A late-game comeback for Jacksonville State and breakout performances for a handful of players were plagued by a heartbreaking end against Eastern Michigan.
Jax State fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2005 with a 37-34, double-overtime loss at Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
“Playing hard is not enough,” Jacksonville State coach Rich Rodriguez said. “You’ve got to play hard and play smart.
“We made mistakes you should never make and it cost us the game.”
After a 51-yard field goal from Garrison Rippa helped Jax State overcome an 11-point deficit to force overtime, Eastern Michigan settled for a field goal in the first overtime period to make it 34-31.
Quarterback Tyler Huff led Jax State to Eastern Michigan’s 1 yard line, but a bad snap over the quarterback’s head pushed the ball all the way back to the 28; Jax State went on to settle for a field goal.
After a missed field goal from Rippa on Jax State’s second overtime possession, Eagles kicker Jesus Gomez sealed the win with a 34-yard field goal.
Rodrigiuez said despite improvements in the second half, the first half of the loss was “gross.”
“We should have took a step forward,” Rodriguiez said. “We did, but then again, when it counted, we didn’t get any short yardage, not very good up front, couldn’t get nothing.”
Jacksonville State earned its first opening-drive touchdown of the season with a 5-yard rushing touchdown from Tre Stewart with 10:11 left in the first quarter.
Huff’s first passing touchdown of the night came with 11:39 left in the first half on a 37-yard touchdown pass to Cam Vaughn, which was his first touchdown reception as a Gamecock. Huff also connected with Michael Pettway from 32 yards out with 14:10 left to play.
The Furman quarterback transfer completed 24 of his 34 passes in the loss, throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns to post a 166.8 quarterback rating; he also ran for 80 yards on 14 carries.
Eastern Michigan quarterback Cole Snyder went 26-for-37 passing, racking up 273 passing yards and two touchdowns; Oran Singleton led the Eagles with 89 receiving yards, while Max Reese had four catches for 64 yards and two touchdowns.
Vaughn was Huff’s favorite target of the night, totaling six catches for a game-high 94 yards and a touchdown. Stewart led the running back room with 53 rushing yards and a score on a team-high 17 carries.
Rippa hit field goals of 38, 48, 51 and 40 yards for Jax State and hit all of his extra points, with the 51-yard field goal being the second longest in program history.
Fred Perry finished with a game-high 19 tackles (five solo), also logging a tackle for loss and half a sack. Three other Gamecocks finished with double-digit tackles, including Antonio Carter II (14), Reginald Hughes (13) and Zechariah Poyser (10).
J-Rock Swain led the team with 1.5 sacks, also totaling two tackles for loss to tie Hughes and Ky’Won McCray for a team high.
Jax State (0-3) will host Southern Mississippi on Saturday at AmFirst Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
