Tulsa lived up to its ranking as one of the most potent offenses among the 131 Football Bowl Subdivision programs.
Jacksonville State (3-1) struggled to slow one of the nation's leading passing units, falling behind early in a 54-17 loss to the Golden Hurricane, a member of the FBS American Athletic Conference, at historic H.A. Chapman Stadium.
"Tulsa's a good team, and we weren't close to them judging by the way we played tonight. We have a lot of work to do," said Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez.
Tulsa quarterback Davis Brin, the national leader for FBS passing yards per game, threw for 424 yards and four touchdowns while receiver Keylon Stokes, ranked second nationally in yards per game, recorded his third straight 100-yard effort with 153 yards as the Golden Hurricane improved to 2-1 overall.
Quarterback Zion Webb rushed for a three-yard touchdown in the third quarter and remains the FCS leader in that category with seven TDs. Webb was injured on a running play early in the fourth quarter but was able to walk off the field with assistance.
Alen Karajic provided Jax State's first points with a 46-yard field goal late in the second quarter.
Freshman quarterback Te'Sean Smoot, in his first collegiate action, ran for a 16-yard touchdown with 5½ minutes remaining. Smoot rushed five times for 22 yards and completed 1-of-2 passes for eight yards.
Tulsa started the game with a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in which Brin converted first downs on third-and-10 and later on third-and-15. Steven Anderson finished it off with a four-yard touchdown run at the 8:27 mark in the first quarter.
Tulsa added a safety for a 9-0 lead later in the first when a JSU snap sailed over the head of punter Jack Dawson and out of the end zone.
Quarterback Aaron McLaughlin made his first JSU start and threw for 47 yards, including a 29-yard completion to Sterling Galban for the Gamecocks' longest play from scrimmage. He also ran it seven times.
The Jax State offense – which entered the game averaging 456.0 yards per game – was limited to 295 by the Golden Hurricane.
Markail Benton led the Gamecocks in tackles with eight and Deco Wilson contributed seven.
The Gamecocks play the last of three consecutive road games next Saturday at Nicholls (0-3), its former rival in the Division II Gulf South and Division I Southland conferences. Jax State owns a 9-6 lead in the series, including a 60-10 win in the last meeting in 2009.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at 10,500-seat John L. Guidry Stadium in Thibodaux, La.
Jax State Postgame Notes – TulsaSeptember 17, 2022 • H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, Okla.
- JSU Captains: Senior cornerback Yul Gowdy, senior safety Stevonte Tullis and redshirt senior running back Matt LaRoche
- JSU won the toss and elected to defer for the third consecutive week
- The loss halts JSU's best start (3-0) since 2013
- Head coach Rich Rodriguez is now 3-1 at the helm of JSU with his first loss for the Gamecocks and moves to 166-120-2 for his career
- Senior running back Matt LaRoche led JSU on the ground with 67 yards on 15 carries
- Quarterbacks Webb and freshman Smoot each scored a rushing touchdown
- Sophomore kicker Karajic matched his career long for the third time with a 46-yard field goal in the second quarter
- Jacksonville State drops to 0-3 all-time against current members of the FBS American Athletic Conference. JSU previously lost at South Florida in 2000 and at Memphis in 2007.
- The University of Tulsa has the smallest FBS enrollment with 3,705 students currently enrolled, nearly three times fewer than Jacksonville State
Original source can be found here.
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