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The Anniston Star, Ala.
Mark Edwards: Jax State's imperfect performance leads to a perfect ending
- Story byThe Anniston Star, Ala.
- Mark Edwards: Jax State's imperfect performance leads to a perfect ending
KENNESAW, Ga. — Practice makes perfect, and it certainly did for Jacksonville State on Wednesday night.
After a very imperfect performance for much of the night at Kennesaw State, Jacksonville State ran its hurry-up offense to perfection in the closing minutes of a 27-26 win at Kennesaw State.
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Too many penalties, too many turnovers, too many missed tackles, but with 2:15 to play and trailing by two points, the Gamecocks had the home team right where they wanted them.
Jax State had the ball at its own 25 and methodically drove down the field to get a Garrison Rippa field goal to win it. Kennesaw State gave one last gasp, but Clemson transfer Rob Billings intercepted a pass to seal the win.
A Kennesaw State penalty on fourth down helped Jax State score, but that doesn't change that the Gamecocks converted and the Owls didn't.
That last drive, which covered 60 yards on 11 plays? To Jax State head coach Charles Kelly, it looked a lot like practice Monday. The Gamecocks worked on their two-minute offense, and Kelly said it's kind of funny in that it ended the same way it did Wednesday — with Rippa at the left hash, rocketing a no-doubt kick through the goal posts.
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"We started on the (offense's) 35. We drove the ball down the field, and Garrison made it the first time," Kelly said. "We didn't ice him. We just let him kick it, and it was almost an identical situation that we had tonight."
Jax State has found itself in these situations a lot since Kelly took over. In his 20 games as head coach, 12 of the Gamecocks' games have been decided by seven points or less. Those games haven't been seven-point wins in which the losing team scored at the end to make it close.
Every game has been the type in which you needed to bring a razor because the ending was sure to get hairy.
Jax State is 7-5 in those games, including 5-2 against Conference USA opponents.
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When Kelly took over, he inherited a team that lost much of its talent and didn't look like the type that could afford to rely on a last-minute defensive stop or offensive touchdown to win. Now, if Jax State is within a touchdown late and has the ball, they kind of figure out a way.
"Our conference is a lot like the games in the NFL," Kelly said. "It usually comes down to two minutes. Everything's so balanced in this league. That's the way it's turned out."
How much would Kelly like a nice, old-fashioned three- or four-touchdown win?
"I just like wins," a tired Kelly said. "But yeah, I would like it. I'd like to see us play 60 minutes of dominating football, and if we could do that a couple of times, it would feel better."
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This marked the fifth time Jax State has won with a late field goal from Rippa — the Grim Rippa, Garrison the Rippa, Rippa the Big Dipper, the Bodice Rippa, etc.
Here's the list:
• Dec. 16, 2023: A 27-yard field goal in overtime to defeat Louisiana 34-31, securing Jacksonville State's historic New Orleans Bowl win.
• Oct. 9, 2025: A career-long 52-yard field goal as time expired to beat Sam Houston 29-27.
• Nov. 8, 2025: A 45-yard field goal with 53 seconds remaining to beat Texas-El Paso 30-27.
• Nov. 29, 2025: A 28-yard field goal on the final play of the game to beat Western Kentucky 37-34.
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• Oct. 7, 2026: A 33-yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the win over Kennesaw State.
Rippa did miss a 38-yarder on the last play of regulation at Ohio, which would've broken a tie and given Jax State a win. Instead, Ohio won in overtime.
Kelly said he told Rippa he was getting too focused on results and less on the process. Judging by that quick, booking kick Wednesday, it looks like Rippa is thinking about the process.
For all the fun and good feeling from the win, there's still one glaring issue that Jax State needs to solve — they can't stop giving up touchdowns right before halftime. In six games this year, the Gamecocks have allowed a touchdown in the final 44 seconds of the first half five times.
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The one time they didn't was in a 49-7 win over Eastern Kentucky, and the Colonels had the ball at the Jax State 32 before the drive stalled and time ran out.
Without Kennesaw's touchdown pass 23 seconds before halftime Wednesday, this one never would've come down to a Rippa field goal. The Gamecocks had a 10-point lead at Ohio before a 98-yard kickoff return before halftime. Without that, the game never would've gone in overtime, and the Gamecocks never would've lost.
This is puzzling, because one of Kelly's talking points is that the most important minutes of the game are the first two minutes of each half and the last two minutes of each half.
"I promise you we're working on it every week," Kelly said.
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He added that he doesn't think it's the defensive call coming from the sideline.
"I really don't," Kelly said, "because we're executing those calls in other situations. … It's definitely something I address every week. As a matter of fact, we've gone to two two-minute drills during the week. We do it a little bit differently each time."
Well, at least all those touchdowns right before intermission help make for some awfully exciting Conference USA games.
And most of the time, that seems fine with Jax State.
