Jacksonville State Edges Liberty 34-24 in Week 2 Matchup
Jacksonville State defeated Liberty 34-24 on Saturday in a competitive Week 2 contest. The Gamecocks controlled much of the game, building a 24-7 halftime lead before Liberty mounted a fourth-quarter comeback attempt.
Liberty's offense found rhythm late, with quarterback Ethan Vasko leading a furious rally. Vasko connected with Julian Gray for a 72-yard touchdown in the first quarter and later found Donte Lee Jr. for a 62-yard score in the fourth. Running back Evan Dickens added a 52-yard rushing touchdown as Liberty outscored Jacksonville State 14-10 in the final quarter.
However, Jacksonville State's defense ultimately proved too strong, recording multiple key plays to stymie Liberty's comeback. Gavin Wimsatt led Jacksonville State's attack with 52 passing yards and 78 rushing yards. Evan Dickens was Liberty's receiving leader with 8 catches.
Jacksonville State's defense registered the game's most impactful plays, recording four of the top five EPA plays. Despite Liberty's furious fourth-quarter push, Jacksonville State held on to secure the victory and cover the 6-point spread. The game exceeded the 50.5-point over/under.
AI-generated recap · Aug 20, 2026
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Liberty | 7 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
 Jacksonville State | 7 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
Scoring Timeline
Drive Chart
Box Score
| Statistic | Liberty | Jacksonville State |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | 19-29 | 6-12 |
| Pass Yards | 335 | 52 |
| Rush Yards | 199 | 343 |
| Total Yards | 534 | 395 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| 3rd Down | 7-14 | 8-14 |
| Penalties | 4-30 | 1-10 |
| Possession | 29:36 | 30:24 |
Player Leaders
Player Leaders
Play-by-Play
Cam Cook run for 9 yds to the JXST 34
Gavin Wimsatt run for 6 yds to the JXST 40 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 1 yd to the JXST 41
Cam Cook run for 4 yds to the JXST 45
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Deondre Johnson
Cade Backe punt for 34 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the LIB 37 , Reese Smith returns for 16 yds to the LIB 37
Julian Gray run for 12 yds to the LIB 49 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko sacked by Isaac Walker for a loss of 4 yards to the LIB 40 Ethan Vasko fumbled, recovered by JXST Myles Butler , return for 0 yards
Cam Cook run for 31 yds to the LIB 9 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 4 yds to the LIB 5
Cam Cook run for 2 yds to the LIB 3
Andrew Paul run for 3 yds for a TD (Garrison Rippa KICK)
Evan Dickens run for 1 yd to the LIB 6
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Donte Lee Jr.
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Casey Cain
Max Morgan punt for 42 yds, fair catch by Gabe Glover at the LIB 48
Cam Cook run for 1 yd to the LIB 47
Gavin Wimsatt run for 2 yds to the LIB 45
Gavin Wimsatt run for no gain to the LIB 45
Cade Backe punt for 40 yds, fair catch by Reese Smith at the LIB 5
Caden Williams run for 1 yd to the LIB 6
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Reese Smith for 6 yds to the LIB 12
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Casey Cain for 13 yds to the LIB 25 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko run for 3 yds to the LIB 28
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Julian Gray for 72 yds for a TD (Jay Billingsley KICK)
Caden Creel run for 3 yds to the JXST 25
Gavin Wimsatt run for 2 yds to the JXST 27
Cam Cook run for no gain to the JXST 27
Cade Backe punt for 45 yds, fair catch by Reese Smith at the LIB 28
Caden Williams run for 3 yds to the LIB 31
Caden Williams run for 25 yds to the JXST 44 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for a loss of 1 yard to the JXST 45
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Jamari Person
Ethan Vasko pass intercepted Myles Butler return for 11 yds to the JXST 47
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Deondre Johnson for 24 yds to the LIB 29 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 4 yds to the LIB 25
Gavin Wimsatt run for 7 yds to the LIB 18 for a 1ST down
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Deondre Johnson
Cam Cook run for 7 yds to the LIB 11
Cam Cook run for 11 yds for a TD (Garrison Rippa KICK)
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jamari Person for 9 yds to the LIB 44
Evan Dickens run for 8 yds to the JXST 48 for a 1ST down
Evan Dickens run for no gain to the JXST 48
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Casey Cain for 9 yds to the JXST 39
Evan Dickens run for 2 yds to the JXST 37 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Julian Gray
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Evan Dickens for 8 yds to the JXST 29
Evan Dickens run for no gain to the JXST 29
Ethan Vasko run for a loss of 5 yards to the JXST 34
Andrew Paul run for 5 yds to the JXST 39
Cam Cook run for 3 yds to the JXST 42
Gavin Wimsatt run for 2 yds to the JXST 44 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for a loss of 3 yards to the JXST 41
Cam Cook run for 14 yds to the LIB 45 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 7 yds to the LIB 38
Andrew Paul run for 3 yds to the LIB 35 for a 1ST down
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Deondre Johnson
Andrew Paul run for 3 yds to the LIB 32
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Brock Rechsteiner for a loss of 1 yard to the LIB 33
Garrison Rippa 50 yd FG GOOD
Conor Donaghy kickoff for 65 yds , Julian Gray return for 13 yds to the LIB 13
Evan Dickens run for 26 yds to the LIB 39 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for 1 yd to the LIB 40
Caden Williams run for 7 yds to the LIB 47
Ethan Vasko run for 5 yds to the JXST 48 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Reese Smith for 6 yds to the JXST 42
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jamari Person for 10 yds to the JXST 32 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jacob Jenkins for 10 yds to the JXST 22 for a 1ST down
Evan Dickens run for no gain to the JXST 22
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Deuce Spurlock
(00:52) No Huddle-Shotgun Vasko,Ethan pass complete deep left to Gray,Julian caught at JSU00, for 22 yards to the JSU00 TOUCHDOWN nullified by penalty, clock 00:52 PENALTY LIB Holding (Hayes,Harrison) 10 yards from JSU22 to JSU32. NO PLAY.
