Jacksonville State University has announced its 2014 football schedule, one that features five home games, two former rivals, and a visit to defending Rose Bowl Champion Michigan State University.
Division I schools are allowed to play 12 games this coming season, but the Gamecocks will play 11 games with open dates on Sept. 13 and Oct. 18.
The 11-game schedule will kickoff on August 30 in East Lansing, Mich., against the Spartans, who won a school-record 13 games in 2013. That season included a 24-20 victory over Stanford in the 2014 Rose Bowl Game and saw them finish ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press and USA TODAY Polls.
“The 2014 football season is going to be very exciting for the Gamecocks as we begin the John Grass coaching era,” JSU athletics director Warren Koegel said. “We are coming off a record-breaking season and we feel like we have an exciting football schedule that offers our fans an excellent opportunity see the Gamecocks in action, including five home games and close road trips to some nearby cities including Chattanooga and Nashville.
The Gamecocks advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals and posted an 11-4 overall record and was ranked No. 10 in the final The Sports Network football poll. JSU also set 49 school records, 13 OVC records and three NCAA records during the 2013 season.
Jacksonville State earned the school’s 14th NCAA Playoff Appearance with an at-large berth and defeated Samford 55-14 to earn the school’s first-ever Division I playoff win. The Gamecocks then defeated No. 6 McNeese State 31-10 in the second round to advance to play No. 3 Eastern Washington in the quarterfinal round.
The Gamecocks will open the 2014 with back-to-back road games, starting with the opener at Michigan State. They will then head to Chattanooga to renew the program’s oldest rivalry in Week Two. JSU will face the Mocs for the 38th time after not playing in 2013, a series that started in 1904. The Gamecocks have won six of the last eight meetings.
After an off week on Sept. 13, the Gamecocks rekindle another old rivalry when former Gulf South Conference rival West Alabama comes to Burgess Snow Field for JSU’s home opener on Sept. 20. The 44th meeting between the two schools and the first since the Gamecocks’ final Div. II season in 1992 will be Band Day and kick off at 3 p.m CT.
Ohio Valley Conference play opens at Murray State on Sept. 27, and will make its first appearance at JSU on Oct. 4 with a 3 p.m. home game against UT Martin. That day will also be Fall Preview Day on the JSU campus. The Gamecocks then travel to Nashville to face Tennessee State at the Tennessee Titans’ LP Field on Oct.11 before their final open date.
After the off week, JSU hosts back-to-back conference games, starting with Tennessee Tech on Oct. 25 and Austin Peay for Homecoming and Family Day on Nov. 1. Both games are scheduled to start at 3 p.m. After a Nov. 8 trip to Eastern Kentucky, the Gamecocks wrap up their home schedule on Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. against defending OVC Champion Eastern Illinois. The regular season concludes at Southeast Missouri on Nov. 22.
2014 Jacksonville State Football Schedule
Aug. 30 at Michigan State
Sept. 6 at UT Chattanooga
Sept. 13 Open
Sept. 20 WEST ALABAMA (Band Day)
Sept. 27 *at Murray State
Oct. 4 *UT MARTIN (Fall Preview Day)
Oct. 11 *at Tennessee State
Oct. 18 Open
Oct. 25 *TENNESSEE TECH
Nov. 1 *AUSTIN PEAY (Homecoming/Family Day)
Nov. 8 *at Eastern Kentucky
Nov. 15 *EASTERN ILLINOIS (Marching Southerners Reunion)
Nov. 22 *at Southeast Missouri
*-OVC game HOME GAMES in BOLD CAPS
(www.jsugamecocksports.com)