JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Cam Cook ran for 195 yards with two touchdowns and Jacksonville State defeated Liberty 34-24 on Saturday in a Conference USA opener between the past two league champions.
Jax State (1-1) turned two takeaways — a fumble and an interception — into 14 points in the first half. The Gamecocks led 17-10 at halftime and 24-10 in the third quarter after Cook's 1-yard touchdown run. That touchdown came at the end of an 83-yard drive and the Gamecocks scored on a 75-yard drive to take a 31-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Two long touchdowns in the fourth quarter kept Liberty within seven points. A 52-yard run by Evan Dickens made it 24-17 and a 62-yard pass play from Ethan Vasko to Donte Lee Jr. made it 31-24 before Jax State's Garrison Rippa kicked a 24-yard field goal for the final score.
Rippa had a 50-yard field goal in the first half.
Jacksonville State had 338 yards rushing. Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, who had 78 yards rushing, completed 6 of 12 passes for 52 yards.
Vasko threw for 335 yards on 19-for-29 passing for Liberty (1-1).
The game was delayed for about 80 minutes in the second quarter due to lightning in the area.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.