Jax State
0-1 , 0-0
North Dakota State
1-0 , 0-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville St. | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| North Dakota St. | 7 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 33 |
Gamecocks stumble at North Dakota State in season opener
8/29/2026 8:07:00 PM | Football
FARGO, N.D. – Jax State's visit to the Fargodome for a nationally televised Week 0 showdown with North Dakota State ended in a 33-7 loss, as the host Bison imposed their will and left the Gamecocks with plenty of questions to address.
Making its FBS debut after winning 10 FCS championships between 2011-24, North Dakota State held Jax State scoreless in the second half while limiting the Gamecocks to 85 yards on both the ground and through the air, their fewest since 2021.
"You know what? That's a good, old-fashioned butt whipping," said second-year Jax State head coach Charles Kelly. "They were very detailed in what they did and we were not. I take full responsibility for that and I own that.
"We have to recognize what we have to do to get better. There's still a lot of football left to play and we'll get back to work for next week."
North Dakota State, a football-only member of the Mountain West Conference, wasted little time getting on the scoreboard , receiving the opening kickoff and driving 76 yards in eight plays to stake the Bison to a 7-0 lead.
NDSU quarterback Nathan Hayes was 4-of-4 passing on his team's first offensive series of the season.
Jax State responded on its second possession, silencing the sellout crowd of 18,700 at the Fargodome. After forcing North Dakota State to punt, the Gamecocks marched 64 yards in six plays, capped by senior quarterback Caden Creel's eight-yard touchdown scramble with 4:16 remaining in the first quarter.
Garrison Rippa's first extra point of 2026 tied the game at 7-7.
The Bison regained the lead with meticulous 14-play drive that consumed almost 8½ minutes. Drew Klein's 34-yard field goal with 10:46 remaining in the second quarter put NDSU in front 10-7.
Newcomer Jonavan Carr made his presence felt in the waning moments of the first half with a diving, two-handed interception at the Bison 21. But the threat ended when Jax State failed to convert on fourth-and-1 from NDSU's 12 with 1:42 remaining before halftime.
The mistake proved especially costly as North Dakota State marched 88 yards in eight plays. Hayes connected with former Gamecock Jordan McCants along the sideline for a 44-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left in the second quarter and Klein's PAT extended the hosts' lead to 17-7.
North Dakota State limited the Gamecocks to 82 total yards in the opening 30 minutes while rolling to 233. Jax State's longest play of the half was a 17-yard run by Jalen Likely.
Jax State's comeback chances disintegrated midway through the third quarter as the Bison tacked on 10 points in a span of 18 seconds.
After intercepting a Creel pass in Gamecock territory, NDSU settled a 44-yard field goal from Klein at the 6:59 mark for a 20-7 lead. Then disaster struck Jax State moments later when a botched snap sailed into the end zone, with Bison defensive end Black Schlitz pouncing on the loose ball in the end zone to extend his team's lead to 27-7.
Klein added field goals 42 and 48 yards for the 26-point margin of victory.
The Gamecocks open the home portion of their 2026 schedule next Saturday vs. former Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Kentucky.
Kickoff at AmFirst Stadium is set for 6 p.m. Jax State holds an 11-8 lead against EKU in series history.
Jax State Postgame Notes – North Dakota State
August 29, 2026 • Fargodome (18,700) • Fargo, N.D.
- JSU Captains: Quarterback Caden Creel, safety Caleb Nix, defensive lineman Jawaun Campbell, kicker Garrison Rippa
- Jax State won the opening coin toss and deferred its option to the second half
- Jonavan Carr's second-quarter interception marked the 18th consecutive game in which Jax State's defense has forced at least one turnover
- Punter Conor Donaghy kicked five times for a 46.4-yard average, pinning the Bison inside its 14-yard line three times
- Cornerback JQ Brooks led the Gamecocks with six tackles. Carr, Morven Joseph and Tre'Quon Fegans were each credited with five stops
- Eight Gamecocks caught 12 passes thrown by Caden Creel
- Prior to Saturday's matchup, neither program had ever won a game played on August 29. North Dakota State was 0-2 all-time on this date, while Jax State was 0-3 in Aug. 29 games (2014 at Michigan State, 2019 at Southeastern Louisiana, 2024 at home vs. Coastal Carolina)
- The game in Fargo was the second northernmost football game the Gamecocks have played. Cheyney, Wash., home to Eastern Washington University, sits at ~47.49° N, roughly 42 miles north of Fargo and approximately 180 miles north of Orono, Maine, home to the Maine Black Bears, who Jax State visited in 2018
- At 1,070 miles, the trip to North Dakota is the Gamecocks' second-longest of the season. The visit to New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M., on October 28 is 146 miles longer at 1,216.
- Jax State is now 52-57-8 in season openers. Jax State's last true road win in a season opener came in 2015, a 23-20 victory at Chattanooga
- The Bison are scheduled to visit AmFirst Stadium in Jacksonville on September 22, 2029, as part of the home-and-home agreement
- Saturday's Trees Bowl game sponsored by the North Dakota Forest Service has been played annually since 1990, except for cancellation of the 2001 game vs. Maine after the 9/11 attacks.
- The game at the Fargodome marked Jax State's sixth appearance in a domed stadium. The Gamecocks played in Northern Arizona's Walkup Skydome during the 1977 NCAA Division II playoffs, at Northern Iowa's UNI-Dome in 1993, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta vs. Georgia State in 2010 and 2013, and against Louisiana in the Caesar's Superdome for the 2023 New Orleans Bowl. Jax State is now 4-2 in indoor games
- Jax State's 82 yards were its fewest in the first half of a season opener since being limited to 64 yards by UAB in Montgomery in 2021
- The Gamecocks' 85 rushing yards were the fewest since being held to 42 on 35 carries by Ohio at the 2024 Cure Bowl in Orlando
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
JSU 0, NDS 7
NDS - Kessel,Reis 6 yd pass from Hayes,Nathan (Klein,Drew kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:51
JSU 7, NDS 7
JSU - Creel,Caden 8 yd run (Rippa,Garrison kick), 6 plays, 64 yards, TOP 02:35
JSU 7, NDS 10
NDS - Klein,Drew 34 yd field goal 14 plays, 49 yards, TOP 08:23
JSU 7, NDS 17
NDS - McCants,Jordan 44 yd pass from Hayes,Nathan (Klein,Drew kick) 8 plays, 88 yards, TOP 01:24
JSU 7, NDS 20
NDS - Klein,Drew 44 yd field goal 7 plays, 30 yards, TOP 04:15
JSU 7, NDS 27
NDS - Schiltz,Blake 0 yd fumble recovery (Klein,Drew kick)
JSU 7, NDS 30
NDS - Klein,Drew 42 yd field goal 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:15
JSU 7, NDS 33
NDS - Klein,Drew 48 yd field goal 11 plays, 37 yards, TOP 07:10
