Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Wednesday, October 4
Murfreesboro, TN
7:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
vs
Jax State
Preview: Q&A with Jacksonville State Beat Writer Thomas Ashworth
10/3/2023 5:00:00 PM | Football
The Anniston Star writer chats about the Gamecocks’ hot start to their time in CUSA
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — When you're watching a Jacksonville State football game, it's best to save your blinking for the commercial breaks. If you let it happen while the ball is in play, well, you just might miss the action completely.
And when Conference USA newcomer JSU (4-1, 2-0 CUSA) visits Murfreesboro to take on Middle Tennessee (1-4, 0-1 CUSA), fans in Floyd Stadium at 7 p.m. Wednesday night should stay in their seats as both teams will try to up the tempo on one another on ESPNU.
The Gamecocks' style of tempo, however, has found its groove in recent weeks. JSU had 15 drives during regulation of the Gamecocks' 34-28 overtime win over Sam Houston State last Thursday. The longest drive of those 15 took just two minutes off the game clock. On their four touchdown drives during regulation, the Gamecock's longest scoring drive happened in just 1:46 of game time. The other touchdown drives against the Bearkats were completed in under a minute.
It's nothing new for Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill, who helped implement that sort of tempo offense Jacksonville State Head Coach Rich Rodriguez likes to run over 20 years ago, when Rodriguez was the offensive coordinator and Stockstill was the wide receivers coach on Tommy Bowden's staff at Clemson.
"They don't substitute a lot," Stockstill said of JSU's run-heavy tempo offense. "They don't get in a lot of different personnel groupings where they're substituting, so that enables them to go a little bit faster."
The Blue Raiders are no stranger to tempo themselves, honing their own version of the tempo offense throughout much of fall camp and using it when the situation arises as part of their Air Raid scheme. But the Gamecocks tempo is far more predicated on the option run game, particularly zone reads out of spread formations, an offense that Stockstill said was more like facing the triple option in preparation than most spread teams MTSU has faced so far.
"They run the ball until it's time to take a shot," safety Tra Fluellen said. "And when they do take a shot, it's a big shot. This week we're going to focus on tackling basics. That's what we have to do and what we should do every week."
But the spread option, despite leading JSU to the top rushing offense in Conference USA, is not what's grabbing headlines during the Gamecocks' red-hot start to their time in the FBS, but rather the defense in Jacksonville, which has given up just 15.0 points per game through five contests, including a shutout at home against Eastern Michigan.
"They have a couple of d-linemen that can create pressure and make plays," quarterback Nicholas Vattiato said. "And they have a backend who can run and can cover well. When you go up against a defense like that, you have to do a really good job of taking care of all your responsibilities and playing your game."
Coming off a loss to rival Western Kentucky, MTSU has much to get right if they want to be in the CUSA title picture this season. Stockstill said he was pleased with how his team has responded in practice this week ahead of their second of four midweek contests in the row during CUSA play.
"I like where we are from a mental standpoint," Stockstill said. "I think we'll play well Wednesday night."
And his counterpart, for his program's part, is not overlooking MTSU's 1-4 start.
"Our guys are smart enough to watch, they'll watch the film and see what the challenge is," Rodriguez said. "Obviously, Coach Stockstill and I worked together, and I have a lot of respect. He's got a tremendous coaching staff, and their record is misleading. They've played probably the hardest schedule in our league."
To learn more about JSU, GoBlueRaiders.com Staff Writer Sam Doughton reached out to Thomas Ashworth, who covers the Gamecocks for the Anniston Star, to get a closer look at JSU ahead of Wednesday night's game. The two discussed Year 2 of Rich Rodriguez's tenure, the dual-threat ability of JSU's two starting quarterbacks, names to know on defense and much more!
--
1. Rich Rodriguez was hired at Jacksonville State ahead of the 2022 season, in part, to help the Gamecocks get ready for the two-year transition to the FBS level. While it's still early in Year 2 of that transition, so far, it looks like Rodriguez's program is making that transition look easy so far. How do you assess his work with the transition, given Jax State's 4-1 start, including a 2-0 mark in CUSA play?
Watching Jacksonville State's incredibly fast pace in preseason camp was extremely entertaining and seeing it on the field this fall has been even more fun. This is a team that averaged 15.8 seconds per play against Sam Houston and went 75 yards for a touchdown in under a minute.
