Jacksonville State Gamecocks at Delaware Blue Hens
Sat Nov 28 · 2:30 PM CT
By Pablo SanchezUpdated 6h ago·2 min read
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Jacksonville State built a Conference USA power in record time. Delaware just proved it can play in the same class. Now the Blue Hens get the Gamecocks at home in a late-November measuring stick.
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Best BetJacksonville State
Jacksonville State has the better recent track record here — a CUSA title in 2024 and a championship-game trip in 2025 under Charles Kelly. Creel's dual-threat ability gives the Gamecocks a higher offensive ceiling than a Delaware team that finished a mediocre 4-4 in conference play a year ago. Back Jax State to win outright as the program with the deeper track record of getting it done in big spots.
Jacksonville State
+Won CUSA title in 2024, reached title game in 2025
+Caden Creel is a proven dual-threat playmaker
+Salute to Veterans Bowl MVP momentum for Creel
−Lost lead running back Cam Cook
−Offense could be more one-dimensional in 2026
−Road trip late in the season
Delaware
+Won first-ever FBS bowl game, the 68 Ventures Bowl
+QB Nick Minicucci was bowl MVP
+Home field for this matchup
−Finished just 7-6, 4-4 in CUSA play in 2025
−Tougher overall schedule in year two of CUSA
−Still an unproven program next to Jax State's title pedigree
This one's about which new-money CUSA program is really built to last. Jacksonville State's Caden Creel took over as the starter midseason in 2025 and turned into a legitimate dual-threat problem, piling up over 1,500 passing yards and 1,076 rushing yards with 16 total touchdowns before capping it off as MVP of the Salute to Veterans Bowl. Delaware counters with Nick Minicucci, who was the Offensive MVP of the 68 Ventures Bowl after going 19-of-30 for 176 yards in a 20-13 win over Louisiana. Two quarterbacks who saved their best for the biggest stage will now see each other.
Jax State enters as the program with the higher ceiling shown so far — a 2024 CUSA title and a 2025 trip back to the championship game under first-year coach Charles Kelly. But the Gamecocks lose lead back Cam Cook, which puts more weight on Creel's legs and arm than ever. Delaware, in just its second full season up from FCS, is chasing that same conference-title conversation after going 7-6 overall and 4-4 in CUSA play — a bowl banner, but a middling league record that says the margin for error against a team like Jax State is thin.
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JXST Jacksonville State
DEL Delaware
Both programs are still writing their FBS origin stories, and this is the kind of game that tells you who's actually there. Delaware became just the second program ever to win a bowl game in its first FBS season back in 2023 — matching a trick Jax State itself pulled off — and topping that with an actual FBS bowl title last December in the 68 Ventures Bowl. That's real proof of concept for Ryan Carty's program, even with a tougher 2026 slate on deck.
Where this gets decided is likely in the run game. Jax State's offense leaned on Creel's legs as much as Cook's a year ago, and without its top back, the Gamecocks may be more one-dimensional than the version that made a title-game run. Delaware's defense, playing at home on a late-November Saturday, gets a chance to make life uncomfortable for a Jax State attack that's still figuring out its post-Cook identity.
Jacksonville State Gamecocks
Nov 21?vs Missouri State—
Nov 14?@ Western Kentucky—
Nov 7?vs Sam Houston—
Oct 28?@ New Mexico State—
Oct 13?vs Florida International—
Oct 7?@ Kennesaw State—
Sep 26?vs Middle Tennessee—
Sep 19?vs Georgia Southern—
Sep 12?@ Ohio—
Sep 5?vs Eastern Kentucky—
Aug 29?@ North Dakota State—
Delaware Blue Hens
Nov 21?@ New Mexico State—
Nov 14?vs Florida International—
Nov 7?@ Kennesaw State—
Oct 27?@ Western Kentucky—
Oct 20?vs Missouri State—
Oct 13?@ Middle Tennessee—
Oct 2?vs Liberty—
Sep 25?@ Virginia—
Sep 19?vs Coastal Carolina—
Sep 12?@ Vanderbilt—
Sep 3?vs Merrimack—
Recent form.
Neither team has locked in exactly who it'll be by Saturday, November 28 — plenty of football happens between now and then. But the framework is set: a Jax State program with a higher recent ceiling and a proven dual-threat QB against a Delaware team that's already shown it can win the games that matter most. That's a matchup worth circling months out.
