ORLANDO, Fla. – A unique tradition seems to follow new Jax State head coaches: enduring a lengthy weather delay during their debut leading the Gamecocks.
Like his predecessors Bill Clark in 2013 and Rich Rodriguez in 2022, Charles Kelly's first game as the 31st head football coach in Jax State's esteemed history included a delay of more than two hours due to lightning in the vicinity of UCF's Acrisure Bounce House.
After a scoreless first half – the first Jax State had been involved in since 1993 – Big 12 member UCF erased a seven-point deficit in the game's last 12 minutes to slip by the Gamecocks 17-10 before an announced crowd of 43,043 Thursday night.
The second of UCF backup quarterback Tayven Jackson's two touchdown passes to Dylan Wade in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference. Jackson and Wade connected on for a 33-yard TD pass with 1:03 remaining after the Knights' defense had stopped Jax State on fourth-and-1 at the UCF 36 to set up the six-play winning drive.
"You can't come in here and play a team with their quality and their coaching and you can't give up explosive plays," said Kelly. "We just didn't do the things that it took to win."
After a two-hour, seven-minute delay in the second quarter, Jax State had the game's first significant scoring opportunity with a 35-yard field goal attempt just five seconds before halftime. However, UCF's Keli Lawson blocked Garrison Rippa's kick, sending the teams to their locker rooms for a second time knotted 0-0.
The Gamecocks had 113 total yards to the Knights' 146 through the first two quarters.
Jax State grabbed its first lead with 12:01 to go in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard TD run by Andrew Paul. His fifth career rushing touchdown and Rippa's extra point capped an 11-play, 84-yard scoring drive that consumed more than five minutes.
Junior running back Cam Cook was an offensive workhorse in his Gamecocks' debut, rushing for 75 yards on 17 carries and catching a team-high four passes for 43 yards.
Each team opened the game with time-consuming drives into opposing territory before having to punt.
UCF took the opening kickoff and kept possession for 13 plays, consuming nearly 5½ minutes. Jax State maintained possession for 11 plays on its first series of the season, chewing almost six minutes off the clock before the drive stalled at the Knights 44.
The defensive standoff continued into the second quarter before play was halted due to inclement weather with 10:45 remaining.
On the play prior to the lightning delay, Jax State appeared to have scored a touchdown on a scoop-and-score by defensive end Emmanuel Oyebadejo but the Gamecocks were flagged for targeting and the points nullified.
Safety Trevor Woods was the Gamecocks' top tackler with eight stops. He was ejected for targeting with 1:26 remaining and will be forced to sit out the first half of next week's game. Thaxton Gallagher aided the defensive effort with a fumble recovery.
The Gamecocks (0-1) host Liberty at AmFirst Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, in an early-season showdown between the previous two CUSA champions. The Flames are at home to face Maine in their season opener on Saturday.
Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
Jax State Postgame Notes – UCF
August 28, 2025 • Acrisure Bounce House • Orlando, Fla.
- JSU Captains: Sophomore OL Bubba Grayson, redshirt senior WR Brock Rechsteiner, senior safety Trevor Woods
- Jax State won the opening coin toss and deferred its option to the second half. The Gamecocks won the toss in nine of 14 games last season.
- Jax State saw its streak of multiple rushing touchdowns end at 11 consecutive games, which had been the longest active streak among all FBS teams.
- Thursday's matchup with UCF marks the ninth time in the past two decades that the Gamecocks have kicked off the season on a weekday night.
- Garrison Rippa's 42-yard field goal in the third quarter was the 17th of his career.
- Punter Cade Backe kicked four times for a 40.8-yard average.
- The last time the Gamecocks and an opponent went to the locker room at halftime tied 0-0 was on Nov. 13, 1993, vs. Central State (Ohio). Jax State lost that game 22-0.
- UCF becomes the ninth school from the Sunshine State that the Gamecocks have faced, including five FBS programs – the Knights, current CUSA rival Florida International, Florida, Florida State and South Florida. Jax State met the University of Tampa, which discontinued its program in 1974, seven times between 1950-65, the most meetings against any Florida team.
- Jax State and UCF are two of 30 FBS programs with a new head coach this season, one of just four games featuring new head coaches squaring off in their debuts.
- CUSA programs drop to 0-9 all-time vs. UCF.
- Jax State began the 2025 season only 17 miles from where the '24 season concluded against Ohio in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
- Jax State's running back duo of Cook (Round Rock) and 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.
- Jax State is now 52-56-8 in season openers.
- Scouts from the NFL's New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers, as well as a Cure Bowl representative, attended Thursday's game.
