Ksu25 120 Scaled E1763404559703 — A record crowd at AmFirst Stadium. (Jax State Athletics)

Saturday night was an opportunity for Jacksonville State to showcase its football program on a national stage. And the Gamecock team + fans delivered in a big way.

Jax State took down Kennesaw State, 35-26, claiming sole possession of first place in Conference USA. The game was aired in primetime Saturday night on ESPNU.

And the Gamecocks accomplished all of that in front of a record crowd at AmFirst Stadium.

JSU reported 24,166 fans were in attendance, breaking the previous record of 23,944 from the 2017 season opener against Liberty.

Jax State football

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Saturday was Jacksonville State’s 10th consecutive win at home and fifth straight overall win.

In Charles Kelly’s first season as head coach, the Gamecocks have a 7-3 overall record and are 6-0 in Conference USA. They need one more win to secure a spot in the conference championship game for the second straight season.

During its first three seasons at the FBS level, Jax State has a 19-3 record in conference play.

“Our players fought and we made the plays offensively that we needed to. We made the plays defensively that we needed to. I’m just tickled with these guys. When people watch us play, we want them to say ‘these guys are fast, they’re physical, they’re tough, they’re disciplined, and they will compete.’ If they leave the field and people say that about us, we’re good with that.”
Charles Kelly, Jax State head coach

Cam Cook has been the star for the Gamecocks this season, rushing for 1,313 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has spent most of the season on top of the NCAA rushing leaderboard before being passed by Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy over the weekend.

The Gamecocks hit the road this weekend to take on Florida International before returning home to take on Western Kentucky in the regular season finale. If they win those two games, Jax State will get to host the conference title game at AmFirst Stadium.