EL PASO, Texas – Another trip to the Lone Star State, another clutch late field goal from Garrison Rippa to lift Jax State to victory.
 
The Gamecocks became bowl eligible for the third straight year with its 30-27 win over UTEP at Sun Bowl Stadium on Saturday, and now turns its attention to one of the most-anticipated games in the program's FBS history.
 
Rippa calmly drilled a 45-yard field goal – his third of the afternoon – with 49 seconds on the clock as Gamecocks won their fourth in a row to improve to 6-3, 5-0 in Conference USA.
 
Caden Creel accounted for 315 scrimmage yards and Cam Cook, the nation's top rusher, padded his statistics with 127 yards on 19 carries. Cook's 12^th rushing TD of the season gave Jax State a 27-20 lead in the fourth quarter, only for them to see UTEP answer with a touchdown of its own with 2:15 left in regulation.
 
"I'm very proud of our players," said Jacksonville State head coach Charles Kelly. "They'll play for 60 minutes, even if they don't play perfect. We've got to do a better job of coaching them."
 
The game got off to an explosive start with each team scoring via a long touchdown pass in the opening four minutes.
 
Creel connected with Deondre Johnson for a season-long 77-yard touchdown strike on the Gamecocks' third play from scrimmage. Rippa tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 11:07 remaining in the first period.
 
That early lead lasted 11 seconds.
 
After Rippa kicked a touchback, UTEP answered on first down with a 75-yard TD pass from Sklyer Locklear to Wondame Davis Jr. to tie it at 7-7 at the 10:56 mark. The 75-yard play was the longest allowed by Jax State's defense all season.
 
The Gamecocks regained the lead at 10-7 on Rippa's 30-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining in the opening quarter. The 13-play drive covered 53 yards but saw a short Cam Cook touchdown run nullified by a holding penalty, forcing Jax State to settle for the field goal when the drive stalled.
 
The opportunistic Gamecock defense forced its 12^th takeaway of the season to push the lead to 17-7.
 
Safety Caleb Nix picked off a pass on an attempted UTEP trick play and the redshirt junior from Phenix City streaked 93 yards to the end zone for the second-longest interception return in school history. It marked Nix's second straight game with a long interception return after bringing one back 72 yards against Middle Tennessee.
 
Jax State led 20-13 at halftime after it answered a UTEP touchdown with a 36-yard Rippa field goal with 39 seconds remaining before intermission. Cook ripped a 51-yard run into Miners territory on the drive, marking the fourth consecutive game he's had a rush of 40 yards or longer.
 
The Miners (2-7, 1-4) controlled the third quarter, knotting the game at 20-20 on Locklear's 10-yard run at the 6:34 mark. 
 
The Gamecocks, who began the day averaging five penalties per game, were flagged a season-high 11 times for 67 yards. UTEP had no penalties in the first half and five for the game.
 
Next for Jax State is a showdown with CUSA co-leader Kennesaw State (7-2, 5-0) at AmFirst Stadium, where the Gamecocks are 3-0 this season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Marching Southerners Reunion/Preview Day and the game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

Jax State Postgame Notes – UTEP
November 8, 2025 • Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, Texas

• JSU Captains: Junior RB Cam Cook, redshirt junior CB Malcolm Jones, senior safety Trevor Woods and redshirt junior RB Andrew Paul. Cook, Woods and Paul all are Texas natives.
• Jax State lost the opening toss for the first time in six road games this year and for only the third time in nine games. The Miners elected to receive the kickoff to start the game.
• The Gamecocks are off to a 5-0 start in CUSA for the second straight year.
• The Gamecocks are now 20-18 all-time vs. teams from the Lone Star State, but only 4-12 in games played on Texas soil, including the 2016 FCS National Championship Game in Frisco.
• The 1,343-mile road trip to El Paso, Texas, is Jax State's longest of the year.
• Deondre Johnson's three TD receptions in the last two games have accounted for 163 yards. His 77-yarder in the first quarter vs. UTEP was Jax State's longest TD reception of the season and the Gamecocks' longest since a 92-yarder by Michael Pettway vs. Coastal Carolina in the 2024 season opener.
• With 165 return yards on two interceptions this year, safety Caleb Nix ties Darrell Moore (1990) for the third-most return yards in a single season. Jaylen Hill is the program's single-season leader with 181 yards on six INTs in 2016, followed by Roy Vinson with 178 yards on 10 INTs in 1966.
• Quarterback Caden Creel had career-highs for passes attempted (31), completions (15) and yards (181).
• Jax State had its first game with a run, pass and interception return of more than 50 yards since Oct. 4, 2023, at Middle Tennessee, when Zion Webb had a run and a pass of 63 yards and Chris Hardie intercepted a Blue Raiders' pass and returned it 58 yards.
• The Jax State offensive line did not allow a sack fourth time this season. UTEP entered the week as Conference USA's leader in sacks.
• 2025 marks the fifth time in its football history that Jax State has played in Texas twice in the same year. The Gamecocks traveled to Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State in 1997, 1999 and 2001 while members of the Southland Conference, and in 2021 visited Sam Houston and Lamar as part of the ASUN-WAC (AQ7) alliance.
• First-year Jax State head coach Charles Kelly served as defensive coordinator for the 2012 Georgia Tech squad that defeated USC 21-7 in the Sun Bowl. Kelly was also on the Yellow Jackets' staff for the 2011 Sun Bowl vs. Utah.
• Jax State is 27-2 since 2022 when scoring 30 or more points. Going back to 2000, the Gamecocks are 138-16 when putting at least 30 points on the scoreboard.
• The Gamecocks' defense has now forced at least one turnover in all nine games.
• Rippa moved past Steven Lee (2001-03) and Joe Hix (1972-75) into sixth place on the career field goals list. Rippa now has 31 career FGs after his kicks of 30, 36 and 45 yards against the Miners.
• Today's game marked the first time the Gamecocks have played on November 8 since a 20-6 win at No. 15 Eastern Kentucky in 2014. Jax State improves to 7-2 in November 8 games over the last six decades.
• Jax State is 6-3 overall for the second year in a row.
• Jax State's running back duo of Cook (Round Rock) and Andrew Paul (Fort Worth) are on the Watch List for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, which recognizes the top offensive football player in NCAA Division I with a connection to the state of Texas.