Jacksonville State isn’t your ordinary Football Championship Subdivision team.
The Gamecocks (1-0), who finished second in the FCS last season, have proved they are capable of giving Southern Conference opponents fits — just ask Auburn.
Auburn learned that last season when it narrowly escaped its matchup against Jacksonville State with a 27-20 overtime victory after trailing 20-13 with less than six minutes left.
“They’re a very quality team,” said senior safety Rickey Jefferson. “They have a lot of guys that feel like they were overlooked or have been through certain situations that brought them to a school like that. Watching the film, the receivers and skill people are very good. They’re not slow.”
The FCS’ third-ranked Gamecocks line up against another SEC opponent this weekend in hopes of righting last season’s wrong, this time against a careening No. 21 LSU team that plunged 16 spots in the Associated Press Top 25 after dropping its season opener against Wisconsin.
LSU and Jacksonville State play at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Tiger Stadium.
Particularly, LSU (0-1) isn’t taking senior quarterback Eli Jenkins lightly. Jenkins, who Jefferson compared to former Texas A&M and current Oklahoma backup quarterback Kyler Murray, leads an offense that earned a school-record 7,613 yards last season and featured a 12-game win streak before falling to North Dakota State in the championship game.
Ohio Valley Conference’s Player of the Year, Jenkins was also bestowed FCS National Quarterback of the Year honors as he showcased his dynamics with 2,788 yards and 21 touchdowns through the air and another 1,161 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
“He definitely has that power to run,” said junior safety Jamal Adams. “He likes a lot of draws, and he can throw as well. He’s a great quarterback for those guys. We have to definitely honor him with his run but stay on our toes and be prepared for the pass.”
Junior defensive tackle Greg Gilmore said the defensive line won’t tone down its aggressiveness against the dual-threat signal caller. But the Tigers will focus on clearing up the rushing lanes up the middle — the same angles Wisconsin quarterback Bart Houston took advantage of during LSU’s 16-14 loss last Saturday.
With the scrambling lanes Houston, normally a pocket quarterback, had, the dual-threat Jenkins could spell trouble for the Tiger defense. Houston led the Gamecocks’ rushing effort in last Thursday’s 31-12 win against North Alabama with 101 yards on 13 carries.
“We’ve just got to be prepared for him to do some draws, him break, running out of the pocket, keeping our eyes on our guys if we’re in coverage,” Jefferson said. “Until we really see him pass the line of scrimmage [the defensive backs] can’t [go after him] because he’ll dump it off. He’s that elusive.”
Jacksonville State graduated its conference rushing yard record-holder Troymaine Pope after a 1,788 yard season but replaced him with 2013 Alabama Mr. Football and Auburn transfer Roc Thomas.
Thomas inherits the same five starting linemen that paved the way for Pope’s school — and conference-record breaking season.
A consensus five-star prospect and the No. 4 running back in 2014, Thomas carried the rock 20 times for 73 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener.
“He looked like a pretty fast running back,” said junior defensive tackle Davon Godchaux.
Thomas is one of nine SEC transfers, including junior wide receiver Kevin Spears, an LSU transfer, making the Gamecocks a potential SEC killer.
“The thing about [Jacksonville State] is it’s kind of a trick team,” Godchaux said. “They’re not going to lay down to us. They’re going to try to score and win this game.”
LSU sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris (6) practices his throw on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015, before the Tigers' 35-28 victory against the Gators in Tiger Stadium.
