A tough start for Jacksonville State added a heartbreaking loss on Saturday night.
The Gamecocks fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2005 with a 37-34, double-overtime road loss to Eastern Michigan on Friday, marking the longest losing skid for the program under coach Rich Rodriguez.
Jax State will host Southern Mississippi on Saturday at AmFirst Stadium. Before that, here are three takeaways from the Gamecocks’ loss in Ypsilanti, Michigan:
1. Short-yardage situations cost Jax State.
Rich Rodriguez said after the game that the team “didn’t do well in any short-yardage situation” when it mattered. The most glaringly obvious example of this came in the first overtime when Jax State drove the ball all the way to the 1 yard line, with the ball sailing over Tyler Huff’s head on a bad snap when he was in shotgun formation; Huff was able to recover, but it cost Jax State a potential chance to win as the ball was spotted beyond the 25. Even beyond that, the Gamecocks converted three of their 12 third-down attempts and didn’t convert any of the three fourth-down attempts.
2. Jax State’s defense still hasn’t answered the call.
While it was a double-overtime game, the Gamecocks’ defense still has yet to find its identity on the football field. Now averaging right at 47 allowed points per game, this unit allowed 481 yards on Saturday to bring the season total to 1,643 total yards; that’s over 35% of what was allowed all of last season. It’s not like this team doesn’t have talent on defense, including defensive lineman J-Rock Swain (4.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks in three games), safety Antonio Carter II (34 total tackles) and safety Zechariah Poyser (three pass breakups, interception), who have all had strong starts this season. With its last nonconference game of the season coming up on Saturday, seeing the adjustments before conference play will be something to watch.
3. Cam Vaughn will be a big part of Jacksonville State’s future.
One of the brightest spots from the Gamecocks’ heartbreaking loss was a breakout game from redshirt freshman Cam Vaughn at receiver. Vaughn, originally recruited as a quarterback but moved to receiver, hauled in six receptions for a game-high 94 receiving yards and a touchdown, which was from 37 yards out. Vaughn now sits second on the team in receiving yards, behind Michael Pettway who has 213. With plenty of football ahead of the native of Temple, Georgia, a game like this should be encouraging for his future for the program.
