The college football season kicks off 2017 with a great game on 26 August when the Jacksonville State Gamecocks battle against the Mocs of Chattanooga in what is being billed as the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff Classic. The game will be played in Montgomery, Alabama. Aired nationwide on ESPN at 6:30 PM EDT, the game will be a great opportunity to showcase FCS football to the nation.
With both teams ranked in the final 2016 poll and all major 2017 preseason polls, the winner will get a quick boost to its march towards the 2017 playoffs. Both teams participated in the 2016 playoffs with Chattanooga (9-4) falling to Sam Houston State in the second round and JSU (10-2), the number three seed, falling to Youngstown State who went on to be defeated in the championship game by James Madison.
These teams have a long rivalry and this will be the 41st meeting dating back to 1904. The Mocs lead the series 26-14, but haven’t beaten JSU since 2011. In the four games since then JSU has won by a total of 15 points with two of the match ups going into overtime. It promises to be a good one.
UTC enters the 2017 season with a new head coach, Tom Arth. Arth was previously the head coach at Division III John Carroll where he led the Blue Streaks to one Ohio Athletic Conference Championship and three Div III playoff appearances in 4 years. Arth inherits a fairly loaded Moc team with veteran QB Alejandro Bennifield at the helm. The senior QB is listed on the preseason All Southern Conference Second Team. Overall, Chattanooga placed 10 on the preseason teams. On defense, one of the Moc’s perennial strengths, they return junior defensive lineman Isaiah Mack, senior linebacker Dale Warren and defensive back Lucas Webb. All three are listed on the preseason All SOCON First Team Defense.
Jacksonville State has gone undefeated in regular season games against FCS competition during the last three years. They have only lost 6 games total in the last three years and three were to FBS (LSU, Auburn in overtime, and Michigan St) competition. The other three losses…were to two teams who ended as the FCS Championship runner ups and the other game they lost was the 2015 Championship game to NDSU. They have been a formidable power the last few years even if they have not gone the distance. On defense the Gamecocks remain fully loaded with 9 starters returning, including three preseason All-Americans. Their offense is a different story. With a new QB and offensive line to sort out, JSU may have some kinks to work out for this first game.
Last year Chattanooga had fairly balanced offense. No, it was nearly perfectly balanced. They ran for 2682 yards and passed for 2681. Without standout running back Derrick Craine this year, they may rely on Bennifield to pass a bit more. And he can do it. Last year he tossed 26 TDs in 13 games. Overall the Mocs had a pretty decent offensive output last season averaging 412 yards and 34 points a game. One area that could stand some improvement is in 3rd down conversions, where they still went almost 39%. They had a fairly good average time of possession at 32:21 a game and they know how to protect the ball with a +5 turnover margin. They only averaged about 5-6 penalties a game for an average of 53 yards.
Against a JSU defense that held opponents to 2.6 yards a rush, the Mocs may need to look to the air on offense. Overall last year the Gamecocks limited their opponents to only 275 yards of total offense a game. They also had 18 interceptions and recovered 7 fumbles. Overall they were +10 in turnovers. They held their opponents to a 23% third down conversion rate and with 38 sacks last year they showed they can be stingy on defense. They also held opponents to just 18 point a game.
On offense they tended to rely on the rushing game, or QB scrambles, gaining just over 3000 rushing yards last season. They passed for 2002 yards. With a new QB at the helm, the Gamecocks will likely turn to their backfield duo of Roc Thomas and UGA transfer Tramel Terry to lead the way. JSU averaged about 31 points a game and converted about 34% of their 3rd downs. Their time of possession averaged 31:26. One area that could stand some work is penalties considering they racked up about 10 a game averaging 90 yards.
JSU will face a strong Mocs defense. Last year Chattanooga held opponents to only 130 rushing per game. That is no mean feat playing in the SOCON. Overall they held opponents to just 294 yards and 19.6 points a game. They had 38 sacks and held opponents to about a 34% 3rd down conversion rate.
Special teams is a bit on an unknown as both UTC and JSU will both be starting new place kickers and replacing both their punt returners and kickoff specialists.
This game should be a defensive struggle with whoever makes the first mistake ending up the loser. However, it is a new year with new players and in UTC’s case, new coaches. Anything is possible and Chattanooga will definitely be looking to end its 4 game skid against JSU. Both teams have high aspirations and both teams know that a victory here could go a long way in securing a playoff bid and possible seed come November. On paper, it looks like a toss-up, but Chattanooga may be ready to avenge those 4 losses. I predict the Mocs take it, 31-28.
