College Football

Rich Rodriguez Guides Jacksonville State to First Ever FBS Win

Published

8 months ago

August 27, 2023

Mike Asti

Image credit to Jacksonville State Athletics

Rich Rodriguez earned one of the most significant wins of his career on Saturday night.

No, it wasn’t another major bowl win or a victory infant of a packed crowd on national television, but it was a first for the Jacksonville State program. The Gamecocks beat UTEP 17-14 for the school’s first ever FBS win.

This way to victory Mr. Harris‼️@jero14harris seals it for the Gamecocks in their FBS debut! #HardEdge | #EarnSuccess pic.twitter.com/j6LHvGpbZ3
— Jax State Football (@JaxStateFB) August 27, 2023

The start of the 2023 season officially marked Jacksonville State’s debut as a member of Conference-USA. Rodriguez is now in his second season as JSU head coach after closing out the program’s time in FCS last year with a 10-2 record.

Rodriguez told CBS Sports “I want them to be more excited than nervous” about how he views his team’s first FBS season.

"I want them to be more excited than nervous."
🗣️ @JaxStateFB head coach Rich Rodriguez spoke with our @AmandaGuerraCBS about bringing the Gamecocks into their first FBS season pic.twitter.com/801vkPnPw0
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) August 26, 2023

When Rodriguez was hired to guide Jacksonville State into this new FBS era in 2021, it was his first time being a head coach since his departure from Arizona in 2017. After the Wildcats, Rodriguez spent a season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss and then held the same role at Louisiana-Monroe the following season.

Rodriguez, a West Virginia native, currently holds a 173-121-2 overall coaching record. He obviously experience most of his success while leading the Mountaineers from 2001-2007. At WVU, Rodriguez won four Big East titles, was named conference Coach of the Year twice. He added a third Coach of the Year honor in the Pac-12 in 2014 with Arizona.

Last November, WVSN’s Mike Asti asked WVU legend Rasheed Marshall if he would ever want Rich Rodriguez to return as head coach of the Mountaineers during an episode of their past “All Three Phases” podcast.