we had one pre-snap penalty, that kind of bothered me, and a couple penalties on defense that we need to clean up. We didn't have any turnovers, created some turnovers on defense. Got a good solid win, played a lot of people, might've played 70 guys. We got the win, best you can be after two games is 2-0 and that's where we're at. Now we know the competition gets a whole lot harder. I'm happy we got to play a lot of people." 

On Logan Smothers' performance: 
"His arm strength's coming back from labrum surgery. We didn't ask him to throw much, but when he did, early he missed a couple I think that might've been nerves or something. He was seeing the field well; he was making good reads. He's athletic, he can run a little bit. Up front, I thought our guys controlled, which they should've. When we started going tempo a little bit, I think it wore them down a little bit in the second half." 

On the run game: 
"We've got a lot of running backs. We wanted to see Reggion Bennett, I think he's a guy that's going to be in the mix quite a bit. He's been banged up, he had surgery last year, so he got in there. It was good to see J'Wan Evans get in there. We know Malik (Jackson) and Ronny (Wiggins) are pretty solid guys, so we'll play four or five guys at running back to keep fresh guys all game." 

On the defense: 
"Really good on third down on defense. Created some turnovers, getting some pressure on the quarterback. We missed a couple tackles for sacks, but for the most part, we tackled pretty well. Our defensive guys do a really good job of adjusting." 

Logan Smothers, QB, JR. 
On his start: 
"We scored touchdowns, so we got points on the board. That's all that matters." 

On playing in front of the crowd: 
"That's why I came here, to play here in front of my family. 

On the offense: 
"I think offensively we kind of stalled out on those first three drives, so just tried to reestablish the run game. Once we did that, it opens up our game. We played good after that. Defense, they balled out all game." 

Laletia Hale, LB, R-JR. 
On the win: 
"It was pretty fun, especially seeing more guys get to play because our goal is to play as many people as possible. It was a good opportunity to continue to execute on defense. It was good to see a lot more points go on the board from the offense." 

On defense creating four turnovers: 
"Our goal is pressure and confuse the offenses. Go out there and capitalize where we can and not just be out there. Three and out is not enough, get turnovers, so we give our offense more opportunities to score and score ourselves if possible." 

Malik Jackson, RB, R-SR. 
On the game: 
"Just seeing everybody get out there because we all practice hard, Coach Rich Rod, he preaches hard edge. Just to see the other guys go out there and play with a hard edge and not getting continent on what we was doing, just finishing it out." 

On the run game: 
"It uou run the ball, it's going to open it up, we're able to do what we do. Shout out to the o-linemen." 

Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – East Tennessee State
September 2, 2023 • Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium • Jacksonville, Ala.

• Jax State Captains: Redshirt senior defensive lineman Jackson Luttrell, redshirt senior safety Kolbi Fuqua and redshirt senior wide receiver Perry Carter
• Jax State won the toss and elected to defer
• The Gamecocks were 5-for-5 in redzone scoring, all touchdowns, to improve to 7-for-7 in redzone efficiency through two games
• The 49-3 decision marked Jax State's largest margin of victory since a 56-7 win at Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 6, 2018 – a span of 55 games
• Jax State now leads the all-time series with East Tennessee State 3-1, winning both of the Division I meetings since 2018 
• Head coach Rodriguez moves to 11-2 at the helm of Jax State in his second season
• Junior quarterback Logan Smothers tossed his first collegiate touchdown pass for Jax State's opening score of the game. The Nebraska transfer added a pair of rushing touchdowns and finished 13-for-17 passing for 127 yards in his first start.
• Junior running back J'Wan Evans scored his first two touchdowns as a Gamecock, finishing with 32 yards on seven rushes
• Redshirt senior Malik Jackson notched his first career 100-yard game on the ground for the Gamecocks
• Eight different Gamecocks caught a pass vs. ETSU. Sterling Galban had the lone TD on a 23-yard reception, Quinton Lane led with three receptions and Jamarye Joiner finished with a team-high 37 receiving yards.
• cornerback Kekoura Tarnue recorded his first interception for the Gamecocks in the first quarter on a tipped pass that he returned to the ETSU 10
• Jax State's defense forced four turnovers on Saturday, winning the turnover battle 4-0, after tying the national lead with three takeaways in Week Zero
• Today's matchup vs. ETSU marks the first time since 2005 that Jax State has started a season with back-to-back home games