JACKSONVILLE – Jax State took another step toward the school's first conference championship game appearance with a hard-earned 34-31 victory over Florida International at Burgess-Snow Field at AmFirst Stadium on Saturday.
 
The Gamecocks (7-3, 6-0 in CUSA) head into the final two weeks of the Conference USA schedule with a one-game lead over Western Kentucky and Sam Houston in the league standings.
 
Jax State hosts Sam Houston next Saturday and visits the Hilltoppers for its regular-season finale on Nov. 30.
 
Jax State entered the final quarter trailing for the second straight week after FIU regained the lead 24-20 midway through the third. It marked the first time since 2010 the Gamecocks won back-to-back games after falling behind in the fourth quarter.
 
But the Gamecocks scored on a pair of 56-yard plays in a 2½-minute span in the final stanza to rally and extend their win streak to seven in a row, their longest since 2017.
 
Tight end Sean Brown got loose behind the FIU secondary to haul in a pass from Tyler Huff at the 14:22 mark, then Tre Stewart scored his second touchdown of the afternoon on a long run for what proved to be the go-ahead points with 9:55 remaining.
 
"Our guys are pretty resilient," said Jax State head coach Rich Rodriguez. "We made plays when we had to. It's hard winning. We've got seven in a row and I'm proud of the way our guys hung in there."
 
Stewart had 136 yards on 22 attempts, his sixth straight 100-yard performance.
 
The Gamecocks found themselves trailing for the fourth game in a row when FIU (3-7, 2-4) received the opening kickoff and went 57 yards in 13 plays before settling for a 36-yard field goal with 9:02 left in the first quarter.
 
Jax State only had one offensive series in the first quarter, a 62-yard drive that finished with Garrison Rippa's 31-yard field goal to make it 3-3. The Panthers maintained possession for more than 10 minutes in the opening quarter.
 
The teams traded touchdowns throughout the second quarter before Rippa sent the Gamecocks to the locker room with a 20-17 halftime lead following his 42-yard field goal.
 
Huff had a 10-yard touchdown run and Stewart scored on a three-yard run – his 18^th of the season – during the second quarter. Stewart's score was set up by a fumble recovery by Zechariah Poyser after the Panthers drove into Jax State territory.
 
Jax State flipped the time of possession script in the second quarter by keeping the ball for more than 10 minutes. The Gamecocks outgained FIU 254-233 through the first 30 minutes.
Fred Perry was the Gamecocks' leading tackler with 11 stops along with one pass breakup. Poyser was next with 10 tackles in addition to his key fumble recovery.
 
Jax State hosts the Bearkats next Saturday in a showdown with major CUSA Championship Game implications for both programs.
 
Kickoff at AmFirst Stadium is set for 11 a.m. with TV coverage on CBS Sports Network.


Jacksonville State Head Coach
Rich Rodriguez
November 16, 2024
The FIU Game
 
Opening Statement:
"As we say, Jax State football, are you not entertained? This isn't too good for my heart or my family's heart. You got to give (FIU) credit. They had some extra time. They had a great plan. Offensively, all day, we were kind of scrambling around a little bit. And then, defensively, their defense in the second half did a nice job. But our guys are pretty resilient. We made plays when we had to. We ran the ball at the end of the game. Everybody knows you got to run the ball to win it. And that was kind of good to see. And it's hard winning. You look every week in college football, and geez, look at that score. Look at that score. You know, it's hard, and we've gotten seven in a row. I'm proud the way our guys have hung in there."
 
On Being in the Running to Play in and Host the Conference Championship:
"I tell every game we played for, been playing for, is and was for a conference championship. And now, if my math is right, if we win next week, we're in it. And so that's pretty good stakes right there. If you win the game, you're in the conference championship. So who'd have thought, you know, a month and a half ago, the way we start off, that we'd be sitting here with a chance to be in a conference championship game and our last home game and our seniors last home game. So, congrats to our guys for that."
 
On The Resilience of the Team:
"I think that it goes toward the culture of our program. I can remember sitting here and you guys, most of you were here. It was like, after the third loss, Geez, what's wrong? What's happening? And, trust me, I had a lot of thoughts, like, didn't evaluate everything. I do that anyway, win or lose, but I did a hard look at everything we were doing, and I came back to said, Gee, we were doing the same thing we were doing when we were winning before. So, let's just keep doing the same thing. Just maybe do a little bit better. You gotta have a little bit luck involved too; Hail Mary's and stuff like that. But you gotta play hard, and you got to practice hard.
 
Jax State Postgame Notes – Florida International University
November 16, 2024 • Burgess-Snow Field at AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, Ala.

• Jax State Captains: Senior quarterback Logan Smothers, senior quarterback Tyler Huff and senior linebacker Ky'won McCray.
• Jax State won the opening coin toss by Marching Southerners Director Dr. Ken Bodiford and deferred to the second half. It was the sixth time in 10 games that Jax State has won the toss.
• The Gamecocks have outscored their opponents 312-153 during the current seven-game win streak.
• Tre Stewart has 11 carries of 20 yards or more this season, including six for TDs.
• Stewart moves into a tie with Troymaine Pope (2015) and Oscar Bond (2004) for second place on the single-season touchdowns list with 19. 
• Jax State improves to 3-0 all-time against FIU. This was the Panthers' first trip to AmFirst Stadium.
• The Gamecocks have scored 175 points in the second half over their last eight games.
• Redshirt freshman safety Zechariah Poyser's fumble recovery in the second quarter was his second of the year. Poyser also recovered a fumble in the season opener vs. Coastal Carolina. He also has three interceptions in 2024.
• Sean Brown's 56-yard touchdown reception was the 10^th of his Jax State career.
• Fred Perry recorded his second consecutive game with 10+ tackles and third of the season.
• Jax State was 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions against FIU, the most in any game this year.
• Head coach Rich Rodriguez is now 22-1 when the Gamecocks score 30 points or more. Rodriguez is 5-2 in November games as the Gamecocks' head coach.