By Derek DeBurger
The newest installment of our Birds of a feather series focuses on the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. Austin Tackett, Sports Editor of The Chanticleer, gives his take on how the Gamecocks will fair against the Cards in their first ever matchup.
The Gamecocks were one of the surprises last season when they won nine games their first season in at the FBS level. So far, they’ve been surprising in that they weren’t even competitive after the first quarter when they hosted Coastal Carolina week one. Do you think that Thursday night’s game was an abnormality or a sign of things to come this season?
I truly believe week one vs Coastal Carolina was an abnormality. Rich Rod put it best, everything was poorly executed. From offense to defense, the Gamecocks just never got rolling like they’re used to. This Jax State team has a lot of talent on the roster and a lot of that talent is coming from players in their first year with the program, aside from a number of returning or longstanding Gamecocks. With that said, I think as the season progresses and the team continues to become one, things should shape out for the Gamecocks. One thing I will say is the run game did not look like what they are used to, barely putting up half of their average from the season prior, I’d look for that to improve in weeks to come. Like I’ve been telling a lot of my classmates here at Jax State, one week does not define the whole season.
After leading his team in 2023, Logan Smothers now finds himself splitting snaps in a two-quarterback system, which offers both unique pros and cons. What I’m interested about is the hyper-up-tempo offense and what exactly that looks like with two quarterbacks. Do you think this wrinkle hinders what is otherwise an annoying offense to face?
It’s hard to answer your second question. I wouldn’t necessarily consider the offense a two-quarterback system, as we’ve seen Jax State flip-flop between quarterbacks last season between Zion Webb and Smothers, so this is a familiarity. I think the coaches were looking for one guy to show signs of being THEIR guy, but neither of them could get into any rhythm. I do not believe it will affect the offense in any way, as Jax State is a run-heavy team, and having two quarterbacks that have shown they are strong runners that can also throw the ball when needed will not hinder any wrinkles, some would even say it is quite helpful. That is as long as the run game can get up to speed.
Jax State’s coach, Rich Rodriguez, is a guy with a lot of familiarity with Louisville. His time at West Virginia is almost completely responsible for the rivalry between the Cards and the Mountaineers. With his history, do you expect Rodriguez to be a little extra fired up for Saturday’s game and for that to find itself down to the players?
I think Rich Rod respects Louisville as a program, and respects head coach Jeff Brohm just as much. But that doesn’t mean he is not going to be fired up coming off an embarrassing loss in week one. He acknowledged Louisville being a much better team than Coastal, and I am sure his players know it too, but to answer your question I think not only will Rodriguez be fired up for this game but his team will be as well. I don’t know about extra fired up because Rodriguez always seems fired up when it comes game time, no matter the opponent.
Finally, how do you expect this game to go? Who do you think will win, and what’s your score prediction?
The Jax State student in me wants to say they win. However, in my opinion, if the Gamecocks come out on Saturday and execute as poorly as they did against Coastal, this one could get ugly fast. Even with my high hopes for Jax State I think the Cardinals walk out of this one with the win 45-21.
Louisville plays Jacksonville State Saturday, Sep. 7 at 3:30 p.m. in L&N Stadium.
