JACKSONVILLE – Jax State heads into a record 15-day break riding a four-game winning streak after a thrilling 27-24 victory over FIU Tuesday night in Conference USA action at AmFirst Stadium.
The script was a familiar one to the Gamecock faithful in attendance. Quarterback Caden Creel directed his sixth career game-winning drive, the key play coming on a 34-yard third-down pass to Ronnel Johnson to FIU's 8-yard line. That brought on kicker Garrison Rippa, who calmly drilled a 26-yard field goal with 44 seconds left in regulation for a three-point lead.
Then the Gamecocks could only watch as the Panthers drove into position to have Robert Czeremcha attempt a 50-yard field goal in the waning seconds. His kick had the needed distance but sailed wide right, setting off a frenzied celebration by the crowd of 17,224.
Jax State improved to 5-2 and 3-0 in CUSA.
"I'm very proud of our players and very proud of our coaching staff," said Jax State head coach Charles Kelly. "I expected this game to be hard. I'm proud of the resiliency. I thought we did some good things in all three phases but we made mistakes in all three phases."
FIU, which had not allowed a touchdown in the past 11 quarters, found itself trailing 7-0 after the Gamecocks received the opening kickoff and drove 63 yards in six plays for the game's first score.
Jax State converted on fourth-and-2 from its own 45 with Creel's five-yard completion to Jamill Williams, then found the end zone two plays later when Creel hit tight end Luke Gilbert in stride for a touchdown. Garrison Rippa's PAT made it 7-0 with just over three minutes elapsed.
The Panthers (3-3, 1-1) evened it at 7 with a 50-yard touchdown that saw quarterback JJ Kohl evade two potential tacklers and connect with Maguire Anderson, who hauled in the pass between a pair of Jax State defenders and ran in untouched.
Creel helped the Gamecocks regain the momentum and go up 14-7.
The senior quarterback connected with Deondre Johnson for a 23-yard gain over the middle, then scrambled 16 yards into FIU territory. One play later, Creel found Johnson in single coverage for a 36-yard touchdown. Rippa's extra point put Jax State ahead 14-7 with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter.
The Gamecocks extended their lead to double digits when Rippa, who had earlier missed a 46-yard try, was successful on a 47-yard field goal with 13:39 remaining in the second quarter.
The Panthers reeled off 10 points – a field goal by Czeremcha and a 30-yard Kohl to Anderson TD connection – in the final seven minutes of the first half. The teams went to the locker rooms deadlocked at 17 when Czeremcha missed a 38-yard attempt on the last play of the half after Creel had thrown an interception in Jax State territory.
FIU outgained the Gamecocks 208-204 in the first half after limiting Jax State's offense to 10 total yards in the second quarter.
A failed FIU fake punt on the opening series of the second half led to Jax State taking a 24-17 lead.
Taking over in Panthers' territory, the Gamecock offense needed just five plays to drive 46 yards to the end zone. Justus Savage's four-yard touchdown run and Rippa's PAT came at the 8:02 mark in the third quarter.
Back came FIU with a 12-play march that consumed almost seven minutes. An eight-yard TD run and extra point drew the Panthers even at 24 late in the third quarter.
Jax State now has the longest stretch between regular-season games in school history before returning to CUSA action on Wednesday, October 28, at 7 p.m. at New Mexico State (2-4, 1-1).
