Jacksonville State football, Rich Rodriguez vs Western Kentucky: Score prediction, scouting report
Jacksonville State football is ready for its second major test of the season, when it faces off with Western Kentucky this Tuesday at JSU Stadium.
The Gamecocks suffered their second loss of the year to Liberty, falling in the second half after going into the half tied. They played three quarterbacks, with Zion Webb and Logan Smothers leaving with injuries. Ashton Frye stepped in and showed promise.
LIBERTY LOSS: Jacksonville State football fall flat late vs. Liberty as QB battle gets more complicated
QB OUTLOOK: With Zion Webb hurt and four QBs played, where does Jacksonville State football go now?
Major QB questions await
With Webb dealing with a concussion and Smothers with ankle injury, in addition to being banged up for most of the season, who starts at quarterback is the major question surrounding either team coming into the matchup. Frye appearance was only the second time that Webb or Smothers wasn't playing quarterback. The way the Gamecocks practice gets lots of reps for all players, so reps shouldn't be an issue for whoever starts.
"So, I don't know where we're at right now. We'll see if Zion (Webb) and Logan (Smothers), they're both banged up, but we'll give Ashton a lot of reps. We'll get Smoot a lot of reps and we'll see what happens," coach Rich Rodriguez said during his weekly press conference on Friday.
Reed leads the Hilltoppers
Austin Reed, the 2022 CUSA Newcomer of the Year has thrown for 1,665 yards this season. He has added 14 touchdowns and coming off his best stretch with back-to-back 297 yard games, where he threw for five touchdowns in the stretch. He lead FBS in passing yards last season and is looking to help WKU claim that honor in three straight years this season, sitting 30th in FBS midway through the season. THe Gamecocks know that they have a big task ahead of them.
''It's exciting, you know, you always want to play against the best. Playing against the best to bring the best out of you. So it's a good feeling to go out to play one of the best quarterbacks in the nation for real because he's a great quarterback," Jeremiah Harris said.
Jacksonville State vs. Western Kentucky: score prediction
Max's pick (2-3): Western Kentucky 35, Jax State 21: Jacksonville State is a year or two away from competing at the top of CUSA but should give WKU a bit of a fight.
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 vs Western Kentucky: Score prediction, scouting report
