Story by
The Anniston Star, Ala.
Mark Edwards: Jax State needed this blow-out win more than you might think
- Story byThe Anniston Star, Ala.
- Mark Edwards: Jax State needed this blow-out win more than you might think
JACKSONVILLE — Nothing helps sooth a savage loss like passing the bad times along to somebody else.
Sorry, Eastern Kentucky , it was your day in the barrel.
Jacksonville State , bruised and hurting from a rough loss last week at North Dakota State , took it out on the visiting Colonels 49-7 in Saturday's home opener.
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The Gamecocks beat EKU like they stole something. They whupped them like they were Troy. They practically picked them up by their feet, turned them upside down and shook them like they were looking for loose change.
While this didn't make up for that loss in Fargo, Saturday did allow Jax State to work out a good bit of its aggression.
This was a country boy butt whipping, like they walked into a near empty bar, saw the villain and locked the door so he couldn't escape what was coming to him.
Sure, Eastern Kentucky is an FCS program, while Jax State is in its third season in the FBS. But this was never about what kind of opponent EKU was.
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This was about showing that last week's performance was far from the standard that they're willing to accept.
It wasn't an easy week. The Tuesday and Wednesday practices were especially tough.
The Gamecocks worked out in temperatures in the 90s. And the artificial turf of AmFirst Stadium made it feel even hotter. Head coach Charles Kelly said it felt like it was 130 degrees.
"I mean, it was hard," Kelly said afterward in his postgame news conference. "But you know what? The game is going to be hard. Life is going to be hard. The only way you prepare for it is to prepare hard."
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He added that the players answered the call. And, well, if you watched Saturday's game, you saw how well they responded.
The Gamecocks were favored by 21.5 points but nearly doubled that by winning by 42. It could've been worse. A 70-yard touchdown pass to Deondre Johnson got called back because of a penalty. So was an 84-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ty Sims.
"I'm really proud of our players — not just because of the results of this game," Kelly said. "I'm proud of them because they put in a lot of hard work."
We also got a better look at the type of team Kelly wants the 2026 version of the Gamecocks to be, especially on offense.
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A week ago in Fargo, Jax State's attack struggled with missed assignments and missed opportunities.
But not Saturday.
The Gamecocks' offense showed the balance that Kelly is hoping to achieve. After running the ball about 66 percent of the time last year, Jax State had 31 rushing attempts against Eastern Kentucky and threw the ball 30 times.
The passing game was especially good. Caden Creel threw for 327 yards, which beat his career high of 204. He also threw five touchdown passes.
He said afterward that he didn't bother looking at his final numbers, but he should. He deserves to have this stat sheet frame, if he wants to.
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We also got a long look at fifth-year player Jamill Williams, a transfer from Division II Albany State who rebounded from last week's performance in a big way. After catching only two passes for 5 yards against NDSU, he managed seven receptions Saturday for 144 yards and four touchdowns.
Even though he was coming from D-II, he proved he knows how to catch the ball. He managed 80 receptions in the last two years there. He wanted to come to Jax State so badly.
When he called Kelly to let him know he wanted to be a Gamecock, Kelly missed the call. So, he called right back and when Kelly answered, he told him with urgency that he was coming.
Kelly compared him to Jaylen Waddle , the star NFL wide receiver who Kelly coached on special teams at Alabama . Williams asked to wear No. 1, but the resemblance to Waddle stuck with Kelly so much that the coach recommended No. 17, which Waddle wears.
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Creel threw long, he threw short, and he threw from sideline to sideline. Although the run-based offense of a year ago was awfully good at times, it didn't spread the defense nearly as much as Kelly is hoping to do this year.
"When you can do things in the passing game, it opens the run game up more," Kelly said. "I mean, there were times last year if somebody had thrown a grenade on the center, it would've killed all 22 people on the field. I mean, you just can't play the game like that."
Again, Saturday's win came against a less-than-stellar opponent, but if you fight on, fight on for ol' Jax State, you've got to be feeling a whole lot better about the direction of this team than you did last week.
