Sam Houston Bearkats at Jacksonville State Gamecocks
Sat Nov 7 · 6:00 PM CT
By Pablo SanchezUpdated 5d ago·2 min read
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Jacksonville State is trying to prove last year's Conference USA title-game run wasn't a fluke, and Sam Houston is the kind of program still searching for its footing that a contender is supposed to handle.
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Best BetJacksonville State
Jacksonville State is the far more established program right now, with a CUSA title-game trip and a bowl win last season against a Sam Houston team that won just 2 games. Caden Creel gives the Gamecocks a proven dual-threat answer at quarterback, while Sam Houston is still trying to find its footing in year two under Longo. Back Jacksonville State to win outright here.
Sam Houston
+Landyn Locke back healthy after ACL, full offseason with Longo
+Portal OL addition Stukes bolsters the trenches
+Secondary retooled for length and range
−Finished 2-10 in Longo's first season
−Coming off 10-3 to 2-10 drop-off
−Facing a proven CUSA contender on the road
Jacksonville State
+9-5 in 2025 with a CUSA title-game appearance
+Caden Creel proven as dual-threat starter, bowl MVP
+Three straight 9-win seasons as an FBS program
−Losing 1,659-yard, 16-TD back Cam Cook to West Virginia
−Replacing a 4.5-sack, 43-tackle edge rusher
−New OC Taylor Housewright installing a new offensive system
This one's a study in opposite trajectories. Jacksonville State went 9-5 in 2025, made the CUSA Championship Game and closed the year with a bowl win over Troy in Charles Kelly's first season at the helm. Sam Houston, meanwhile, finished 2-10 in its own first year under Phil Longo, a rough transition after a 10-3 campaign in 2024. Both programs enter Saturday, November 7 with a full offseason behind their coaches, but only one of them is coming off a season that actually validated the plan.
The quarterback picture tilts toward Jacksonville State on paper. Caden Creel took over as the starter last season, ran for 1,076 yards and 7 scores, threw for over 1,500 yards and 9 touchdowns, and capped it off as Salute to Veterans Bowl MVP. He's a dual-threat problem for a Sam Houston defense that spent the offseason retooling. On the other side, Landyn Locke gets a real shot to be Longo's guy for a full year after rehabbing an ACL, and that continuity matters for a Bearkats offense that Longo has said will only go as far as its offensive line takes it.
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SHSU Sam Houston
JXST Jacksonville State
Jacksonville State isn't walking into this unscathed, though. The Gamecocks lose running back Cam Cook, who put up 1,659 yards and 16 touchdowns before leaving for West Virginia, and they're replacing a 6-7, 295-pound edge rusher who led the team with 4.5 sacks. New offensive coordinator Taylor Housewright is installing his own system around that turnover, which is the kind of variable that can make an early-market line move around before kickoff.
Sam Houston Bearkats
Oct 27?@ Missouri State—
Oct 21?vs New Mexico State—
Oct 14?vs Western Kentucky—
Oct 8?@ Liberty—
Sep 25?@ Texas Tech—
Sep 19?vs Nicholls—
Sep 12?vs Tulsa—
Sep 5?@ Troy—
Jacksonville State Gamecocks
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—
Recent form.
Sam Houston's offseason additions are real, they're just further from proven. Longo pulled in North Carolina A&T transfer Stukes to anchor a bigger offensive line, and the secondary added length and range at defensive back specifically to slow down explosive attacks like the one Creel runs. The Bearkats also get to christen a renovated Elliott T. Bowers Stadium and its new $60 million pressbox this year, which counts for something even if it doesn't show up on the scoreboard.
None of that changes the gap in recent form. Jacksonville State has posted 9 wins in three straight seasons as an FBS program and looks built to be in the CUSA title mix again; Sam Houston is still trying to find out who it is under a second-year staff. This early in the calendar, the Bearkats' floor is the bigger question mark, and that's the storyline worth tracking as fall camp approaches.
