HATTIESBURG, Miss.—A strip sack on the first offensive play for Jax State was a sign of things to come in a 42-25 loss at Southern Miss.
 
The Gamecocks committed four turnovers in the contest which led to 21 points.
 
"We made enough mistakes to lose two games tonight," said coach Charles Kelly. "Can't turn the ball over. You can't give people short fields, not when you're playing on the road. You just can't do that."
 
Southern Miss took a 7-0 lead after a 4-play, 25-yard drive that was set up by a strip sack on Jax State's first play from scrimmage. Jeffrey Pittman made it 14-0 with his second touchdown run of the game to cap a 4-play, 80-yard drive with 6:38 left in the quarter.
 
Jax State's first score of the game came with 45 seconds left in the first quarter with a 35-yard field goal by Garrison Rippa. The drive covered 57 yards on 15 plays and was kept alive by a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct foul after Jax State failed to convert on 3^rd-and-27 at their own 8-yard line.
 
A strip sack by Malcolm Jones set up the Gamecocks at the 6-yard line with 9:49 left in the second, but were held out of the end zone on fourth down.
 
Southern Miss took advantage of a fumble just before the 2:00 timeout with a 48-yard drive on 11 plays with Braxton running into the endzone for the second time from six yards out for a 21-3 lead with just five seconds left in the first half.
 
With 5:52 left in the third, Braxton connected with Kadinn Morris for a six-yard touchdown to push the lead to 25. The Gamecocks answered on the next drive with Caden Creel finding Brock Rechsteiner for a four-yard touchdown pass with 4:33 left in the quarter which was set up by a 73-yard run by Creel.
 
Creel finished the game 9-of-17 passing for 109 yards and added 161 on the ground.
 
Southern Miss responded with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 1:55 left in the third for a 35-11 advantage heading to the fourth quarter. The fourth Gamecock turnover was an interception returned 49 yards for a touchdown with 1:27 left in the contest.
 
Cam Cook found paydirt with 23 seconds left in the game on an eight-yard carry. The junior rushed for 77 yards and had 77 receiving.
 
Mac Sanders was at the top of the tackle chart with 13 including one for loss, a pass breakup, and a QB hurry.
 
The Gamecocks will have an open week before beginning Conference USA play against Sam Houston on October 9^th.
 
 
Jax State Postgame Notes – Southern Miss
September 27, 2025 • M.M Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, Miss.

• Jax State Captains: Redshirt senior wide receiver Michael Pettway, sophomore offensive lineman Bubba Grayson, sophomore defensive lineman Talan Carter and sophomore defensive lineman Juwaun Campbell
• Jax State won the opening coin toss and deferred its option to the second half.
• Malcolm Jones' second quarter strip sack and fumble recovery is both the first sack and first turnover of his collegiate career. Jones spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons at Michigan State before transferring to Jax State ahead of the 2024 campaign.
• Brock Rechsteiner's third quarter touchdown is his receiving touchdown this season and the fifth of his career. The senior wideout has all three of Jax State's receiving touchdowns to his name this season. Rechsteiner also netted himself a rushing score at Georgia Southern.
• Caden Creel tossed his first career passing touchdown with a third quarter score. The redshirt sophomore from Fairhope also trotted in for a successful two-point conversion on the ensuing PAT attempt. The two-point conversion is Jax State's first since last season's contest at Eastern Michigan.
• Two plays prior to his first career touchdown pass, Creel rattled off Jax State's longest rush of the season, a 73-yard scramble to put the Gamecocks in the redzone. The rush is Jax State's second longest rush since making the move to FBS in 2023, trailing just a 75-yard touchdown rush by Tre Stewart at Liberty last season.
• Creel also finished the game as Jax State's leading rusher, toting the rock 23 times for 161 yards, the most by a Gamecock QB since Tyler Huff finished with 167 in last year's CUSA Championship game.
• Freshman linebacker Mac Sanders led Jax State with 13 tackles, including nine in the first half. Sanders set a new career high with four tackles in last week's game against Murray State before shattering his previous mark this week at Southern Miss.
• 13 tackles by Sanders is also the most by a Gamecock in a single game so far this season, Trevor Woods has netted eight in a single contest twice this year along with Walker O'Steen, who accomplished the feat at Georgia Southern.
• Jax State kicker Garrison Rippa netted Jax State's lone first half points with a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter. The redshirt sophomore is now just five field goals away from moving into Jax State's top ten for career made field goals.
• The Southern Miss defense held Cam Cook to just 77 yards rushing on Saturday, his lowest output since week one against UCF. In his last three games, Cook had rushing totals of 195, 120 and 147. Cook also ranked third in the NCAA in rushing yards per game with 134.3.
• Jax State finished Saturday's game with four fumbles and two lost fumbles, both marks are the most this season with the two fumbles lost being the highest mark since Jax State lost two fumbles in last season's 44-37 overtime win at Louisiana Tech.
• With the loss, the Gamecocks now have a 41-40-2 record against current Sun Belt teams all time. Jax State has played Troy the most times out of the schools, and boasts a 33-28-2 record against the Trojans
• Jax State now has a 2-3 record for the first time since last year. After falling to 0-3 early last season, the Gamecocks rallied for eight consecutive wins, finishing 9-5 with an appearance in the Cure Bowl
• With the loss, Jax State falls to 0-3 in road games this season. The Gamecocks travel to Houston to face off with Sam Houston in a CUSA contest on Oct. 9.
• Jax State will stay at home next week with a bye before resuming Conference USA action on Thursday, Oct. 9 at Sam Houston. Due to renovations at Sam Houston's stadium, the contest will be played at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.