JACKSONVILLE – Familiarity with Jax State's program didn't help the Murray State coaches and players in their return to face the Gamecocks Saturday night.

In front of a Homecoming crowd of 21,426 at AmFirst Stadium, Jax State drubbed its ex-Ohio Valley Conference rival for the ninth straight time, cruising to a 45–10 victory. Running back Cam Cook led the way with 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Gavin Wimsatt accounted for 238 scrimmage yards and two scores of his own.

"I'm very proud of our players mainly because they competed for 60 minutes," said Jax State head coach Charles Kelly, whose squad improved to 2-2. "We have a standard of how we should play and one of those standards is playing for 60 minutes and not looking at the scoreboard. I think our players did that tonight."

Jax State shook off a slow start and finished with 531 total yards, its most since rolling up 562 against Western Kentucky in the 2024 Conference USA Championship Game.

The Gamecocks' first three series ended with punts by Conor Donaghy. The Racers (0-4) got on the scoreboard first with a short drive that was finished off by Tyler Dorn's 43-yard field goal with 3:54 remaining in the first quarter.

Murray State's lead was short-lived, though, when Jax State responded with a seven-play drive of its own to snag a 7-3 lead. Wimsatt completed all three of his passes as the Gamecocks moved 75 yards with the touchdown coming on a 17-yard strike to Brock Rechsteiner at the 1:32 mark.

Jax State upped the lead to 10-3 on its next possession by driving 63 yards in 12 plays, with Garrison Rippa kicking a 27-yard field goal with 11:02 left in the second.

Cook had 95 yards by halftime and extended the Gamecocks' lead to 17-3 with a four-yard TD run straight up the middle with 1:25 remaining. Cook's third rushing touchdown of the year finished off a 10-play, 69-yard scoring drive that consumed 4½ minutes.

A key interception by linebacker Walker O'Steen of a throw by Murray State QB Jim Ogle helped the Gamecocks pad their lead to 24-3 at intermission. Wimsatt scampered 28 yards untouched with 13 seconds on the clock and Rippa tacked on the extra point to send Jax State to the locker room with a 21-point cushion.

Jax State outgained the Racers 288-94 through the first two periods with Wimsatt accounting for 176 scrimmage yards (148 yards passing, 28 rushing).

Cook and Krhistian Lando added rushing TDs during the third quarter as the Gamecocks built a four-touchdown lead, allowing Jax State's coaches to substitute liberally in the final stanza.

O'Steen and fellow linebacker Mac Sanders led the Gamecocks defensive effort with six tackles each. Trevor Woods also contributed an interception and three tackles.

Jax State hits the road next Saturday for the third time this year when it visits Sun Belt Conference member Southern Miss. Kickoff at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss., is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Jax State Postgame Notes – Murray State
September 20, 2025 • Burgess-Snow Field at AmFirst Stadium • Jacksonville, Ala.

• Jax State Captains: Senior quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, redshirt senior tight end Pearson Baldwin, redshirt junior defensive lineman Darrell Prater, sophomore safety Rod Elston
• Murray State won the opening coin toss and deferred its option to the second half.
• Jax State improved to 64-14-2 all-time on Homecoming and have won 10 of its last 12 Homecoming games.
• Jax State has won its last seven games at AmFirst Stadium and 13 of its last 15 going back to the start of the 2023 season.
• Through three games, Cam Cook ranked fifth nationally in rushing (130 ypg.) and 10th in all-purpose yards per game (144.33 ypg.). He padded those numbers with 147 yards on 22 attempts vs. the Racers and now has 537 yards through four games (134.25 ypg.)
• The Gamecocks have a 20-5 all-time record against current Missouri Valley Football Conference members. Now 18-2 vs. Murray State, Jax State has also faced North Dakota State (2-1), Northern Iowa (0-1) and Youngstown State (0-1).
• Garrison Rippa was 5-of-5 on extra points and now has 79 PATs for his career. He is two shy of moving past James Esco (2010-11) into 10^th place on Jax State's all-time extra points list.
• Linebacker Walker O'Steen's interception late in the second quarter was the first of the former White Plains High School standout's college career.
• Safety Trevor Woods' third-quarter interception was his first since joining the Gamecocks. His last previous pick came for Colorado in 2023 against rival Colorado State.
• Brock Rechsteiner caught a career-best five passes, one week after his previous career-high of four catches at Georgia Southern.  
• Jax State, which saw its streak of games with multiple rushing touchdowns end at 11 in the season opener at UCF, rushed for five TDs against Murray State and now has 12 in its past three games.
• Cade Cunningham and Caden Creel both saw action at quarterback in the second half. Creel was 2-of-2 passing for 14 yards and ran for the game's final score, a 13-yard TD late in the fourth quarter.
• Murray State began its first two series from the 7-yard line after punts of 39 and 52 yards by Conor Donaghy pinned the Racers deep. Donaghy later kicked his first career extra point after Creel's score.
• Jax State is 2-2 for the first time since the 2021 campaign.
• Eight members of Murray State's coaching staff previously coached for the Gamecocks and four – including head coach Jody Wright – are Jax State graduates.
• Jax State was flagged eight times for a season-high 99 yards. The Gamecocks entered the night ranked 12^th among all FBS programs for fewest penalty yards per game at 28.33 ypg.  
• Racers QB Jim Ogle is a 2024 graduate of Jacksonville High School. Ogle, son of longtime former Jax State assistant coach Jimmy Ogle, threw for 3,095 yards and 44 TDs in leading the Eagles to the AHSAA Class 4A quarterfinals as a senior.