Gamecocks kick off conference play by rallying past Middle Tennessee

Saturday, September 26

JACKSONVILLE

6 p.m.

Jax State

3-2 , 1-0

Middle Tennessee

2-2 , 0-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Middle Tenn.	0	7	6	0	13
Jacksonville St.	3	7	10	3	23

Photo by: Emily Kish / Jax State

Gamecocks kick off conference play by rallying past Middle Tennessee

9/26/2026 10:30:00 PM | Football

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE – Conference USA's winningest program since 2023 delivered a message to the rest of the league Saturday night: Jax State intends to remain a force to be reckoned with this season.

The Gamecocks (3-2, 1-0) opened CUSA play by scoring the game's final 13 points, rallying from a third-quarter deficit to upend Middle Tennessee 23-13 at AmFirst Stadium. Quarterback Caden Creel ran for a touchdown and threw another while Garrison Rippa kicked three field goals as Jax State defeated the Blue Raiders for the fifth straight time.

"I thought we had a lot of good things that happened in the game," said Jacksonville State head coach Charles Kelly. "We've got to get better on third down on offense and we've got to get better in the red zone. When we get somebody down, we've got to finish them off.

"Because let them stay around they had an opportunity at the end. We've got to do a better job. It's a very good conference and a very competitive conference and if we don't fix the things that we didn't do well tonight, then we're going to be crying about other results."

Jax State finished with 517 total yards, including 276 on the ground. Three receivers caught at least five passes from Creel, who also rushed 12 times for 119 yards.

Rippa staked the Gamecocks to a 3-0 lead with 7:14 remaining in the first quarter. The score was set up by Creel's 48-yard scamper, Jax State's longest run of the season.

The Gamecocks rolled up 191 yards through the opening 15 minutes, with Creel accounting for 162 of that total himself.

The Gamecocks drove into MTSU territory on their first three possessions but saw one drive halted when Creel threw an interception and another series stopped when they failed to convert on fourth-and-goal from the Blue Raiders 3.

Those missed first-half opportunities made things dicey as Jax State went to the locker room at halftime clinging to a 10-7 lead. The Gamecocks had taken a 10-point lead on Creel's one-yard touchdown run and Rippa's extra point at the 6:50 mark, only to see the Blue Raiders respond by marching 90 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown, chewing up more than six minutes.

But the momentum turned in MTSU's favor on the last play of the first half when Creel was picked off for the second time as the Gamecocks were trying to set up a late field goal attempt.

The Blue Raiders received the second-half kickoff and promptly took their first lead with a 75-yard drive in nine plays, capped by quarterback Roman Gagliano's 32-yard TD pass to Markus Allen. The botched PAT try left Middle Tennessee with a 13-10 lead at the 10:11 mark.

Jax State reeled off 10 points in a 4½-minute span late in the third to regain the advantage. Rippa drew the Gamecocks even at 13 with a 31-yard field goal, then Creel put his team in front again, 20-13, with a perfectly thrown 38-yard TD pass on a deep post to Deondre Johnson at the 1:15 mark.

Rippa later added a 29-yard field goal for the final margin of victory.

Caleb Nix, Morven Joseph and Tre'Quon Fegans led the Gamecocks defensively with six tackle apiece.

Jax State has its first open date next Saturday. The Gamecocks return to action on Wednesday, October 7, when they travel to Kennesaw State for a rematch of the 2025 Air National Guard Conference USA Championship Game.

Kickoff at Fifth Third Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

Jax State Postgame Notes – Middle Tennessee
September 26, 2026 • Burgess-Snow Field at AmFirst Stadium (16,977) • Jacksonville, Ala.

Jax State Captains: Wide receiver Dylan Gentry, offensive lineman Lance Johnson, safety Caleb Nix
Middle Tennessee won the coin toss and deferred. Jax State has won three of five tosses this season.
With his 27-yard field goal in the first quarter, Garrison Rippa passed Hall of Fame running back Boyce Callahan (1970-73) for eighth on Jax State's career scoring list. Rippa kicked three field goals and an extra point and is tied for seventh with Cade Stinnett (2014-18) with 250 points.
Jax State's 286 total yards in the first half were its most in any half through the first five games.
Darius Cannon had a career-best seven receptions while Lucas Farrington had a career-high in carries (12) and rushing yards (67).
The victory over Middle Tennessee is the final Saturday game for Jax State in a 42-day span. The Gamecocks – as part of CUSA's "Weekday CUSA" schedule – will have played twice on Wednesdays, once on Tuesday and had a pair of open dates before hosting Sam Houston on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Jax State had seven receptions for 15 yards or more.
Jax State improves to 6-1 in games played on September 26. Oddly, the Gamecocks' first two times ever to play on this date, in 1946 and 1959, came against MTSU.
The Gamecocks have won five straight in the series with MTSU's last win coming in 1997. Jax State is now 6-18-2 all-time vs. the Blue Raiders in the series which began in 1927.
Jax State ran its record at AmFirst Stadium to 19-3 since joining the FBS ranks.
Jax State is 4-0 in its CUSA opener since joining the league in 2023, with all four wins coming at home.
The Gamecocks are 3-2 for the first time since 2019.
Conor Donaghy did not punt against Middle Tennessee, marking the first time since Nov. 22, 2014, at Southeast Missouri that Jax State did not punt in a game.
Wide receiver Deondre Johnson, who had a breakout game at Middle Tennessee a year ago with four catches for 131 yards and two TDs, continued to torment the Blue Raiders with three catches for 57 yards, including the 38-yard strike from Creel for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.