Jacksonville State routs Eastern Kentucky 49-7

Team pages: Eastern Kentucky · Jacksonville State

Eastern Kentucky0-27
Jacksonville State1-149Final
Sat, Sep 5 · AmFirst Stadium, Jacksonville, Ala. · