Usually, the New Orleans Bowl is one of the better early games of the bowl season. Saturday’s match-up between a bowl newcomer and a very experienced team turned out to be just that. It was a game that went into overtime to decide a winner. Let’s recap it as Jacksonville State wins the New Orleans Bowl.
A Shaky Start
If you followed the story of Jacksonville State this year you know they weren’t eligible for a bowl. The reason is they were in their second season transitioning from FCS to FBS football. However, when there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams both the Gamecocks and James Madison made the postseason. In the process, Jacksonville State became the first team to make a bowl in their first season since 1997.
Five plays into the game JSU found themselves behind 7-0 after Jalen Clark returned a Perry Carter fumble 47 yards for a touchdown. On their next possession, Zion Webb was intercepted, however, the defense held. Jacksonville State righted their ship going 80 yards in 13 plays, with Cole Fuller taking it in for the score.
From there it became a battle of the defenses for most of the rest of the half until the last few minutes. With Jacksonville State backed up in their own territory Clark struck again picking off a Webb pass taking it 16 yards to the house and a 14-7 lead. The Gamecocks came right back just before the half on a seven-yard run by Ron Wiggins are it was 14-14.
Back And Forth We Go
Webb, who is in his seventh year at Jacksonville State, hurt his shin late in the first half. As a result, he had to sit out while being evaluated. Even when he was cleared coach Rich Rodriguez was unsure about putting him back in the game. In his absence backup Logan Smothers led JSU to two second-half scoring drives. However following another interception return for a touchdown by the Ragin’ Cajuns, this time 43 yards by Tyree Skipper, the decision was made to put Webb back in.
With a little under four minutes left and trailing 31-24, Webb led the comeback. Getting down to the Louisiana 18-yard line JSU faced a fourth and three and the ball game. He found Carter on an 18-yard strike and we were off to overtime.
An Unlikely Hero
Louisiana got the ball first in overtime and couldn’t do much. Two incompletions and a run for no gain left them with a 43-yard field goal attempt. However, Kenneth Almedares’ kick was no good and it was Jacksonville State’s turn. Before that, he’d only missed one kick all season.
JSU relied on the legs of Fuller who ran six straight times gaining 16 yards. As a result, it left kicker Garrison Rippa with a 27-yard field goal attempt. It was good and the celebration was on as Jacksonville State won the New Orleans Bowl 34-31.
New Orleans Bowl CHAMPS ⚜️🏆@JaxStateFB | #NoLimitsOnUs pic.twitter.com/pueOZdVvqf
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) December 16, 2023
Rippa became an unlikely hero as he was only pressed into action when starting kicker Alen Karajic entered the transfer portal. For the game, he converted on all four extra points and both field goal attempts.
The Rule Of 31
In our New Orleans Bowl Preview, we said the number to watch was 31. Louisiana was 6-0 when they scored 31 points and 0-6 when they didn’t. On the other side of the ball Jacksonville State had only given up more than 31 once, a 38-28 loss to South Carolina. Of course, the numbers didn’t quite work in the Ragin’ Cajuns’ favor as they got the magical number but didn’t get the win.
Final Thoughts
With the win, Jacksonville State finishes 2023 9-4. In the process, they shattered New Orleans Bowl records with 74 rushes and ran 109 plays. That number is second only to Houston who ran 115 plays against Louisiana Tech back in 2012.
For the day they finished with 31 first downs and 526 yards. However, the one category they didn’t dominate was turnovers as they had four, three of which were returned for touchdowns. In his final game, Webb had 226 total yards, 156 through the air and 70 on the ground.
On the other side of the ball, Louisiana ends the year with a 6-7 record. In addition, they failed to add to their New Orleans Bowl record of five wins.
Thanks for checking out our recap as Jacksonville State wins the New Orleans Bowl 34-31. As a reminder, Last Word On College Football will have previews and recaps of every bowl game through the championship.