As Rich Rod said after the game, "a minute on the clock for us is nothing."
Still, there's always a huge wildcard element with a team making the move from FCS to FBS and throwing Rich Rod in there certainly shakes it up.
To be succinct, not only has JSU's 4-1 record been a pleasant surprise for the team, but having two extremely entertaining CUSA matchups on national TV has helped the program more than many probably realize.
2. It's been a two-QB system at times in Jacksonville this season, in part due to injury. Though Logan Smothers has come into his own recently, including a three-touchdown night against the Bearkats this past week. What skillset does the junior bring to the Gamecocks offense compared to the veteran Zion Webb?
One of the interesting parts about this Jacksonville State offense is that whether it's Smothers or Webb leading the offense, there's no real adjustments that need to be made since they play such similar football.
I think both players are pretty on par in the run game, but Smothers has shown flashes of some impressive deep ball placement. He had a shoulder injury before coming to JSU, and I don't think there's any doubt that he's feeling better.
There's also no more questioning if he can lead a clutch drive. In the Gamecocks' 58-second drive with just over a minute left against Sam Houston, he went 6-for-8 for 75 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown pass to Perry Carter. One of those incompletions was a spike. Still, Rich Rod is still confident in both quarterbacks and truly believes he has two starting quarterbacks.
3. Malik Jackson has been a workhorse at running back this season, already compiling over 500 yards rushing in just five games played, averaging a whopping 6.6 yards a carry. What style of running can Blue Raider fans expect from Jackson? A power run game? A speedster scat-back type? Or something in-between?
Jackson fits the mold of this Rich Rod offense to a tee. At 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, Jackson is a shifty back and can make defenders miss but has had his moments as a bruiser this season. With Anwar Lewis missing time and Ron Wiggins potentially to be out for the season, the ULM transfer has seemed to thrive with a ton of weight on his shoulders.
Another exciting element that Jackson brings to the offense is his pass-catching abilities. He started his collegiate career as a receiver, totaling 189 yards and a team-high four touchdowns on 23 receptions on ULM's 2020 team before shifting to running back in 2021.
Even if JSU tries to work Lewis, who saw the field against Sam Houston, back into the offense, Jackson's role on the team will still be a huge asset to the Gamecocks.
4. The Jax State defense has been the big story for the early success for the Gamecocks, with a shutout of Eastern Michigan and a controlling 14 points given up against UTEP during Week 0 standing out in particular. Who are some of the early players that have stepped up on that side of the ball that have given Jax State's early opponents problems?
One of the players that immediately comes to mind is linebacker Quae Drake. After playing at ULM last season, Drake seemed to take on a leadership role almost immediately in preseason camp and now leads the team with 36 total tackles across five games.
Along with Drake, nickel Kolbi Fuqua and safety Fred Perry are names to know.
Fuqua's best game came against Coastal Carolina as he racked up a career-high 18 total tackles (10 solo) with two tackles for loss and half a sack. Perry's ability to shift from a ballhawk to a linebacker of sorts has proven to be key for the Gamecocks. The sophomore led the team with 14 total tackles against Sam Houston to go along with two forced fumbles and two quarterback hurries.
Chris Hardie's also been a force on the Gamecocks' defensive line, earning CUSA defensive player of the week honors after racking up five total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup against Eastern Michigan.
5. The Gamecocks enter Wednesday night's game with all the momentum from the start of the season but needed overtime to overcome Sam Houston this past week. Against a hungry MTSU team, what do you think Jax State needs to do in Murfreesboro to pick up their third CUSA win in their program's history in as many tries?
Losing Ron Wiggins and being without Anwar Lewis has been a huge blow for a Jacksonville State team that relies on the run game, and Malik Jackson can only do so much. JSU's tried to open up the passing game in its last few games, and the Gamecocks will need to pass the ball against a team like MTSU.
Perry Carter leads the team with nine receptions for 166 yards and a touchdown, and Stetson transfer Quinton Lane has also been a solid addition. He's totaled a team-high 13 receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown. Veteran receivers Michael Pettway, Sterling Galban and tight end Sean Brown are also names to know.
Against both Coastal Carolina and Sam Houston, the offense found itself in a total rut. The Gamecocks could only muster up 16 passing yards in the first half against the Bearkats and settled for three field goals against Coastal Carolina when they could've easily scored six on all three of those possessions.
