To paraphrase and twist the line, Jacksonville State shows why there’s no crying or whining in college football.
The Gamecocks won nine games in their first two FBS seasons under former head man Rich Rodriguez, and took home the Conference USA championship in dominant fashion.
But before last season, RichRod left for West Virginia and took several of the 24 players who transferred – mostly key ones – with him.
Jacksonville State was starting over.
The Gamecocks Reloaded Quickly For Another Big Run
© Maxwell Donaldson / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(© Maxwell Donaldson / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Charles Kelly had never been a head coach, serving for years as a big-time defensive coordinator for several major programs.
He came in with a roster with an almost all new starting 22, and it would’ve been totally forgivable if the program took a major step back to regroup.
Nine wins, a return to the Conference USA Championship, and the second bowl win in three years.
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This year’s team needs a bunch of reworking and retooling, but … whatever.
The challenges for this year’s Gamecock team is nothing compared to what this program has overcome to get three straight nine-win FBS seasons in three years.
Jacksonville State Quick Hits
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Head Coach: Charles Kelly (2nd year, 9-5)
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Best Case / Worst Case: Win the Conference USA championship/A first losing season as an FBS team
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Key Player: Khristian Lando, RB Soph.
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Biggest Question: Will the running game keep rocking without star Cam Cook around?
Jacksonville State Key 2025 Stats
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Rushing Offense: Jacksonville State 3,771 yards, Opponents 2,379 yards
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Turnovers: Opponents 24, Jacksonville State 14
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Penalties Per Game: Opponents 6.43, Jacksonville State 5.71
Offense
The offense didn’t slip enough to matter.
The ground game kept rolling through the changes, the production was just fine, and it should all continue with the parts in place to do even more under new offensive coordinator Taylor Housewright – he coached the tight ends last year.
What’s Working
Caleb Creel is about to do more. The junior quarterback ran for 1,076 yards and seven scores, threw for over 1,500 yards and nine scores, and was a great conductor for the attack.
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The rushing attack. Jacksonville State ran for over 3,500 yards and 51 touchdowns in 2024, and ran for close to 3,500 yards and 32 scores last year.
Yes, the rushing touchdowns dipped a bit, but winning is winning. The Gamecocks were 7-1 when running for 252 yards or more.
The offensive line is fine. There’s a great mix of good young talent, veterans, and transfers.
Lucas Mrachkovskiy is a rising star at center, and tackle Lance Johnson also made the Conference USA All-Freshman team.
Jax State also brought in blockers who’ll fit right away, helped by guards Ryan Walker (North Alabama) and Caleb Holmes (Pitt).
What Needs Work
Cam Cook will be tough to replace. He came in from TCU and was a dominant force for the ground game, running for close to 1,700 yards and 16 scores as the Conference USA Player of the Year. Now he’s at West Virginia, and …
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Replacing Cook will take a heavy lift. Cook was the right fit in the right attack, and now it’s up to Khristian Lando and Andrew Paul to go from good backups who combined for 327 yards and four scores to stars.
Yes, the line will be good, but it lost a few great players in Conference USA all-stars Amare Grayson and Cameron Griffin to West Virginia, along with tackle Reggie Jackson (Boston College).
Player to Watch
Deondre Johnson, WR Jr.
A matchup nightmare, he’s a 6-8, 220-pound veteran deep threat who can hit the home run from anywhere.
The receivers don’t get the spotlight in this attack, but Johnson averaged 24 yards per catch with six scores on his 30 grabs. All he has to do is take advantage of defenses worrying about the run.
© Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(© Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Defense
Brian Williams came in from Maryland and did a nice job in his first season as the defensive coordinator.
The defense gave up 379 yards per game, but it was still among the best in Conference USA. There’s enough back to keep it all going.
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What’s Working
The defense improved in Williams’ first season. The D didn’t lose as many parts as the O did last year, but it was still a big plus that everything got a bit better.
There weren’t night-and-day changes – the 2024 defense wasn’t bad – but the pass rush improved, and the group was better against the run. It helps that …
The top three tacklers are back, and it starts with the safeties. Walker O’Steen plays a linebacker role, but he’s 6-3 and 215 pounds and makes plenty of things happen when the ball is in the air.
O’Steen was second on the team in tackles, and Caleb Nix led the team with four picks. They work around Mac Sanders, who’s back in the middle after an 85-tackle season.
