2018 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team

2018 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football
OVC champion
NCAA Division I Second Round, L 27–55 at Maine
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 10
FCS Coaches	No. 13
Record	9–4 (7–1 OVC)
Head coach	John Grass (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jimmy Ogle (19th season)
Defensive coordinator	Andrew Warwick (1st season)
Home stadium	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Ohio Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 10 Jacksonville State $^		7	–	1					8	–	3
No. 15 Southeast Missouri State ^		6	–	2					8	–	3
Eastern Kentucky		5	–	2					7	–	4
Murray State		5	–	3					5	–	6
Tennessee State		3	–	4					4	–	5
Eastern Illinois		3	–	5					3	–	8
Austin Peay		3	–	5					5	–	6
UT Martin		2	–	6					2	–	9
Tennessee Tech		1	–	7					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 Jacksonville State Gamecocks football team represented Jacksonville State University as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach John Grass, the Gamecocks compiled an overall record of 9–4, with a mark of 7–1 conference play, winning the OVC title for the fifth consecutive season. Jacksonville State received the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoff marking the program's sixth straight trip to the FCS playoffs. The Gamecocks defeated East Tennessee State in the first round before losing to Maine in the second round. The team played home games at Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama.

On July 20, 2018, the media covering the OVC released their preseason poll with the Gamecocks predicted to win the OVC championship.^[1] On July 23, the OVC released their coaches poll with the Gamecocks also predicted to become OVC champions.^[2]

Media poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Jacksonville State	134 (14)
2	Austin Peay	114 (1)
3	UT Martin	96
4	Tennessee State	91
5	Eastern Illinois	83
6	Eastern Kentucky	64
7	Murray State	39
8	Southeast Missouri State	35
9	Tennessee Tech	19

Coaches poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Jacksonville State	126 (14)
2	Austin Peay	112 (4)
3	UT Martin	95
4	Eastern Illinois	73
5	Eastern Kentucky	69
6	Tennessee State	64
7	Southeast Missouri State	62
8	Murray State	24
9	Tennessee Tech	23

The Gamecocks had six players selected to the preseason all-OVC team.^[3] Defensive lineman Randy Roberinson was also selected as the preseason defensive player of the year.

Award	Player	Position	Year
Buck Buchanan Award[4]	Marlon Bridges	S	JR

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 25	7:00 p.m.	vs. No. 14 North Carolina A&T*	No. 6	Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL (FCS Kickoff)	ESPN	L 17–20	13,500
September 8	6:00 p.m.	Mississippi Valley State*	No. 13	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN+	W 71–0	21,864
September 22	6:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech	No. 10	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN+	W 48–20	17,403
September 29	3:00 p.m.	Austin Peay	No. 8	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN3	W 48–32	19,388
October 6	3:00 p.m.	at Eastern Kentucky	No. 8	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 56–7	6,820
October 13	3:00 p.m.	Eastern Illinois	No. 8	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN3	W 49–22	15,649
October 20	1:00 p.m.	at Southeast Missouri State	No. 5	Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO	ESPN+	L 14–37	3,103
October 27	3:00 p.m.	at Murray State	No. 12	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	W 42–15	8,053
November 3	1:00 p.m.	UT Martin	No. 10	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	ESPN+	W 21–14	16,093
November 10	2:00 p.m.	at Tennessee State	No. 8	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN+	W 41–14	6,718
November 17	3:00 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Kennesaw State*	No. 6	SunTrust Park Atlanta, GA	FSS	L 52–60 5OT	16,949
November 24	6:30 p.m.	No. 22 East Tennessee State*	No. 8	Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN3	W 34–27	11,024
December 1	11:00 a.m.	at No. 12 Maine*	No. 8	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN3	L 27–55	6,145
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[5][6]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Aggies	7	0	13	0	20
No. 6 Gamecocks	0	3	14	0	17

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NCAT JSU 1 6:31 9 65 4:38 NCAT Zachary Leslie 24-yard touchdown reception from Lamar Raynard, Noel Ruiz kick good 7 0 2 3:55 10 57 4:00 JSU 23-yard field goal by Cade Stinnett 7 3 3 6:13 3 75 0:58 JSU Daniel Byrd 49-yard touchdown reception from Zerrick Cooper, Cade Stinnett kick good 7 10 3 5:57 NCAT Malik Wilson 98 yard kickoff return for touchdown, Cade Stinnett kick good 14 10 3 4:49 3 65 1:08 JSU Josh Pearson 40-yard touchdown reception from Zerrick Cooper, Cade Stinnett kick good 14 17 3 2:36 5 31 2:13 NCAT Elijah Bell 4-yard touchdown reception from Lamar Raynard, Noel Ruiz kick failed 20 17 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 20 14

	1	2	3	4	Total
Delta Devils	0	0	0	0	0
No. 13 Gamecocks	15	21	21	14	71

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	3	3	7	7	20
No. 10 Gamecocks	10	14	7	17	48

	1	2	3	4	Total
Governors	9	3	14	6	32
No. 8 Gamecocks	0	14	14	20	48

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Gamecocks	14	14	7	21	56
Colonels	0	0	0	7	7

	1	2	3	4	Total
Governors	3	6	0	13	22
No. 8 Gamecocks	14	7	14	14	49

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Gamecocks	0	7	0	7	14
Redhawks	7	9	14	7	37

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Gamecocks	14	7	7	14	42
Racers	6	3	6	0	15

	1	2	3	4	Total
Skyhawks	3	0	0	11	14
No. 10 Gamecocks	10	3	0	8	21

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Gamecocks	20	7	0	14	41
Tigers	7	0	0	7	14

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	3OT	4OT	5OT	Total
No. 6 Gamecocks	7	7	10	0	7	7	8	6	0	52
No. 2 Owls	0	10	7	7	7	7	8	6	8	60

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Buccaneers	10	10	0	7	27
No. 8 Gamecocks	7	3	10	14	34

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Gamecocks	7	7	10	3	27
No. 12 Black Bears	21	21	7	6	55

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	6	13	12	10	8	8	8	5	12	10	8	6	8	10
Coaches	6	12	11	9	8	8	7	4	12	10	9	7	9	13