3 takeaways from Jacksonville State’s 44-7 win over Southern Miss

Jax State earned its first win of the season in dominant fashion on Saturday.

The Gamecocks rolled to a 44-7 win over Sun Belt Conference foe Southern Miss at AmFirst Stadium , turning in 509 yards of total offense and six turnovers in an all-around impressive performance.

Jax State will have a bye week before opening Conference USA play against Kennesaw State on Friday, Oct. 4. Before that, here are three takeaways from the Gamecocks' win over Southern Miss.

Entering Saturday's matchup, Jax State had converted just six of its 34 third-down attempts, which was the second-worst in the country.

Jax State finished 6-for-11 on third down against Southern Miss, with the improvements on short-yardage plays showing in a huge way.

"The biggest difference for us was getting some movement up front," Rich Rodriguez said. "We needed to do a better job of that in short yardage, and we did today."

The run game turned in a season-high 273 yards in the victory, averaging over 5.6 yards per attempt. With a bye week before the team opens Conference USA play, the improvements in key situations were very encouraging for Rodriguez and company.

Six turnovers, 1-for-10 on third down and just seven points... not a fun day for Southern Miss.

Jax State's defense, however, dominated in a much-needed performance as seemingly every position group got in the mix.

Four different players — Antonio Carter, Geimere Latimer, Ky'Won McCray and Jabari Mack — each had an interception, with both of Southern Miss' opening drives ending in interceptions; starting quarterback Tate Rodemaker was pulled after those two series.

The run defense allowed just over 3 yards per rushing attempt, with Reginald Hughes leading the team with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack to pair with six tackles. Laletia Hale had a team-high eight tackles and had 1.5 tackles for loss, while J-Rock Swain, Talan Carter and Cam Vaughn each forced a fumble.

If the defense continues to play like it did on Saturday, the Gamecocks' season could turn around quickly.

Running back Tre Stewart had his best game since joining the program, totaling a game-high 96 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 rushing attempts in the win.

In three seasons at Division II Limestone University, Stewart totaled 2,994 yards and 24 rushing touchdowns before entering the transfer portal.

"He got in here with a solid weight program, nutrition program, so he knew he was going to take the next step," Rodriguez said. "He's got a knack for making people miss or getting yards sometimes when they're not there. He's just a really good football player. I mean, he did a couple of pass protections today that was next-level kind of stuff."

With Stewart now leading all Jax State running backs with 225 yards and four touchdowns, the coaching staff hopes he'll continue to excel in the run game for a talent-rich running game.