JSU outscored by 18 in fourth quarter of loss to Southeasten Louisiana

Southeastern Louisiana scored 18 unanswered second-half points to defeat Jacksonville State 31-14 in a non-conference matchup at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium Saturday afternoon.

A Homecoming crowd of 18,654 saw the Gamecocks (6-2) take a 14-13 lead at halftime. The Lions of the Southland Conference controlled the tempo through the third and fourth quarters, however, putting the finishing touches on their road victory with a short scoring run with 15 seconds on the clock.

Jax State managed just 90 total yards in the second half and finished with 290. Southeastern Louisiana had 459 yards and dominated time of possession, 41:03 to 18:57.

"Obviously we looked poorly prepared at times; that's on me," said Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez. "We were outcoached. We've got to get our guys to play at a higher performance."

Anwar Lewis gained 125 yards on 15 carries and had a 10-yard reception, accounting for 135 of JSU's total. Ahmad Edwards grabbed two passes for 72 yards while Sterling Galban had a team-high three catches for 20 yards.

After a scoreless first 15 minutes, both offenses found their rhythm in the second quarter.

Southeastern Louisiana – which ran 50 plays during the first half, twice as many as Jax State – got on the scoreboard first with a 6-yard touchdown pass that finished off a 12-play, 80-yard drive.

Riley Callaghan's extra point gave the Lions a 7-0 lead at the 11:54 mark in the second.

Lewis broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run to draw the Gamecocks even. Lewis' eighth TD of the season and Alen Karajic's extra point made it 7-7 at the 10:11 mark.

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The first of two Callaghan field goals in the last two minutes, this one a 31-yarder, put the Lions in front 10-7. Jax State quickly responded, however, when Zion Webb found Edwards behind the Southeastern Louisiana secondary for a 64-yard touchdown. Edwards' 10th career TD reception was the longest of his career and first of the season.

Karajic's PAT with 1:07 remaining gave the Gamecocks a 14-10 edge, its first lead of the afternoon.

Southeastern Louisiana (4-3) reverted to a bit of trickery to trim the deficit to one point at halftime.

Bauer Sharp ran 55 yards deep into JSU territory on a fake punt, but the Gamecocks defense stiffened and forced the Lions' Callaghan to kick a 23-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

"In the first half I thought we had some missed opportunities," Rodriguez said. "But I felt OK because our guys were playing hard.

"They didn't do anything differently in the second half than in the first half. It's just the execution wasn't there. We've got to take this as a learning opportunity for coaches and players, be mad about it for 24 hours, then learn from it and get ready for the next one."

The Lions took the lead for good on the first play of the fourth quarter, added another Callaghan field goal with five minutes left, and put the contest out of reach with a 2-yard touchdown run in the waning seconds.

The Gamecocks jump back into ASUN action next Saturday when they travel to Clarksville, Tenn., to face former Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay (5-2, 1-1). Jax State owns a 12-2 lead in series history, but the Governors have won the last two meetings.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Fortera Stadium and the game will be on ESPN+.