JACKSONVILLE – Tre Stewart ran for a season-high 210 yards and Tyler Huff added 151 on the ground as Jax State stretched its win streak to four with 42-20 victory over Middle Tennessee State in a nationally televised Conference USA matchup Wednesday night.
 
Huff rushed for two scores and tossed a seven-yard touchdown to Michael Pettway as the Gamecocks improved to 4-3, 3-0 in CUSA. Jax State is now tied atop the conference standings with Western Kentucky.
 
Jax State scored touchdowns on four straight possessions after halftime to crack open a tight game. Running back Andrew Paul had touchdown runs of four and 26 yards, Huff scored on runs of 49 and two yards, and Stewart – who became the first Gamecock to rush for more than 200 yards since 2015 – had a one-yard TD run.
 
"Tyler ran it really hard, Tre ran really hard, Andrew ran hard, the guy up front did a nice job," said Jax State head coach Rich Rodriguez. "Our tight ends did an outstanding job and our wide receivers blocked downfield. 438 (yards) rushing isn't bad. That was the difference in the game."
 
Stewart and Huff's combined rushing total (361 yards) was the most by a pair of Jax State backs since 2015. Huff also completed 10-of-18 passes for 137 yards.
 
The Gamecocks had to overcome an early deficit for the second game in a row when Middle Tennessee drove 75 yards in four plays after receiving the opening kickoff.
 
The Blue Raiders (2-6, 1-3) struck first with a 61-yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes elapsed. The TD pass from Nicholas Vattiato to Holden Willis was the longest play from scrimmage allowed by the Gamecocks' defense this season.
 
Jax State responded with a 75-yard scoring march of its own. Huff finished off the six-play drive by breaking loose for a 49-yard touchdown run at the 10:58 mark in the first quarter. Garrison Rippa added the extra point to tie it at 7-7.
 
Paul's second touchdown in as many games put Jax State in front for the first time after MTSU had gone ahead 10-7 with a 47-yard field goal. Paul's four-yard TD run at the 1:02 mark in the first quarter capped off a 12-play, 75-yard march that consumed more than four-and-a-half minutes.
 
Neither team scored in the second quarter. Jax State had more first downs (15) than points (14) through the first 30 minutes while outgaining the Blue Raiders 267-190.
 
Jax State finished with 575 total yards, its second-highest total in 2024.
 
Linebacker Reginald Hughes led the Gamecocks with seven tackles. Cornerback Fred Davis II was next with six stops and had a team-high 1.5 tackles for loss.
 
Jax State returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at Liberty (5-1, 3-1), coming off a 27-24 loss at Kennesaw State.
 
Kickoff at Williams Stadium is set for 6 p.m. CT with TV coverage on CBS Sports Network.



Jacksonville State Head Coach
Rich Rodriguez
October 23, 2024
The Middle Tennessee Game  
Opening Statement:
"It's hard to win. There's good coaches, there's good players everywhere. And every week is a challenge. I don't think we played our best at certain areas at times tonight, but we played hard, and the guys continue to play hard, and we ran the ball, controlled the game with our running game a little bit, and got a nice win. So happy with that. On to the next one."
 
On Tyler Huff:
"He's a sneaky, athletic runner. He's strong. He's got a he's got a little stiff arm. He's got that he used as well. He's a competitive, competitive guy, and he's kind of taking charge there. But I got a lot of confidence in Logan (Smothers) too, and I got a lot of confidence in Zion Turner, so we're fortunate, but you got to have good quarterback play to win."
 
On the Linebacker Play: 
"I said before our two backers play, Reggie and Laletia Hale has been really good the last four, four or five games. I'm talking about really good, the outstanding linebacker play. They're understanding the defense a little bit better. And we did a few things today differently, but we've got some areas to clean up a little bit, but they're playing hard. And that's the thing that I'm most proud of, is that our standard."
 
On Riley Green Leading the Team on the Field: 
"It's funny, our guys last week were on social media calling, hey, Riley, why don't you lead us out? And then Riley took out of his busy schedule. As you can imagine, he's 280 days out of the year he's traveling. My buddy Paul Astor picked him up in New York, flew him down here yesterday, to Jacksonville. He came out, hang out with a team, little bit. We're blessed. We have a lot of great people that are associated with Jax State and Riley, certainly one of them and he's a really, really good friend."
 
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Middle Tennessee
October 23, 2024 • Burgess-Snow Field at AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, Ala.
 

• Jax State Captains: Senior running back Tre Stewart, graduate defensive lineman Dylan Brown and redshirt senior offensive lineman Cam Jones
• The Gamecocks won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half. It was the fifth time in seven games that Jax State has won the toss. Country music superstar Riley Green performed the coin toss.
• The Gamecocks donned black uniforms for the first time since a 28-21 home win over Eastern Illinois on Sept. 24, 2011. Jax State is now 3-0 when wearing black jerseys, having also beaten Murray State while wearing black in 2010.
• The Gamecocks improve to 7-1 all-time in "Weekday CUSA" games, including 3-0 in 2024. Jax State is now 4-0 in games played on Wednesday since joining CUSA.
• Jax State has outscored the last four opponents 203-57 during its win streak.
• The Gamecocks' 203 points in their the last four outings is the most in a four-game stretch since 2015 when they scored 42, 41, 58 and 62 points, the last three games coming in the FCS playoffs.
• Jax State improves to 4-14-2 in the all-time series vs. MTSU and has won the two most recent meetings.
• Jack Dawson only punted twice and averaged 46 yards per kick.
• Head coach Rich Rodriguez is 19-1 when the Gamecocks score 30 points or more.
• The Homecoming win over Southern Miss on Sept. 28 was the last Saturday game day for Jax State in a 49-day span. The Gamecocks will have played on a Friday night, three Wednesdays and had two open dates before visiting Louisiana Tech on Saturday, Nov. 9.
• Linebacker Reggie Hughes has a sack in four of his last five games played and leads the Gamecocks with five QB hurries. His seven tackles for loss also leads the team.