Jacksonville State football makes case for bowl with monster win over La Tech
JACKSONVILLE — Jacksonville State football and Rich Rodriguez ran it early, often and highly successfully in a 56-17 win Saturday over Louisiana Tech at JSU Stadium.
The Gamecocks (8-3, 6-1 CUSA) cruised to a 39-point win over the Bulldogs (3-9, 2-6) to close out the home slate in the first FBS season.
Malik Jackson wasted no time once Jax State got the ball, he broke off a 68-yard run before scoring on the next play to give Jax State an early lead. Jax State special teams added the next touchdown as Kekoura Tenrue blocked and returned a punt for it for a score. Jax State gouged the Bulldogs consistently on the ground, gaining 318 yards in the first half alone as they lead by 35 going into the half.
The Bulldogs blocked a punt for a TD, and recovered a fumble to open the half, but the Gamecocks never allowed it to get closer.
Bulldogs weakness seals their fate
Coming into the game, it was known that the Bulldogs struggled stopping the run and it was clear from the first Gamecock snap that they were going to take advantage. The Gamecocks gashed the Bulldogs defense, early and often. In the first quarter, Jax State averaged over 12 yards a carry and had six runs over 10 yards.
The domination on the ground continued throughout as the Bulldogs showed little resistance, racking up 522 yards on the ground, setting the single game CUSA record.
Zion Webb starts slow
The passing attack has not been the strength of the Jax State offense, but Webb was unable to get that part of the game going in the first quarter. He start 0 for 5, missing players in any direction before finally getting a big completion to convert a third down. Webb went 3 of 11 for 80 yards in the first half, but had three rushing touchdowns on the day.
Jax State defense shows up
Once again, the Jax State defense showed up.
The Bulldogs struggled to get anything going on the ground, with only 37 yards in the first half and had 193 yards through the air — but, a majority of those came on the scoring drives. The Jax State defense had three fourth-down stops in the first half alone. The strong play of the defense is clear reason why the Gamecocks are sitting in the position they are in and it showed on Saturday.
Up next
Jax State will travel to New Mexico State while LA Tech's season is over.
Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports and Jacksonville State athletics for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Jacksonville State football uses strong ground game to blow out LA Tech
