Skip To Main Content

Jacksonville State University Athletics

Composite Calendar
Deondre Johnson's Touchdown Catch vs MTSU
24
Winner Jacksonville St. JSU 5-3 , 4-0
21
Middle Tenn. MTS 1-7 , 0-4
Winner
Jacksonville St. JSU
5-3 , 4-0
24
Final
21
Middle Tenn. MTS
1-7 , 0-4
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
JSU Jacksonville St. 0 7 0 17 24
MTS Middle Tenn. 6 0 8 7 21

Game Recap: Football |

Johnson's career night lifts Gamecocks past MTSU

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Jax State heads into the final month of the regular season perched atop the Conference USA standings after its hard-fought 24-21 victory over Middle Tennessee in a nationally televised matchup Wednesday night.
  
The Gamecocks stayed perfect in CUSA at 4-0, 5-3 overall, as redshirt sophomore receiver Deondre Johnson caught touchdown passes of 56 and 30 yards. Jax State twice rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit for just their second win ever at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in 14 visits.
  
Cam Cook, the nation's leading rusher, scored what turned out to be the game-winner on a three-yard touchdown run with 4:29 remaining. The Gamecocks' defense then rose up and stopped the Blue Raiders twice in the waning moments to seal the win.
  
"You know when you go on the road it's going to be a competitive atmosphere," said Jax State head coach Charles Kelly. "I thought we played really good defensively. We've got some improving to do, but any time you can go on the road and win in this conference it's a good thing."
  
Cook now has 34 runs over 10+ yards, which leads all FBS backs. He finished with 105 yards on 21 carries – his sixth 100-yard game this year.
  
MTSU (1-7, 0-4) moved 54 yards in seven plays following a Gamecocks' punt for a 6-0 lead, the touchdown coming on a 10-yard swing pass from Nicholas Vattiato to DJ Taylor with 4:05 remaining in the opening quarter.
  
It took a bit of trickery to spark the stagnant Jax State offense midway through the second quarter. Prior to the go-ahead score, the Gamecocks had just 57 total yards through the first 21 minutes.
  
Backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt caught a lateral from Caden Creel, then hit Johnson in stride with a 56-yard touchdown strike, Johnson's first career TD reception. Garrison Rippa added the extra point for a 7-6 Gamecocks' lead at the 7:25 mark in the second quarter.
  
The first half ended when safety Caleb Nix picked off a Hail Mary attempt by the Blue Raiders and returned it 72 yards before being forced out of bounds as time expired. It was Nix's first career interception.
  
Jax State outgained Middle Tennessee 163-141 in the half despite Cook being limited to 24 yards on 11 carries.
  
The Gamecocks entered the final quarter trailing 14-7 after Vattiato tossed his second short touchdown pass of the night and the Blue Raiders tacked on a two-point conversion with 5½ minutes left in the third.
  
Rippa's 47-yard field goal to cap off a 14-play drive that consumed more than seven minutes whittled MTSU's lead to 14-10 at the 13:29 mark.
  
The teams traded touchdowns on the next two series, with Johnson coming up with an acrobatic catch in the end zone as Jax State regained the lead.
  
The 30-yard TD pass from Creel and Rippa's PAT put the Gamecocks in front 17-14, only to see the Blue Raiders respond by going 75 yards in six plays to retake the lead with a five-yard touchdown run with 7:45 to go.
  
Jax State returns to action on Saturday, November 8, with its first trip to El Paso, Texas, to face UTEP (2-6, 1-3) at the famed 46,089-seat Sun Bowl Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.
 
Jax State Postgame Notes – Middle Tennessee
October 29, 2025 • Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tenn.
  • JSU Captains: Redshirt junior safety Caleb Nix, redshirt senior receiver Caleb Coombs, redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Reggie Jackson, redshirt senior defensive end Gharin Stansbury.
  • Jax State won the opening toss and deferred its option to the second half, the sixth time it has won the toss in eight games. The Gamecocks have won the toss in all five of their road games.
  • Jax State was the first opponent Middle Tennessee ever hosted at Floyd Stadium. On Oct. 14, 1933, the Gamecocks and Blue Raiders played to a 0-0 tie in Murfreesboro. A 45-30 victory over the Blue Raiders in 2023 marked the Gamecocks' first win in 13 trips to MTSU.
  • Jax State, which saw its streak of games with multiple rushing touchdowns end at 11 in the season opener at UCF, rushed for only one TD against Middle Tennessee and now has 21 in its past seven games.
  • Jax State had a season-high in passing yardage (215) and season-low in rushing yardage (136).
  • Garrison Rippa's 47-yard kick in the fourth quarter moved him into a tie for ninth place on Jax State's all-time career field goals list, joining Connor Rouleau (2013-16) and Rocky Riddle (1976-79) with 28. Steven Lee (2001-03) and Joe Hix (1972-75) are next on the list with 30, tied for seventh place.
  • Conor Donaghy's six punts were the most by the Gamecocks since Jack Dawson had eight punts at Western Kentucky on November 30, 2024.
  • Deondre Johnson established a career-high for catches (4), receiving yards (131) and receiving touchdowns (2). He was the first receiver with a 100-yard game this season.
  • The touchdown passes thrown by Wimsatt and Creel marked the first time two Jax State players threw TDs in the same game since Nov. 4, 2023, at South Carolina.
  • Jax State improved to 8-0 coming off a bye week over the last four seasons.
  • The Gamecocks are 10-1 all-time during "Weekday CUSA" games.
  • The Gamecocks are off to a 4-0 start in CUSA for the second straight year.
  • The Gamecocks have historically been successful in games played on October 29. Over the past six decades, Jax State is 6-2 on this date, with both losses coming to programs from the state of Tennessee – 1994 at MTSU and 2011 vs. Tennessee Tech at AmFirst Stadium.
  • Jax State is 5-3 for the second consecutive season.
  • Jax State has averaged 40.2 ppg in its last eight games in the month of October.
Print Friendly Version
Skip Ad