When you think of football in the state of Alabama, you automatically think of the University of Alabama & Nick Saban. After that, the Auburn Tigers & night games in Jordan Hare Stadium come to mind. In more recent years, UAB & South Alabama have also firmly staked their position as Division 1 G5 standouts.
There’s no debating who the number one team in the state is, but the national audience may not know there’s a team in the same state that’s won 180 games with 10 conference championships, 10 FCS playoff appearances, 3 FCS quarterfinal appearances, & a FCS National Championship appearance since the year 2000. That team is the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
Burgess Snow Field – (Jax State Athletics)
Now rebranded as “Jax State”, the Gamecocks are making the move from perennial conference title contender and FCS playoff attendee, to the FBS ranks in ConferenceUSA. Much like James Madison, Coastal Carolina, and Liberty have in the last five seasons, the Gamecocks are venturing into the next level of competition after successful FCS stints. Those three schools, two of which JSU beat at the FCS ranks within the last five years, have found immediate success at group of five level. The Gamecocks look the continue the trend this coming fall.
Led by second year Head Coach Rich Rodriguez, who previously had stops at the likes of West Virginia, Michigan, & Arizona amongst others, the Gamecocks not only have re-energized the fanbase – they’ve entered into an opportunity that will put them on the national main stage.
If you’re a hard-nosed college football fan, you’ve come to love the beauty of weeknight football in the month of November known as MACtion. Luckily for ConferenceUSA & Jax State, ESPN has adopted CUSA as the conference that will precede MACtion in the month of October. The Gamecocks will take center stage for five consecutive nationally televised games from weeks five through nine. CBS Sports Network will also air two Gamecock contests this season.
With a relatively new coaching staff, an entirely new conference, and new national spotlight, you’d assume the expectations would be adjusted. While that would certainly be prudent, it is not the reality. The aforementioned success from the last 20 years at a Division I level has established a lofty standard to uphold. If we zoom out even further, you’ll see that the 70’s, 80’s, & early 90’s yielded much of the same results.
1992 National Championship Team – (Big Time Entertainment)
During that time in which the program was still Division II, they won three conference titles in the 70’s, four in the 80’s, & two in the 90’s. Along with those conference titles, there was 10 quarterfinal appearances, 4 National Championship appearances (at least one in each decade), & a Division II National Championship win in 1992.
The program is not only used to winning, it’s used to competing at the highest level. Sure, the Gamecocks won’t be competing for National Championships anytime soon, maybe ever. The fanbase is surely intelligent and capable of understanding that. However, contending for Conference USA Championships & bowl games of notoriety will assuredly be at the front of their minds.
Change is near for the Gamecocks, but it’s being welcomed. There’s no higher the program can realistically go. With realignment and power five consolidation, the university is fortunate to have closed the deal to move up when they did. While the literal level of the program has continued to be raised over the last 30 years, the expectation remains the same, as it should. Jax State is here with a new staff, national stage, & has the chance to take the nation by surprise. If they are successful early on, it wont be a shock to the team or the fanbase. Because they will have expected all along.
