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<\/a><\/p>\nJacksonville State Gamecocks head coach Charles Kelly walks off the field at halftime during the game against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss. on Sept. 27, 2025. Matt Bush\/Special to the Clarion Ledger \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n
The Owls and Gamecocks are quite familiar with each other, and you don\u2019t have to move far back on the calendar to locate their latest entanglement. On Nov. 15, Jacksonville State hosted Kennesaw State in a high-stakes matchup where both teams entered with spotless 5-0 CUSA records.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville State emerged in 35-26 fashion in front of its home crowd, utilizing a 62-yard Hail Mary right before halftime, run game dominance, and four defensive interceptions to spoil the Owls\u2019 perfect conference record. But Jax State head coach Charles Kelly acknowledges that a rematch is a completely different ballgame. In 2024, teams that won the first matchup went 2-2 in the conference championship game rematch. One of the results that flipped involved Jax State which lost to WKU in a November regular season matchup but won the important rematch in December.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you play, this is a different game,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIf you have aspirations of playing in the NFL or coaching in the NFL and you want to be successful, you\u2019ve gotta play teams twice. That\u2019s just part of this game. That\u2019s part of what you do. It\u2019s going to come down to execution \u2014 both teams. Who executes, who plays the best, and that has nothing to do with winning or losing twice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennesaw State is beyond eager at the opportunity for another shot at the Gamecocks. The Owls lost the turnover battle 4-0 in the first meeting and all four picks occurred within 10 yards of the end zone. Kennesaw State wants to show the defending champions what it can do when not overwhelmed by an avalanche of self-inflicted mistakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s really excited about the opportunity to go back to Jacksonville State,\u201d Mack said. \u201cWe feel like we kind of let one slip away and made some mistakes. Any time you get a second chance in life to revamp and reconcile about some of the mistakes you made, you get excited about that chance because you know where those traps and where those blindspots lie. That\u2019s the biggest thing these guys are excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacksonville State RB Cam Cook is the current FBS leader in rushing yards. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n There is no shortage of star power in this matchup. The 2025 CUSA Championship Game features the nation\u2019s leading rusher in Cam Cook. The Jacksonville State running back boasts 1,588 rushing yards to his name \u2014 sitting 51 yards short of the number former Gamecock running back Tre Stewart produced last year in the program\u2019s run-heavy offense. After watching Stewart thrive a year ago, albeit a different coaching staff, Cook realized Jax State\u2019s system was perfect for him.<\/p>\n \u201cCam was looking for an opportunity to be in an offense where he has a chance to run the football, and the only way a guy gets 100 yards is you\u2019ve gotta give it to him,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cOur philosophy offensively is we want to be able to throw the ball to score, but we want to run the ball to win.\u201d<\/p>\n Cook spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at TCU, ranking atop the Horned Frogs\u2019 roster in rushing yards in 2024. But when he entered the transfer portal, he quickly developed a relationship with running backs coach Maxwell Thurmond which ultimately blossomed into a commitment. Now Cook rides a 7-game streak of producing at least 100 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 75+ in all 12 games and 100+ in 10 games, reaching the end zone in 10 of the Gamecocks\u2019 12 outings.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t promise him anything,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cJust like anybody else who comes into our program, it doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019re a newcomer or whether you\u2019re a freshman, playing time doesn\u2019t have an age limit, it has a maturity limit. If you compete and you\u2019re the best player, we\u2019re gonna play you\u2026 All you can do is give a person an opportunity, and that person makes a choice every day to work and earn what he gets, and Cam\u2019s earned everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Avoiding rumors and distractions<\/p>\n Oct 17, 2024; Watford, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars running backs coach Jerry Mack during practice at The Grove. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n One unfortunate reality of conference championship weekend is that it is incredibly marred by the coaching carousel. The carousel already swept through the American Conference, which will pit newly-named Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris vs. newly-named Florida head coach Jon Sumrall in a matchup between North Texas and Tulane. With other American Conference heavyweights such as Memphis and South Florida also having vacancies, Kennesaw State head coach Jerry Mack is a name floated around in rumors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very flattering to have my name brought up. Anytime you put in that work, it\u2019s a good thing,\u201d Mack said. \u201cThe reality is, we have a conference championship that we\u2019re preparing for. I don\u2019t concern myself with any of the talks. Obviously, you get texts and calls and things like that. I try to have my phone on silent and mute as much as possible during these teams of the year. We have representation to talk to people if need be, but my total focus to be honest with you is really on this conference championship game.\u201d<\/p>\n Mack didn\u2019t necessarily shoot down any rumors. But the first-year head coach, who arrived after a stint as the Jacksonville Jaguars running backs coach, reiterated his commitment to living in the moment and committing to the now. Kennesaw State can be comfortable with 100 percent buy-in for this weekend, from its first-year head coach, based on what he preaches.<\/p>\n \u201cWe talk about being where your feet are,\u201d Mack said. \u201cWe all have been on this journey since day one, whether those guys came in January with us, or whether they came in the summertime with us. We cannot let this golden opportunity pass us by. There\u2019s only so many times in the history of your college career or coaching career where you get a chance to play for championships, and you have to really make sure you take every moment in stride. We talk about not having any regrets, and I don\u2019t want to have any regrets looking back 5, 10 years from now. At the end of the day, this team is gonna be a team that comes back and is gonna celebrate Kennesaw State. It will be really good not just celebrating us for a bowl game but also celebrating us for a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n