Still, if the Gamecocks can put it together early and move the ball on the ground and in the air, the team's defense should be strong enough to give MTSU's offense some problems.
And when Conference USA newcomer JSU (4-1, 2-0 CUSA) visits Murfreesboro to take on Middle Tennessee (1-4, 0-1 CUSA), fans in Floyd Stadium at 7 p.m. Wednesday night should stay in their seats as both teams will try to up the tempo on one another on ESPNU.
The Gamecocks' style of tempo, however, has found its groove in recent weeks. JSU had 15 drives during regulation of the Gamecocks' 34-28 overtime win over Sam Houston State last Thursday. The longest drive of those 15 took just two minutes off the game clock. On their four touchdown drives during regulation, the Gamecock's longest scoring drive happened in just 1:46 of game time. The other touchdown drives against the Bearkats were completed in under a minute.
It's nothing new for Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill, who helped implement that sort of tempo offense Jacksonville State Head Coach Rich Rodriguez likes to run over 20 years ago, when Rodriguez was the offensive coordinator and Stockstill was the wide receivers coach on Tommy Bowden's staff at Clemson.
"They don't substitute a lot," Stockstill said of JSU's run-heavy tempo offense. "They don't get in a lot of different personnel groupings where they're substituting, so that enables them to go a little bit faster."
The Blue Raiders are no stranger to tempo themselves, honing their own version of the tempo offense throughout much of fall camp and using it when the situation arises as part of their Air Raid scheme. But the Gamecocks tempo is far more predicated on the option run game, particularly zone reads out of spread formations, an offense that Stockstill said was more like facing the triple option in preparation than most spread teams MTSU has faced so far.
"They run the ball until it's time to take a shot," safety Tra Fluellen said. "And when they do take a shot, it's a big shot. This week we're going to focus on tackling basics. That's what we have to do and what we should do every week."
But the spread option, despite leading JSU to the top rushing offense in Conference USA, is not what's grabbing headlines during the Gamecocks' red-hot start to their time in the FBS, but rather the defense in Jacksonville, which has given up just 15.0 points per game through five contests, including a shutout at home against Eastern Michigan.
"They have a couple of d-linemen that can create pressure and make plays," quarterback Nicholas Vattiato said. "And they have a backend who can run and can cover well. When you go up against a defense like that, you have to do a really good job of taking care of all your responsibilities and playing your game."
Coming off a loss to rival Western Kentucky, MTSU has much to get right if they want to be in the CUSA title picture this season. Stockstill said he was pleased with how his team has responded in practice this week ahead of their second of four midweek contests in the row during CUSA play.
"I like where we are from a mental standpoint," Stockstill said. "I think we'll play well Wednesday night."
And his counterpart, for his program's part, is not overlooking MTSU's 1-4 start.
"Our guys are smart enough to watch, they'll watch the film and see what the challenge is," Rodriguez said. "Obviously, Coach Stockstill and I worked together, and I have a lot of respect. He's got a tremendous coaching staff, and their record is misleading. They've played probably the hardest schedule in our league."
To learn more about JSU, GoBlueRaiders.com Staff Writer Sam Doughton reached out to Thomas Ashworth, who covers the Gamecocks for the Anniston Star, to get a closer look at JSU ahead of Wednesday night's game. The two discussed Year 2 of Rich Rodriguez's tenure, the dual-threat ability of JSU's two starting quarterbacks, names to know on defense and much more!
--
1. Rich Rodriguez was hired at Jacksonville State ahead of the 2022 season, in part, to help the Gamecocks get ready for the two-year transition to the FBS level. While it's still early in Year 2 of that transition, so far, it looks like Rodriguez's program is making that transition look easy so far. How do you assess his work with the transition, given Jax State's 4-1 start, including a 2-0 mark in CUSA play?
Watching Jacksonville State's incredibly fast pace in preseason camp was extremely entertaining and seeing it on the field this fall has been even more fun. This is a team that averaged 15.8 seconds per play against Sam Houston and went 75 yards for a touchdown in under a minute.
As Rich Rod said after the game, "a minute on the clock for us is nothing."
Still, there's always a huge wildcard element with a team making the move from FCS to FBS and throwing Rich Rod in there certainly shakes it up.
