Jacksonville State football fell to Georgia Southern as the defense failed to get a stop in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles (1-2) scored 10 points in the final frame to earn the 41-34 win over the Gamecocks (1-2). Jax State got the ball back with 6:23 left in the game but only gained 8 yards in four plays and had to punt the ball away with 3:33 left in the game.

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After being stifled early on the ground, Jax State ended the game with more than 200 yards on the ground as Cam Cook had 118 yards but Gavin Wimsatt ran for two scores and Brock Rechsteiner had a rushing and receiving touchdown.

Can Jax State win a game through the air?

The big question is if Jax State can win a game through the air, and after the Georgia Southern game it looks like Wimsatt can air it out but they still need a strong run game to pull its weight. In the first half, he went 13 of 16 for 168 yards and a touchdown. That changed in the second half as Wimsatt went 4 of 8 for only 17 yards. The Gamecocks need to get a pass game going to alleviate the pressure off the run game and avoid stacked boxes.

Jax State run game stifled early

Jax State appeared primed to take advantage of Georgia Southern’s FBS-worst run defense, but that wasn’t the case in the first quarter. They managed just 55 yards on the ground in the first frame and saw Gavin Wimsatt go 4 of 6 for 95 yards but he had an interception. It didn’t get much better in the second quarter with 66 yards on the ground.

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They found more success in the second half on the ground but only managed 93 yards as Cook had 120 yards.

CUSA CONTENDERS: Jacksonville State football: New coach, new roster but still a Conference USA tile threat

Jacksonville State football next game

The Gamecocks return home to host Murray State for homecoming on Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports, Jax State athletics, the outdoors in Alabama and more for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Jacksonville State football falters late in loss to Georgia Southern