Gamecocks fall to NC A&T in August opener
MONTGOMERY – One of college football’s most remarkable streaks came to an unfortunate end in the annual Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff on Aug. 25.
Sixth-ranked Jacksonville State’s regular-season win streak of 41 straight against non-FBS opponents came to an end against No. 14 North Carolina A&T in the nationally televised showdown of FCS powers at Cramton Bowl.
The defending HBCU champs (1-0) immediately answered two Gamecocks touchdowns with scores of their own in the third quarter and held on to prevail 20-17, handing JSU its first loss to a non-FBS foe since Nov. 16, 2013 (a span of 1,743 days).
Jacksonville State, 0-1 for the first time since losing to Michigan State in the 2014 opener, had its chances late. The team is back in action this Saturday.
New quarterback Zerrick Cooper connected on five straight passes as the Gamecocks moved from their 20 to the North Carolina A&T 18 in the waning moments, but the Aggies’ Darryl Johnson forced a fumble that the visitors from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference pounced on to preserve the upset.
“I made a lot of mistakes tonight,” said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. “Not a lot of smart coaching on my part.
“I thought our effort was really good, but it goes back to (North Carolina) A&T – they played hard. Defensively, I thought we played well at times. Offensively, we’ve got to be able to run the ball better (80 yards on 27 carries).”
Jacksonville State outgained NCA&T 403-148, but mistakes both mental and physical proved too costly to overcome. The Gamecocks committed four turnovers, were whistled for 14 penalties and were only 1-for-11 on third-down conversions.
Cooper had his moments in his JSU debut: he threw touchdown passes of 49 and 40 yards on backto-back series in the third quarter as the Gamecocks’ offense began to display some explosiveness. The redshirt sophomore transfer was 24-for-38 for 320 yards but also was intercepted once.
The Aggies led 7-3 at halftime as both offenses struggled to find a rhythm.
North Carolina A&T got on the board first with a 24-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter that was aided by a pair of 15-yard flags against Gamecocks defenders.
Cade Stinnett’s 23-yard field goal with 3:55 left in the second quarter cut the Aggies’ lead to 7-3.
Cooper’s first TD pass, a 49-yard strike to Daniel Byrd, gave Jacksonville State its first lead at 10-7 with 6:13 remaining in the third. That lead lasted only 16 seconds, however, as NCA&T’s Malik Wilson took the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to put his team in front 14-10.
A 40-yard Cooper touchdown pass to Josh Pearson just over a minute later put the Gamecocks ahead again at 17-14. The three-play scoring drive saw Cooper hit Shaq Davidson on a 24-yard completion before his toss to Pearson, whose first career catch resulted in points.
North Carolina A&T took the lead for what proved to be the last time with five-play, 36-yard drive after JSU failed to execute an onside kick following its score. A catch interference penalty on nthe kickoff gave the Aggies excellent field position and they re-took the lead on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 2:36 left in the third quarter.
Stinnett missed a 51-yard attempt on the first play of the fourth quarter and had a 41-yard try blocked with 4:11 remaining in the game.
Jalen Choice led Jacksonville State’s defense with nine tackles, including 1.5 for losses.
The Gamecocks now have had two weeks to prepare for their home opener against Mississippi Valley State at Burgess-Snow Field this Saturday.
In other JSU-related news, tickets for Jacksonville State’s football game against Kennesaw State at SunTrust Park on Nov. 17 are now on sale.
For more information, contact the JSU Ticket Office at (256) 782-8499 or visit www.JSUGamecockSports. com/Tickets