G5 Football Daily

TAKEAWAYS: Jacksonville State Cruises To First Conference USA Championship

The Gamecocks clinch their first Conference USA title in year two at the FBS level

Kevin Barral

Jacksonville State quarterback Tyler Huff tries to evade the tackle of Southern Miss' Tre Pinkney during college football action at Burgess-Snow Field AmFirst Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama September 21, 2024. (Dave Hyatt / Special to the Gadsden Times)
Jacksonville State quarterback Tyler Huff tries to evade the tackle of Southern Miss' Tre Pinkney during college football action at Burgess-Snow Field AmFirst Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama September 21, 2024. (Dave Hyatt / Special to the Gadsden Times) / Dave Hyatt / Special to the Gadsden Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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After an 0-3 start to the season, it seemed unlikely that the Jacksonville State Gamecocks would reach the mountaintop and win the Conference USA championship.

However, Rich Rodriguez's team rebounded in a big way, culminating in Friday's title game victory over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 52-12.

Ankle Not An Issue For Tyler Huff

Leading up to the game, senior quarterback Tyler Huff was supposedly going to be a game-time decision after lower body injury that kept him out for much of last week's regular season finale.

However, head coach Rich Rodriguez implied postgame that he knew he wouldn't be able to keep Huff from playing early in the week. The Furman transfer started the game and the ankle was clearly not an issue, as he ran for 167 yards, a CUSA championship record for most rushing yards by a quarterback.

Early in the game, Huff went pass-heavy, which is somewhat rare for the Gamecocks offense. He ended the night completing 11 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns. It marked the fourth time this season that the Gamecocks quarterback threw for multiple touchdowns. He was named the game's MVP following the final whistle.

Gamecocks Offense Drops 50+

Tre Stewart ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns. For Stewart, it was the third time this season that he ran for over 200 yards. The Gamecocks running back currently leads Conference USA with 1,604 rushing yards. Between four players that ran the ball, the Gamecocks had 386 total rushing yards on Friday night.

The Gamecocks' 562 total yards of offense was their highest mark since their 63-24 win against the Kennesaw State Owls in October.

For the first time since 2016, a team has crossed the 50-point marker in the championship game. Western Kentucky dropped 58 points in their win against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Rough Night For Hilltoppers Offense

A Western Kentucky offense that averaged 26.7 points per game was just limited to 12 points, scoring their lone touchdown in the third quarter. The Hilltoppers were limited to 229 total yards of offense on Friday.

Tops' quarterback Caden Veltkamp completed 18 passes for 141 passing yards and one touchdown. Going into Friday's game, the Hilltoppers had the top passing offense in the conference, averaging 271.8 yards per game.

On the ground, the Gamecocks defense kept WKU to 88 rushing yards, which is their lowest mark since their season-opening loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Their leading rusher was Elijah Young who ran for 108 yards, but Caden Veltkamp was sacked twice, including a fumble which had him finish the game with -41 rushing yards.

What's Next?

For the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, they will drop to 8-5 on the season. This marks the second time since they joined Conference USA that they lost in the title game. They will wait to see which bowl game they will attend, which is expected to finalized in the coming days.

As for Jax State, they will improve to 9-4 on the season. They win the program's first FBS conference title in just their second year in the FBS. Like the Hilltoppers, they will wait to see which bowl game they will head to. At the moment, Action Network has them projected to make the Cure Bowl against Ohio.

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Kevin Barral
KEVIN BARRAL

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