Low and slow wins the fourth quarter! Burl Ashcraft-Neeley here, Calhoun County pitmaster, and I've never lived more than 10 miles from campus. I've got hickory in the smoker, a mop bucket of sauce and a lawn chair with my name on it. And this week, friends, the smoker gets a rest, because Jacksonville State doesn't play. It's an open week. I'll be honest about that right up front, just like I'm honest about how long a brisket takes.
So let's look back at the last cook, and then look ahead to the next one.
Part 1: A 13-Play Drive, Smoked to Perfection
Jacksonville State beat FIU 27-24 last Tuesday night at AmFirst Stadium. We're 5-2 and 3-0 in Conference USA, and that's four straight wins.
That's how you do it in this county: low and slow, then finish strong. Caden Creel threw first-quarter touchdown passes of 38 yards to Luke Gilbert and 36 yards to Deondre Johnson, and Garrison Rippa kicked a 47-yard field goal. We led 17-7. FIU came back to tie it at the half, and again at 24 in the third quarter, after Justus Savage scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 4-yard run, per AP.
Then came the good part. Tied at 24 heading into the fourth, the Gamecocks drove 82 yards in 13 plays, and Rippa kicked a 26-yard field goal with 44 seconds left. That's a 13-hour brisket, friends. You don't rush it. You let it go, and you serve it at the very end.
Creel went 16 of 22 for 214 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran 19 times for 95 yards. Johnson caught four passes for 93 yards. We ran for 173 yards, 5.4 a carry, per ESPN's box score. Morven Joseph made nine tackles. And AP says Jacksonville State is 19-3 at home since moving to FBS. You don't come into a man's backyard and steal his ribs.
Now, the honest part. FIU outgained us 404 to 387, and we threw an interception. We got a little lucky at the end of the first half, too, when FIU missed a field goal. That defense has some work to do on the long passes.
And here's a nugget from the league office. Conference USA's Oct. 13 notes said the Gamecocks had rushed for a touchdown in 64 straight games, a streak 24 games longer than any other active streak in FBS or FCS. Then Savage ran one in against FIU. Smoke and fire, friends. Smoke and fire. The same notes said Creel had 405 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns this season heading into the FIU game, and that his 1,480 rushing yards since the start of last season ranked second among all FBS quarterbacks, behind only Army's Cale Hellums. Then he ran for 95 more. That young man runs like he smells a cookout at the end of the field.
The Open Week, Honestly
Jacksonville State has no game this week. The rest of the league plays Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and we watch. That's fine. A good pitmaster knows when to let the coals settle. I'll spend the week cleaning the grates, restocking the hickory and watching the other teams sweat it out on a school night.
And there's plenty of season left to cook. We lost 33-7 at North Dakota State and 29-27 at Ohio, I won't hide that. But since then? We beat Georgia Southern 31-27, and Middle Tennessee 23-13 at home, won 27-26 at Kennesaw State, and then beat FIU. Four straight. And the league says Jacksonville State is 12-1 in its weekday Conference USA games over four years. The weeknight belongs to us.
Part 2: West to Las Cruces
Next up: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN2, Jacksonville State at New Mexico State, at Aggie Memorial Stadium.
First, a kind word for the Aggies, because my mama raised me right. James Jones has 599 rushing yards on 92 carries. Gabe Peterson has 4.5 sacks. Nick Session has 50 tackles. And the Aggies beat us 20-17 in Las Cruces in 2023, per CollegeFootballData.com. I remember that one. It's still stuck in my teeth.
But let's check the meat thermometer, using AP's latest preview of New Mexico State. The Aggies' turnover margin is minus-5, which ranks 122nd in FBS. Their red zone defense ranks 118th, allowing scores on 92.9% of trips. They rank 127th in time of possession. And their scoring offense ranks 97th. In their last game, a 22-3 loss at FIU, they turned it over three times. That's a brisket that came off the smoker too early. Gray in the middle, and nobody's asking for seconds.
New Mexico State plays Sam Houston on Wednesday night first, so those numbers will move a little before we get there. I'll be watching from my lawn chair with a plate of pulled pork.
And here's a fun fact from CollegeFootballData.com: the last time New Mexico State came to Jacksonville, in 2024, we won 54-13. Fifty-four. That's a whole-hog cookout.
Tales From Two Towns
Jacksonville. Jacksonville, Alabama, is a city of 14,385, per Wikipedia, and it's grown 71.2% since 2000. It sits in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, in a valley between Choccolocco Mountain and smaller ridges to the west. It was founded on July 20, 1833, first called Drayton, and renamed for President Andrew Jackson in 1834. Jacksonville State University was founded here in 1883, and it's one of the biggest employers around.
And our football history is good smoked meat. Wikipedia says Jacksonville State fielded its first team in 1904, and we've been the Gamecocks since before the 1947 season, when we also switched from blue and gold to red and white. In 1992, we won the Division II national championship, beating Pittsburg State 17-13. We joined FBS and Conference USA in 2023. AmFirst Stadium seats 24,000. And country singer Riley Green played quarterback here. You can't make up a better backyard soundtrack.
Las Cruces. Now, Las Cruces is a nice city in the Mesilla Valley, and I hear they know their chile. But Wikipedia says it's 225 miles from Albuquerque and 42 miles from El Paso, Texas. So the second-biggest city in New Mexico is closer to Texas than to the biggest city in its own state. And Aggie Memorial Stadium sits at 3,980 feet above sea level. That's so high, friends, that a pitmaster's smoke would have to stop and catch its breath. Down here in the foothills, our smoke rolls right across the parking lot, and everybody follows it to the cooker.
One more thing. Wikipedia says New Mexico State was last ranked in the AP poll in 1960. Friends, that's a long cook. Even my slowest pork shoulder doesn't take 66 years.
Burl's Pit Notes for the Open Week
1. Rest the legs. A brisket needs to rest before you slice it, and so does a running game. 2. Tighten up the secondary. FIU threw for 280 yards. Let's not serve that again. 3. Keep the streak smoking. A rushing touchdown every game, low and slow. 4. Get ready to travel. Las Cruces is a long drive with a cooler.
Light the coals, friends. The Gamecocks will be back on a weeknight, which is right where we like it.