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jamari Person for 14 yds to the JXST 18
Jay Billingsley 35 yd FG GOOD
End of 2nd Quarter
Evan Dickens run for 7 yds to the LIB 32
Evan Dickens run for 1 yd to the LIB 33
Ethan Vasko run for 6 yds to the LIB 39 for a 1ST down
Evan Dickens run for 6 yds to the LIB 45
PENALTY LIB False Start (Geth,DJ) 5 yards from LIB45 to LIB40. NO PLAY.
Ethan Vasko run for 3 yds to the LIB 43
Ethan Vasko run for 4 yds to the LIB 47
Max Morgan punt for 36 yds, fair catch by Gabe Glover at the JXST 17
Cam Cook run for no gain to the JXST 17
Cam Cook run for 3 yds to the JXST 20
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Caleb Coombs for 11 yds to the JXST 31 for a 1ST down
Gavin Wimsatt run for 44 yds to the LIB 25 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 23 yds to the LIB 2 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for no gain to the LIB 2
Cam Cook run for 1 yd to the LIB 1
Cam Cook run for 1 yd for a TD (Garrison Rippa KICK)
Conor Donaghy kickoff for 56 yds , Julian Gray return for 12 yds to the LIB 21
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Elijah Canion
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Julian Gray for 1 yd to the LIB 22
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jamari Person for 14 yds to the LIB 36 for a 1ST down
Julian Gray run for 6 yds to the LIB 42
Vaughn Blue run for 6 yds to the LIB 48 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Vaughn Blue
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Elijah Canion for 22 yds to the JXST 30 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for 3 yds to the JXST 27
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Elijah Canion
Ethan Vasko run for 24 yds to the JXST 3 for a 1ST down
Caden Williams run for no gain to the JXST 3
Ethan Vasko pass incomplete to Jacob Jenkins
Ethan Vasko sacked for a loss of 6 yards to the JXST 9
Jay Billingsley 27 yd FG MISSED
Andrew Paul run for 1 yd to the JXST 21
Andrew Paul run for 3 yds to the JXST 24
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Pearson Baldwin for 3 yds to the JXST 27
Conor Donaghy punt for 44 yds , Reese Smith returns for no gain to the LIB 28
Evan Dickens run for 3 yds to the LIB 31
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Jacob Jenkins for 17 yds to the LIB 48 for a 1ST down
Evan Dickens run for 52 yds for a TD (Jay Billingsley KICK)
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Deondre Johnson
No Huddle-Shotgun Cook,Cam rush left for 2 yards gain to the JSU27 (Harmon,Damond; Carter,Joseph) PENALTY JSU Holding (Orr,Jeremiah) 10 yards from JSU25 to JSU15. NO PLAY.
Cam Cook run for 11 yds to the JXST 26
No Huddle-Shotgun Cook,Cam rush left for 4 yards gain to the JSU30 (Jarvis,Mike; Dixon,Bryce) PENALTY LIB Illegal Substitution 5 yards from JSU26 to JSU31. NO PLAY.
Andrew Paul run for 7 yds to the JXST 38 for a 1ST down
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Deondre Johnson
Cam Cook run for 2 yds to the JXST 40
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Caleb Coombs for 13 yds to the LIB 47 for a 1ST down
Andrew Paul run for 42 yds to the LIB 5 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 2 yds to the LIB 3
Gavin Wimsatt run for no gain to the LIB 3
Gavin Wimsatt run for 3 yds for a TD (Garrison Rippa KICK)
Conor Donaghy kickoff for 62 yds , Julian Gray return for 15 yds to the LIB 18
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Donte Lee Jr. for 12 yds to the LIB 30 for a 1ST down
Evan Dickens run for 8 yds to the LIB 38
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Donte Lee Jr. for 62 yds for a TD (Brayden Beck KICK)
Gavin Wimsatt run for 12 yds to the JXST 47 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 15 yds to the LIB 38 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 24 yds to the LIB 14 for a 1ST down
Cam Cook run for 5 yds to the LIB 9
Gavin Wimsatt pass complete to Harrison Hamsley for 2 yds to the LIB 7
Gavin Wimsatt pass incomplete to Khristian Lando
Garrison Rippa 24 yd FG GOOD
Ethan Vasko run for 7 yds to the LIB 32
No Huddle-Shotgun Vasko,Ethan pass complete short middle to Lee Jr.,Donte caught at LIB40, for 15 yards to the LIB47 (Taylor,Tyrin; Franklin, Jr.,Travis) PENALTY LIB Holding (Williams,Christian) 10 yards from LIB32 to LIB22. NO PLAY.
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Austin Henderson for 5 yds to the LIB 27
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Austin Henderson for 26 yds to the JXST 47 for a 1ST down
Ethan Vasko run for 1 yd to the JXST 46
Ethan Vasko sacked by Emmanuel Oyebadejo for a loss of 5 yards to the LIB 49
Ethan Vasko sacked by Tae Floyd for a loss of 11 yards to the LIB 38
Ethan Vasko pass complete to Casey Cain for 19 yds to the JXST 43
Cam Cook run for no gain to the JXST 43
Cam Cook run for 13 yds to the LIB 44 for a 1ST down
Kneel down by Jax State at LIB47 for loss of 3 yards.
Kneel down by Jax State at LIB49 for loss of 2 yards.