Jacksonville State Routs Sam Houston 47-14 with Big Plays
Sam Houston finished with two of the top three fantasy scorers in this game and lost 47-14 anyway. That is how a game goes when one side scores 30 points in the second half.
Jacksonville State led 17-0 at halftime on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Caden Creel to Jamill Williams, a 45-yard field goal from Garrison Rippa and an 8-yard run from Jalen Likely. Creel's 67-yard touchdown to Deondre Johnson with 14:20 left in the third made it 24-0, and Sam Houston answered 37 seconds later on a 64-yard touchdown pass from Landyn Locke to Chris Reed. The Gamecocks never trailed, and the Bearkats never got closer than 17.
The fourth quarter is where it got silly. Creel ran for a 4-yard touchdown at 14:10, Jacksonville State added a safety at 12:20, and Williams returned the next kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown at 12:09. That was 16 points in about two minutes, and 40-7. DJ Bailey threw a 7-yard touchdown to Grady O'Neill with 7:21 left, and Jacob Cornejo's 1-yard run with 34 seconds left finished it.
Jacksonville State had 479 yards (282 passing, 197 rushing), no turnovers and 2 sacks. Sam Houston had 254 yards and no turnovers of its own, so this was not a case of giveaways. It was a matter of big plays: the Gamecocks had a 67-yard touchdown, an 85-yard return and a 31-yarder, against Sam Houston's 64-yard touchdown catch. Jacksonville State is 7-2. Sam Houston is 1-8.
For fantasy, Creel led everyone with 36.5. Reed had 20 and O'Neill 18.1, both on the losing side and both catching touchdowns.