Liberty heads to Jacksonville State in a Week 2 clash that’s anything but early-season filler.  This matchup could offer an early blueprint for how the CUSA race might unfold.

Game Overview

  • Matchup: Liberty Flames (CUSA) at Jax State Gamecocks (CUSA)
  • Date & Time: Saturday, September 6, 2025, at AmFirst Stadium, Jacksonville, Alabama. Kickoff is set for 12 noon ET (11 a.m. local) on CBS Sports Network.
  • Series History: JSU leads, 5-1. Jax State won the previous matchup, 31-21, on Oct. 30, 2024. Liberty won the previous matchup in Jacksonville, 31-13, on Oct. 10, 2023.

Preview of the Gamecocks

Jax State has had a lot of success, first at the FCS level, and now since they have moved to the FBS and Conference USA. The Gamecocks have made a bowl game in each of their first two seasons at the FBS level and won the CUSA Championship last year. Head coach Rich Rodriguez has left to return to West Virginia, and Charles Kelly has taken over the reigns in Jacksonville.

This is Kelly’s first time as a head coach, but he’s a long-time assistant, primarily on the defensive side of the ball. His first five seasons as a full-time college coach came at Jax State. He has coached under coaches such as Chan Gailey, Paul Johnson, Jimbo Fisher, and Nick Saban. He comes to Jax State from Auburn where he was co-Defensive Coordinator under former Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze.

In his debut as head coach, Kelly and the Gamecocks had the UCF Knights on the brink. JSU led, 10-3, in the fourth quarter before UCF rallied with two late touchdowns to grab the season-opening win.

Gavin Wimsatt, former Rutgers and Kentucky quarterback, is now QB1 for the Gamecocks. In the season opener at UCF, he completed 15 of 29 passes for 139 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He also had 13 carries for 28 yards. His favorite target was running back Cam Cook who had 4 receptions for 43 yards. Six other players had at least one reception, with Brock Rechsteiner leading the way with 3 catches for 34 yards.

Cook is the other name to know for this Jax State offense. He’s a TCU transfer who led t hem in rushing last year before entering the portal. In addition to his 43 receiving yards, Cook also had 17 rushes for 75 yards (4.4 ypc) against UCF. Cook finished the game with 118 all-purpose yards. Jax State and Liberty were two of the top four rushing offenses in the country last year with the Gamecocks rolling to 363 yards on the ground in their win at Liberty last season.

Backup quarterback Caden Creel is expected to see the field in certain situations and packages, as well. Against UCF, Creel completed his only pass for 18 yards and also had one carry for 14 yards.

Defensively, Jax State held Central Florida to just 17 points, 14 of those coming in the final 10 minutes. They did give up 314 yards through the air and 422 total offensive yards. UCF completed 22 of 33 passes and added both of their touchdowns in the passing game. The Gamecocks were good against the run, holding the Knights to 108 yards on 37 rush attempts (2.9 ypc).

Liberty is 1-5 all-time against the Gamecocks with the lone victory coming during the Flames’ last visit to AmFirst Stadium, a 31-13 decision on October 10, 2023. Jax State is 8-1 at home since that loss. The one in the loss column came in last year’s season and home opener, a 55-27 setback to Coastal Carolina. The starting quarterback in that game for the Chanticleers was Ethan Vasko, Liberty’s starting quarterback this season. Vasko completed 12 of 19 passes for 249 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in the win over the Gamecocks last season. He also rushed 12 times for 39 yards and another score playing on the same field he will lead Liberty on Saturday.

Coach Kelly on the Flames

“I think Jamey Chadwell has done an incredible job at Liberty. Most everybody has pretty much put them as the number one team in the conference.”

“They have really good players. They have an experienced quarterback, who a lot of the guys that were here last year played against. The guy has shown that he can win. They have good running backs, good receivers, a good offensive line. Their offense is very challenging. They are a spread option team, but they have the ability to throw the ball down the field, so that will be a challenge on defense.”

“They have really good players up front. They are not quite as big as what we played this past week, but they are very athletic they can move. They got good guys at the second level, at linebacker and the secondary. They are a very well coached team. Julian Gray is a running back, but he’s also a dynamic return guy.”

Coach Chadwell on the Gamecocks

“They have a really good back, transfer from TCU, that is really good. Quarterback from Kentucky and Rutgers that played well, who’s athletic. They’ve got some skill guys. They play with a tempo that you’ve got to line up fast. That’s something I know our defense has to get ready for.”

“Defensively, they are multiple. They’ve got a D-Coordinator, their head coach has been a D-Coordinator. They have a lot of guys that know a lot about defense. They are multiple in what they do. They do a good job in disguising coverages and challenging you on everything. Their interior, specifically, is really, really good. Their D-Line and linebacker level, they’ve got some really good players there. We’re going to have to do a really good job of blocking if we’re going to have any chance there. Not that they’re not good everywhere else, they’ve got good players, but those are guys that really stand out.”

“If you watch their first game, they did a great job against UCF, a Big 12 team. Really had the game in hand until late in the game. They’re much improved, meaning I thought Maine was a good team, the level of athleticism is going to go up this week, so we’ve got to be ready to go.”

Prediction

Spread: Liberty -6.5

My forecast: Liberty 24, Jax State 20

My record this season: 1-0 straight-up, 1-0 against the spread