Off Season Opponent Report: Jacksonville State

We continue our post Spring practice check ins with all of our 2011 opponents. We've covered Clark Atlanta and Old Dominion the last two weeks and today we take a look at our highest ranked FCS opponent and arguably one of our most exciting games in 2010.  Jacksonville State was ranked #5 entering the Dome last September and was 8-0 and ranked as high as #3 before losing 3 out of their last 4 games including the FCS Playoff opener at home vs. Wofford.  This offseason has been interesting as the JSU Board of Regents in April put possible FBS plans on the table.

When: September 17th

JSU in 2010: 9-3, Lost in FCS Playoffs - Opening Round

Spring Report: The Gamecocks will have to replace 7 starters on offense and 4 starters on defense from 2010.  I had a chance to speak with Gamecock Illustrated and they gave me some insight on the team's health, FBS transfers and his concerns exiting Spring:

To my knowledge, we came out of Spring relatively healthy. I don't know of any injuries to key players. Starting tackle Tori Mobley did not play in the Spring Game but I think he will be back this Fall. The great news was the return of Matt Jones, a Hoover [MTV] (2 a days) high school product that started as a true freshman for JSU, but had to miss all of last season w/ a knee injury. Our starting QB Marques Ivory lost about 30 pounds and looked and played like a different player in the Spring. My judgment is offensive line is a question mark for the Gamecocks. Wr Transfer Trey Smith looked great in our Spring Game but I'm not a big believer in reading too much into Spring Games.

On the defensive side of the ball, everyone seems excited about our new coordinator Chris Boone. The defensive line should be a strength of the team with several seniors and at least one guy, Monte Lewis, that may have the talent to play at the next level. Gamecock fans are anxious to see if linebacker Erik Russell will return to the team. He sat out last year for undisclosed reasons and is an impact player.  We had a few midyear transfer players that look good, but I think for now they are probably not big time impact players.

Recruits to Watch:

OG Thomas Williams - Big time OL that can play either OG position.  Had offers to Clemson, South Florida and Louisville and the Gamecocks were able to keep him home.

DT Jakarri Kinnie - A one time verbal commit according to the AJC's Chip Towers, Kinnie decided to stay at home as well.  A big time 6'1, 320lbs. noseguard who had offers from SEC, ACC and Sun Belt schools.

RB Demarcus James - Another guy that we were in the mix for that refused to leave the state.  5'10, 215lbs balanced back with very good power and good speed. 

For more on Jacksonville State football, visit the JSU football page.

Tuesday Quick Hitters - 10.12.10

Good Evening Panther Nation!  I hope you enjoyed this weekend's victory over Savannah State and are looking forward to NC Central.  I had a chance to catch up with Tommy Hicks of the Mobile Press Register this afternoon and he had some interesting insights about the South Alabama program. I'll be posting his interview in about 30 minutes

Until then, today's links:

Ken at the AJC Previews NC Central with Coach Curry: AJC Link

Football Opponents Report: Rough weekend for our opponents as they go 3-5 this weekend. Our foes have a combined of 33-28 with Jacksonville State and South Alabama remaining undefeated. Check out Bob of the Examiner's complete run down. Examiner Link


Football Recruiting: DL Tre Jackson (6-5 290) of Jessup, GA has been offered by Georgia Tech. He's also getting interest from Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Middle Tennessee State. He is open right now. Charleston Post & Courier Link

Basketball Recruiting: Got to see a basketball recruit at the Georgia Dome on Saturday vs. Savannah State.  Former Washington State Forward James Watson took in the game with Asst. Coach Sceptor Brownlee.  He's currently at a JUCO and from what I understand he's a solid commit to us.  I'll be updating the recruiting sites tomorrow.  Washington State profile

JSU Coach Says Team Overlooked GSU

OVERLOOKED GEORGIA STATE?: It's not often a coach admits it, but No. 4 Jacksonville State's Jack Crowe revealed that his Gamecock's might have overlooked Georgia State in their 34-27 overtime win.

"I hate to use the word overlook, but I won't deny that was an accurate assessment of our game," Crowe said. "We certainly tried for that not to be the case. But I hope as we go forward that we've learned the lesson that every game we play starts out with a seven-point margin and it's what you do after that. So many games we play are seven point or less that you have to take care of all the little details or you'll find yourself on the wrong end of things."

Austin Peay Site
 
My take: This is called saving face after what they thought would be a breather.  There are no breathers in college football.  The team has to compete for 60 minutes and if they takes a play, a series or a quarter off, they can and, very often, do.  As big as the Ole Miss win for them was, a loss to us would have destroyed their ranking and we would have planted a huge recruiting flag in our state.  We came close but close only counts in...you know the rest.

Georgia State vs. Jacksonville State: Preview & Prediction

Georgia State vs. Jacksonville State
Kickoff: 1:00pm Georgia Dome
TV: CSS

Quick Slant: No one is giving the Panthers a chance in this game.  Jacksonville State is ranked #4 in the latest FCS poll and have won on the road at Ole Miss to open the season.  As Coach Curry said today, the Gamecocks will be playing their 882nd game in their 107 year history while this is the 3rd game in Georgia State history. How do the Panthers respond after losing to Lambuth last week?

