LOUISVILLE – The Jax State football team looks to recover from last week's season opening loss to Coastal Carolina, traveling to take on the nationally ranked Louisville Cardinals. The matchup against the Cards is the second of four straight non-conference games to open up the season.
Jax State (0-1, 0-0 CUSA) vs #22 Louisville (0-1, 0-0 ACC)
When: Saturday, September 7 | 2:30 PM CT
Where: L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium | Louisville, Ky.
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Click Here
Weekly Press Conference: Click Here
TV: ACC Network Extra (Justin Kutcher, Charles Arbuckle)
Radio: Listen to all the action on the
Gamecock Sports Network as "The Voice" Mike Parris returns behind the mic for his 42nd season calling play-by-play action of Gamecock Football. He'll be alongside longtime analyst Ray Hammett. Anchor stations for the Gamecock Sports Network include 91.9 WLJS (Jacksonville), WVOK 97.9 (Anniston/Oxford), WKXX 102.9 (Attalla), 95.5 WRBZ (Wetumpka) and 95.3 WCRL (Oneonta).
Jax State Notes |
Louisville Notes |
CUSA Notes
Series History
This is set to be the first meeting in program history between Jacksonville State and Louisville in football.
Rich Rodriguez, however, has faced off with the Cardinals three times in his head coaching career, all at West Virginia. Rodriguez has a 2-1 record against Louisville, including a 46-44 triple overtime victory in his first meeting with the Cards. Rodriguez and Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm have also met in the past, with the two squaring off in the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl in which Brohm's Purdue Boilermakers narrowly defeated Rodriguez's Arizona Wildcats 38-35.
Conference Matters
The last time Jacksonville State squared off with an opponent from the ACC, the Gamecocks rattled off a 59-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the game to knock off Florida State in Tallahassee on Sept. 11, 2021. The 20-17 win over the Seminoles was Jacksonville State's first power conference win since a 49-48 double overtime victory over Ole Miss in 2010.
In the Polls
Louisville enters Saturday's contest ranked 22nd in the AP Poll, this is the first FBS AP ranked opponent that the Gamecocks will face since 21st ranked LSU in 2016. At the time of the meeting with the Tigers, Jacksonville State was ranked no. 5 in the FCS polls and marched into Baton Rouge and played in front of a crowd of 98,389, before ultimately falling to LSU, 34-13.
Last Time Out
Jacksonville State stumbled in the season opener, falling 55-27 to Coastal Carolina in Jacksonville. The Gamecocks got off to a slow start, scoring just 10 points in the first three quarters before hitting a stride in the fourth quarter, adding 17 points. Senior transfer
Tre Stewart led the team with 62 rushing yards while
Michael Pettway's 92 receiving yards was the most of any Gamecock. Stewart and Pettway each scored a fourth quarter touchdown in the contest.
An Exclusive Club
Just one team has made and won a bowl game in its first FBS season, the Jax State Gamecocks. Five teams in NCAA history have made a bowl appearance in their first season at the FBS level, but none had taken home a trophy until last season. The Gamecocks rallied for a 34-31 overtime victory over Louisiana in the New Orleans Bowl, becoming just the first team in history to win a bowl game in year one at the FBS level.
Moving Up the Ranks
Jax State's senior punter
Jack Dawson has moved into the Gamecocks record books with his performance in 2023 and in his Gamecock career. In 2023, his 2,746 punting yards rank ninth-most in a season in school history, while his 42.2 average is the 10th-best by a Gamecock in a single season. In his career, his 202 punts rank eighth all-time, while his 8,521 punting yards are fourth-most. His 42.18 punting average is the fourth-best in school history.
At the Top
Jax State head coach
Rich Rodriguez enters week two in seventh place among active FBS head coaches in career wins. In his 27th season as a head coach, Rodriguez has a 181-126-2 career record. Rodriguez made head coaching stops at Salem, Glenville State, West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona prior to landing at Jax State ahead of the 2022 season.
Let it Rippa
Last season's New Orleans Bowl hero
Garrison Rippa opened up the 2024 season on solid footing, making all five of his kicks in the season opener against Coastal Carolina. Rippa opened up the game by nailing a new career long 49-yard field goal before sinking a 26-yarder in the fourth quarter. Rippa also finished a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points. Rippa's second career field goal came in game winning fashion against Louisiana in overtime of the 2023 New Orleans Bowl.
The Century Mark
The Gamecocks have run for over 100 yards in 24 of the 25 games in the
Rich Rodriguez Era, including 14 games of over 200 yards, four with over 300 rushing yards and one with over 500.
Jax State has now rushed for 100 yards in 113 of its 125 games since 2013 and has run for at least 100 yards in 30 of its last 31 games.
Cardiac Gamecocks
Last season, the Gamecocks pulled off some improbable wins. According to ESPN's win probability, Jax State won four games in which they had an 83.5 percent chance or worse to lose the game. The Sam Houston game was the least probable, with ESPN saying the Bearkats had a 99.9 percent chance to win the game with 3:31 left in the third quarter. Jax State overcame an eight-point deficit in the final minute to win that game 35-28 in overtime. Most notably, Jax State closed out the season with a 34-31 overtime victory over Louisiana in which the Ragin Cajuns boasted a 94.4 win probability with just 4:33 remaining in the contest.
