Orlando, FL – First-half struggles doom Jax State in Cure Bowl loss to Ohio, but the winds of change blow with promise for the Gamecocks.
Ohio 30, Jax State 27
By: Joe Medley
Three years is a long time, but a feeling can make long-ago times feel like yesterday.
Jacksonville State had just lost in overtime at Eastern Kentucky, in the final game under then-interim-coach Max Thurmond.
It was the last game under former head coach John Grass’ staff.
It was Jax State’s last game before transitioning from FCS to FBS.
Such a gone-with-the-wind feeling settled over the chill that day in Richmond, Ky., and that’s how it felt watching Jax State struggle against Ohio in Friday’s StaffDNA Cure Bowl.
In their first game since Rich Rodriguez resigned to once again become West Virginia’s head coach, Jax State went into halftime down 20 points and with no rushing yards. A portal-reduced defense couldn’t get off of the field.
Things got better in the second half, much better, but Jax State lost 30-27.
So much for winning nine out of 10 games after an 0-3 start.
So much for a 10-win season in Jax State’s second FBS season.
So much for the feeling that came with three consecutive nine-win seasons under Rodriguez.
So much for the feeling that came with a bowl victory in Jax State’s first FBS season and a Conference USA title this season.
There was Jax State football with RichRod. This, it appeared Friday, is FBS-era Jax State football without RichRod.
It was as if Jax State fans awoke and realized it was all a dream.
In what’s likely a total overreaction, it’s only natural to ask whether it was all a dream. Then again, maybe it’s time to question what looked like reality.
Eight of Jax State’s nine wins this season came against CUSA competition, the other win against a one-win Sun Belt team. Two of five losses came to MAC teams. The Gamecocks lost to the MAC champion, Ohio, and a 5-7 Eastern Michigan team.
In the first game with a roster that included 60 new players, Jax State lost to the fifth-place Sun Belt team. Coastal Carolina beat the Gamecocks 55-27 and went on to a 6-6 season.
Perhaps that says something about the current-day, rebuilt incarnation of CUSA. In the FBS Group of 5 world, it’s just not that strong of a league. Not yet.
It can give one an illusion of prosperity.
As for whether RichRod was all the difference, well, let’s face it. Only because of bumps in his coaching road was he available for a program like Jax State when Jax State needed a splash hire for its move up.
He rehabilitated himself with 27 wins in three seasons and coached his way back to West Virginia.
Yes, the school that litigated over his buyout in 2008 and got its $4 million ended up chunking $2.5 million to buy him out of Jax State.
Coaching … what a racket.
The question Jax State must answer going forward is whether Rodriguez was a lightning-in-a-bottle hire. The list of coaches with three Power 5 head-coaching stops on their resumes, who might be available for a relative Group of 5 newcomer, is short.
Then again, Rodriguez showed what can be at Jax State, in the portal era. An up-and-comer, or even another rehab project, can win with Jax State, in current-day CUSA.
If RichRod won enough that his old employer would buy him back, then someone else can win enough to get that Power 4 opportunity.
Reports say the next coach will be Auburn co-defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, the 2023 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year.
The next coach just needs to be a guy who can spot and lure talents like Zechariah Poyser, who parlayed his impressive Jax State stay into a shot to play for Miami.
The next coach needs to spot and lure talents like Colorado-bound Reginald Hughes.
Rodriguez won at recruiting. He won in the portal.
If the next coach can do the same, then Jax State can once again ride the wind.
Game updates
–Kickoff, 11 a.m.
FIRST QUARTER
–Ohio gets on the board first with Parker Navarro’s 17-yard TD run. PAT is good. Drive: 7 plays, 79 yards, 2:38. OHIO 7, JAX STATE 0
–Another TD run for Navarro, 8 yards. PAT good at 1:22. Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards, 2:56. OHIO 14, JAX STATE 0
–Jax State answers immediately, with Tyler Huff throwing to Cam Vaughn for a 75-yard TD run. Garrison Ripp’s PAT is good at 1:12. Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:10. OHIO 14, JAX STATE 7
SECOND QUARTER
–Jax State’s D struggling to get off the field. Add a 4-yard TD run for Navarro. PAT no good at 4:59. Drive: 11 plays, 67 yards, 6:12. OHIO 20, JAX STATE 7
–Ohio’s Shay Taylor ejected on flagrant conduct call after a brawl. Three Jax State players, including Huff, draw conduct calls, but not flagrant, and continue on. Taylor appeared to stomp on Jax State tight end Jacob Barrick after the play, touching off tensions.
–Rippa kicks a short field goal try off of the left upright.
–Navarro does his Patrick Mahomes immitation, scrambling left then flipping an 11-yard TD pass to Anthony Tyus III. PAT good at 0:41. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 1:19. OHIO 27, JAX STATE 7
HALFTIME
Halftime thoughts: Jax State clearly missing some portal guys on defense, and the D can’t get off of the field. Then again, the offense has had, essentially, one good play and zero rushing yards.
THIRD QUARTER
–After a shanked Ohio punt, Jax State starts on Ohio’s 20 and turns the opportunity into points. Huff in with a 7-yard keeper for a TD. Rippa’s kick is good at 9:36. Drive: 3 plays, 20 yards, 0:43. OHIO 27, JAX STATE 14
FOURTH QUARTER
–After a Huff interception in the red zone squelched a scoring opportunity, Ohio drove for a 48-yard Spetic field goal at 13:19. OHIO 30, JAX STATE 14
–Jax State answers with a quick drive leading to a Tre Steward TD run at 9:52. Ohio stuffs the conversion try. OHIO 30, JAX STATE 20
–Stewart in with a 5-yard TD run at 3:33. OHIO 30, JAX STATE 27.
FINAL: Ohio wins, 30-27.