To be succinct, not only has JSU's 4-1 record been a pleasant surprise for the team, but having two extremely entertaining CUSA matchups on national TV has helped the program more than many probably realize.
2. It's been a two-QB system at times in Jacksonville this season, in part due to injury. Though Logan Smothers has come into his own recently, including a three-touchdown night against the Bearkats this past week. What skillset does the junior bring to the Gamecocks offense compared to the veteran Zion Webb?
One of the interesting parts about this Jacksonville State offense is that whether it's Smothers or Webb leading the offense, there's no real adjustments that need to be made since they play such similar football.
I think both players are pretty on par in the run game, but Smothers has shown flashes of some impressive deep ball placement. He had a shoulder injury before coming to JSU, and I don't think there's any doubt that he's feeling better.
There's also no more questioning if he can lead a clutch drive. In the Gamecocks' 58-second drive with just over a minute left against Sam Houston, he went 6-for-8 for 75 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown pass to Perry Carter. One of those incompletions was a spike. Still, Rich Rod is still confident in both quarterbacks and truly believes he has two starting quarterbacks.
3. Malik Jackson has been a workhorse at running back this season, already compiling over 500 yards rushing in just five games played, averaging a whopping 6.6 yards a carry. What style of running can Blue Raider fans expect from Jackson? A power run game? A speedster scat-back type? Or something in-between?
Jackson fits the mold of this Rich Rod offense to a tee. At 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, Jackson is a shifty back and can make defenders miss but has had his moments as a bruiser this season. With Anwar Lewis missing time and Ron Wiggins potentially to be out for the season, the ULM transfer has seemed to thrive with a ton of weight on his shoulders.
Another exciting element that Jackson brings to the offense is his pass-catching abilities. He started his collegiate career as a receiver, totaling 189 yards and a team-high four touchdowns on 23 receptions on ULM's 2020 team before shifting to running back in 2021.
Even if JSU tries to work Lewis, who saw the field against Sam Houston, back into the offense, Jackson's role on the team will still be a huge asset to the Gamecocks.
4. The Jax State defense has been the big story for the early success for the Gamecocks, with a shutout of Eastern Michigan and a controlling 14 points given up against UTEP during Week 0 standing out in particular. Who are some of the early players that have stepped up on that side of the ball that have given Jax State's early opponents problems?
One of the players that immediately comes to mind is linebacker Quae Drake. After playing at ULM last season, Drake seemed to take on a leadership role almost immediately in preseason camp and now leads the team with 36 total tackles across five games.
Along with Drake, nickel Kolbi Fuqua and safety Fred Perry are names to know.
Fuqua's best game came against Coastal Carolina as he racked up a career-high 18 total tackles (10 solo) with two tackles for loss and half a sack. Perry's ability to shift from a ballhawk to a linebacker of sorts has proven to be key for the Gamecocks. The sophomore led the team with 14 total tackles against Sam Houston to go along with two forced fumbles and two quarterback hurries.
Chris Hardie's also been a force on the Gamecocks' defensive line, earning CUSA defensive player of the week honors after racking up five total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup against Eastern Michigan.
5. The Gamecocks enter Wednesday night's game with all the momentum from the start of the season but needed overtime to overcome Sam Houston this past week. Against a hungry MTSU team, what do you think Jax State needs to do in Murfreesboro to pick up their third CUSA win in their program's history in as many tries?
Losing Ron Wiggins and being without Anwar Lewis has been a huge blow for a Jacksonville State team that relies on the run game, and Malik Jackson can only do so much. JSU's tried to open up the passing game in its last few games, and the Gamecocks will need to pass the ball against a team like MTSU.
Perry Carter leads the team with nine receptions for 166 yards and a touchdown, and Stetson transfer Quinton Lane has also been a solid addition. He's totaled a team-high 13 receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown. Veteran receivers Michael Pettway, Sterling Galban and tight end Sean Brown are also names to know.
Against both Coastal Carolina and Sam Houston, the offense found itself in a total rut. The Gamecocks could only muster up 16 passing yards in the first half against the Bearkats and settled for three field goals against Coastal Carolina when they could've easily scored six on all three of those possessions.
Still, if the Gamecocks can put it together early and move the ball on the ground and in the air, the team's defense should be strong enough to give MTSU's offense some problems.
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