The defense took the ball away. Some defense comes up with a few monster games of turnovers, and go half the season without forcing a mistake.
Jacksonville State came up with a takeaway in all 14 games, and two or more in seven of them.
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What Needs Work
The defensive line got slammed hard. Some decent parts of last year’s front three are back, but the talent of Emmanuel Oyebadejo (Florida), Darrell Prater (Illinois) and Talan Carter (Vanderbilt) will be tough to replace, especially because …
Size is a problem. The three lost guys weren’t massive, but they all pushed 300 pounds, to go along with their talent.
Tackles Kurtiss Perry (280 pounds), Marquis Hood (275), and Andrew Rumph (265) aren’t small, and 300-pound Nil Addy from Harding will help, but this isn’t a massive bunch.
The secondary needs the portal guys to be good. Clemson’s Rob Billings IV will find a spot somewhere with his good size and versatility, and he’s not alone with safety Vernon Woodward III (Illinois) and corner Kaden Cook (Cal) two great gets.
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Player to Watch
Mac Sanders, LB Soph.
The 6-2, 225-pounder had a huge freshman run, leading the team with 85 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 11.5 tackles for loss.
He did a little of everything for the defense, was steadily great, and is now the leader and playmaker for a veteran group.
Keys to the Season
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The new running backs have to make up for Cam Cook’s production.
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The replacements on the defensive front have to be sound.
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Keep on winning the turnover margin.
Player Who Needs To Shine
Khristian Lando, RB Soph.
It’ll take a rotation to replace Cam Cook.
The offensive style isn’t slowing down. It’ll be friendly to running backs with a burst, and the 6-1, 205-pound Lando should put up massive numbers after finishing second among the running backs with 200 yards and a score.
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Biggest Concern
Controlling the clock
The Rich Rodriguez style always kept defenses on roller skates going backwards, but it always led to massive tempo control imbalances.
The Gamecocks were 124th in the time of possession battle in 2023, keeping the ball for just 26:43 per game. In 2024, they were 126th, keeping it for 26:57 per game.
Last year under the new coaching staff, Jax State had the ball for 30:30 per game and was 50th in the nation. Do that again, and the wins should keep coming.
Biggest Game
at Kennesaw State, October 7
Different years, different teams, but last year’s Conference USA championship will be a huge deal this year, too.
With tough road games against WKU and Delaware still to deal with, the Gamecocks might need this.
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Transfer Portal
It’s not nearly as bad as last season when the team was hit by a massive talent loss.
There might be a slew of losses, but it’s nothing compared to last season. The talent departing is big, but there are enough new prospects coming in to play around with the position battles.
Best Signing
Rob Billings IV, S (Clemson)
The Gamecocks likely won’t use too many transfers as sure-thing defensive starters out of the gate, but Billings will almost certainly be the exception.
He didn’t do too much in his few years with Clemson, but he’s 6-2 and 205 pounds with range.
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Biggest Loss
Emmanuel Oyebadejo, DE (Florida)
The 1,659 yards and 16 touchdowns from running back Cam Cook will be missed – he’s off to West Virginia – but the backs in place should be able to hold their own.
It’s far, far harder to replace a 6-7, 295-pound end who led the team with 4.5 sacks and made 43 tackles.
Other Names to Know
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Ronnel Johnson, WR (Missouri State)
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Ryan Walker, OG (North Alabama)
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David Alpers, TE (South Dakota State)
CFN Season Prediction
With three straight seasons with nine wins as an FBS program, underestimate Jacksonville State at your own risk.
Last year’s team only lost four games before the Conference USA Championship, and it beat a strong WKU squad, took down Kennesaw State in the regular season, and …
CFN Prediction: 7-5
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that might seem low compared to all the hype we’ve been dishing out, and it really might not seem right considering there aren’t any games against Power Four teams.
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But the road games against North Dakota State, Ohio, Kennesaw State, WKU, and Delaware are all dangerous – the trip to New Mexico State comes after a week off.
But Georgia Southern and FIU are the toughest home games – that’s not bad – and even if there’s a rough start, the Gamecocks should be deep in the mix for the Conference USA title as they get better and better as the year goes on.
Related: Conference USA Football 2026 Win Totals: Spring Predictions for All 10 Teams
