Jacksonville State and New Mexico State Meet in a CUSA Showdown Shaped by Their Ground Games

Jacksonville State travels to Las Cruces to face New Mexico State at 8 p.m. ET on Oct. 28 in a Conference USA game with real weight in the league race. ESPN2 has the broadcast, and the forecast calls for a few clouds, a low near 56 degrees and light, variable winds.

Liberty is viewed as the league's strongest team and is tied for first at 3-0 in conference play with Jacksonville State. New Mexico State sits right behind at 2-1. Jacksonville State is listed at -200 to reach the CUSA Championship Game for a third straight year, while the Aggies are at +500 to get there for the second time in program history, after 2023. The loser of this game will be in a difficult spot. Liberty visits New Mexico State on Nov. 7 but does not play Jacksonville State in the regular season.

The Gamecocks arrive on a four-game winning streak, though three of those wins came by four or fewer points. The latest was a 27-24 home victory over Florida International on Oct. 13. Quarterback Caden Creel led the sixth game-winning drive of his career, highlighted by a 34-yard third-down pass to Ronnel Johnson that reached FIU's 8-yard line. Garrison Rippa then kicked a 26-yard field goal with 44 seconds left, and FIU missed a 49-yard attempt at the gun.

Rippa has 47 career field goals, two short of the school record, and his six game-winning kicks in the final minute of regulation or overtime are a CUSA record. Since moving up to the FBS in 2023, Jacksonville State has won eight games with a score in the final minute of regulation or in overtime.

The Gamecocks also extended the nation's longest streak of consecutive games with a rushing touchdown to 65, courtesy of a 4-yard run by Justus Savage. The next-longest active streak among all Division I programs belongs to FCS Montana State at 40. Creel, a dual-threat quarterback, threw two touchdown passes against FIU and has produced at least two total touchdowns in six straight games. He is the only FBS quarterback averaging at least 225 passing yards and 70 rushing yards. Jacksonville State is 13-1 in weekday CUSA games, the league's best mark over the past four years, with its only loss coming against Liberty in 2023. One caution for in-game observers: its defense has allowed a touchdown in the final 1:41 of the first half in all six games against FBS opponents.

New Mexico State is 5-1 all-time at home in weekday CUSA games, with the lone defeat coming last year against Missouri State. The Aggies won 30-24 at Sam Houston last week for their first road victory of the season, after losing their first three away games by double digits. Tailback James Jones ran for 178 yards and a touchdown, the highest total by an Aggies back since November 2019. He has also passed 2,000 career rushing yards across FBS and FCS play, and his 111.0 rushing yards per game lead CUSA and rank 10th nationally.

The Aggies' turnaround on the ground is striking. They average 151.4 rushing yards per game, second in the league, after finishing last in the country in 2025 at 77.3. They have topped 200 rushing yards three times this season and won each of those games. Jacksonville State allows 156.4 rushing yards per game.

New Mexico State's run defense is just as notable. It allows 109.1 rushing yards per game, tops in CUSA and 30th nationally, which would be a school record. In conference games alone, the Aggies give up 51.3 rushing yards per game, the best figure of any FBS team in league play and 16.7 fewer than Miami of Ohio's 68.0. It is the first season since at least 1994 that New Mexico State has held four opponents under 75 rushing yards.

Each of Jacksonville State's last seven road CUSA games has been decided by seven points or fewer, and the ground game looks likely to settle this one. Heavy rushing also keeps the clock moving. Jacksonville State is a 3.5-point favorite, and the SportsLine model projects a 27-24 Gamecocks win. The series is tied 1-1, and the teams last met in 2024.