Photo Courtesy of GSU Sports Communications

About Jacksonville State: They are coming off two enormous and emotional victories.  Beating Ole Miss made their season and the effects caused a malaise over the Gamecock faithful until the 3rd quarter of Saturday's contest vs. UT-Chattanooga.  They woke up just in time winning 21-17.  They have not started well and have only scored 10 points in the first half total in their 2 contests. They run a 3-4 defense and have given up 48 points in the first half of games this season.  Their offense will play both QBs Marquez Ivory and Coty Blanchard.  Ivory is more of the pocket guy with Blanchard being able to tuck it and run.

What to Watch

1. Can the Panthers jump out to a lead?  Jacksonville State has started slow but this time they are heavy favorites.  Will they be overconfident and think they can just show up and win?

2. How will Drew Little perform against JSU's defense?  They can give up points and the defensive line is actually smaller than Lambuth's.

3. Can the Panthers keep it under 30? Jacksonville State is 42-6 in games that they score 30 points.

Georgia State Wins If...

Drew Little and the Panther offense manage the game.  Also, it's important to see how the ground game gets going.  The Panthers were physically whipped on the offensive and defensive lines.  If the Panthers can move the chains they have the athletes outside to put points on the board.

Jacksonville State Wins If...

They take advantage of a young secondary.  The Gamecocks are not going to come out and run it 35 times in this game.  They run a spread offense and would prefer to throw more than they pass.  They will throw short and move the ball in spurts.  They only have 3 total plays over 20 yards this year.

Georgia State Checklist:

1. Start Strong.  Make this team sweat.  They approached Ole Miss with a no lose attitude. They let that win affect them last Saturday night vs. UTC but adjusted.  What will happen if they get punched in the mouth by a team everyone has told them they are better than?

2. Stop the Run.  JSU is only averaging 2.6 yards per carry so far and will abandon the run.  Force this team to be one dimensional and you can release the defensive mind of John Thompson's exotic blitzes.

3. Build confidence in the passing game.  Drew Little's confidence was shaken and his poise was tested.  Give him short passes, screens, quick slants to build his confidence.  Don't be afraid to take some shots down the field.

The buzz

The Gamecocks are highly ranked and expected to bring more than 5000 clad in red and white to the Dome.  Did you know the Gamecocks are 0-4 vs. teams from the State of Georgia (Georgia Tech twice, West Georgia and Georgia Southern) since 1995?  Jacksonville State has never played in the Georgia Dome and is 0-2 playing on CSS.

The prediction: Jacksonville State 30, Georgia State 21

Jacksonville State Coach: 'Will Be a Dog Fight'

Next week the Gamecocks will go to Atlanta to play Bill Curry’s 1-0 Georgia State team. The Panthers will probably sell a few more tickets to that game thanks to Jacksonville State’s upset of Ole Miss.



“I saw they had 30,000 for their first game. That’s incredible,” said Crowe. “Playing Curry will be a dogfight over there. Anything can happen on the road in this sport.”


AJC Link

Our Opponents Impressive this weekend

Gamecock players letting out a Rebel yell in Oxford on Saturday

Photo Courtesy of Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

Jacksonville State - 1-0 It all starts with our Week 3 home opponent Jacksonville State.  They walked into Ole Miss and capitalized on 3 Rebel turnovers and beat them in 2 OTs 49-48.  A great win for them and I've got to believe they'll be very excited and will have a very large following on Sept. 18th.

Campbell - 1-0 Our Week 4 opponent defeated previously winless UVA-Wise 20-16 for their season opening win.

Morehead State - 0-1 Our Homecoming and Week 5 opponent absolutely got housed vs. James Madison losing 48-7.

Savannah State - 0-1 Our Week 6 opponent headed to Statesboro to face the Georgia Southern Eagles and received a worse beating that Morehead State did, losing 48-3.

North Carolina Central - 1-0 Our Week 7 foe beat Johnson C. Smith 59-0.

Old Dominion - 0-1 Week 8 road opponent ODU had a tough go and lost to non scholarship Jacksonville University 35-25 at home.

South Alabama - 1-0 Week 9 road opponent beats NAIA Pikeville (Ky.) 59-0 in front of 22,376 fans at Ladd Peebles Stadium.

Lamar - 0-1 Week 10 and final home game opponent loses to #11 McNeese State 30-27.

Alabama - 1-0 (0-0 SEC) The defending BCS National Champions defeated San Jose State 49-3 without Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. 

Through Week 2 our opponents are 6-8 (Lambuth lost on Thursday night to the Wonder Boys of Arkansas Tech.

Question #4 How will our defense look?

We will be running a hybrid 3-4 (as chronicled by the roster and DJ's astute analysis weeks ago watching practice).  We will face a Shorter squad who runs the triple option and throws less than 10 times per game, then a Lambuth team that resembles Texas Tech and then Jacksonville State who runs a spread/pro style combination style.  My question today is how will our defense look?  Who are you most interested in seeing?

GSU vs. Jacksonville State on CSS

That's 4 games on TV so far this season.  I really hope we keep this game competitive. 

JSU Sports Link