2026 Jacksonville State
5–2 (3–0 Conference USA), coached by Charles Kelly. The season’s Wikipedia article records 4–2, over six games to the seven on file here. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Eastern Kentucky 49–7Sep 5
By 42 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Kennesaw State 27–26Oct 7
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 29 | at North Dakota State | L 7–33 | 39% |
| Sep 5 | vs Eastern Kentucky | W 49–7 | 83% |
| Sep 12 | at Ohio | L 27–29 | 37% |
| Sep 19 | vs Georgia Southern | W 31–27 | 59% |
| Sep 26 | vs Middle Tennessee | W 23–13 | 74% |
| Oct 7 | at Kennesaw State | W 27–26 | 56% |
| Oct 13 | vs Florida International | W 27–24 | 65% |
| Oct 28 | at New Mexico State | Preview | 67% |
| Nov 7 | vs Sam Houston | Preview | 82% |
| Nov 14 | at Western Kentucky | Preview | 52% |
| Nov 21 | vs Missouri State | Preview | 76% |
| Nov 28 | at Delaware | Preview | 61% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
- Record
- 5–2
- Conference
- 3–0 shared first in Conference USA
- AP now
- Unranked
- Points
- 191–159
- Coach
- Charles Kelly
- Elo
- 1542 +19 this season
- SP+ rating
- -2.4 No. 84 of 138; offense No. 77, defense No. 90, special teams No. 100
- SRS
- −7.0 No. 94 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 50% of last season’s EPA, No. 56 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 86 roster talent No. 93 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Taylor Housewright
- Defensive coordinator
- Brian Williams
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.13 | 45% | 1.16 | 59th of 138 |
| Defense | 0.12 | 43% | 1.10 | 74th of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.10 off 0.11 def | 43% off 43% def | — | 67th off 68th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 51% | 8.3 yds | 12% | 3.20 | 16% |
| Defense | 44% | 5.9 yds | 7% | 3.00 | 15% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.6 | own 26 | 14% allowed |
| Defense | 3.6 | own 27 | 15% caused |
CORE rating -2.3, 76th of 138 (offense 0.6, defense 2.9).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Caden Creel QB | 1,637 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Caden Creel QB | 12 TD |
| Rushing yards | Caden Creel QB | 500 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Caden Creel QB | 4 TD |
| Receiving yards | Deondre Johnson WR | 431 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Jamill Williams WR | 5 TD |
| Tackles | Caleb Nix S | 43 tkl |
| Sacks | Quay Hood DL | 2 sacks |
| Interceptions | Caleb Nix S | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Tristan Lyles DE | ★★★ | No. 1308 |
| Brayden Matthews LB | ★★★ | No. 1336 |
| Noah Lee QB | ★★★ | No. 1523 |
| Andrevius Smith ATH | ★★★ | No. 1523 |
| Rodarion Jones CB | ★★★ | No. 1566 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.0 | 0.857 |
| Running backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.850 |
| Receivers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.830 |
| Offensive line | 6 | 3.0 | 0.836 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.851 |
| Linebackers | 4 | 3.0 | 0.853 |
| Defensive backs | 6 | 3.0 | 0.844 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
| Whole class | 30 | 3.0 | 0.845 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 131
The 2026 roster131 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 21
The 2026 portal Caleb Holmes OL | ★★★ | from  Pittsburgh |
 Robert Billings S | ★★★ | from  Clemson |
 Darius Cannon WR | ★★★ | from  Murray State |
 Hadine Diaby OL | ★★★ | from  Nevada |
 Kaden Cook CB | ★★★ | from  California |
| Ronnel Johnson WR | ★★★ | from  Missouri State |
 Vernon Woodward III CB | ★★★ | from  Illinois |
 Amarii Atchison OT | ★★★ | from  Mercer |
| Jamill Williams WR | ★★★ | from Albany State |
| Marvin Stringfellow DL | ★★★ | from Concordia University, St. Paul |
 Jackson Bunn OL | ★★★ | from  Kentucky |
 Andrew Rumph DL | ★★★ | from  UCF |
And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 14
And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Conference USA standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Jacksonville State | 3–0 | 5–2 | |
 Liberty | 2–0 | 5–1 | |
| Western Kentucky | 2–1 | 3–4 | |
| Middle Tennessee | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| Florida International | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| New Mexico State | 1–1 | 2–4 | |
| Missouri State | 1–1 | 2–4 | |
| Delaware | 0–2 | 2–4 | |
| Kennesaw State | 0–2 | 1–5 | |
| Sam Houston | 0–2 | 1–5 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.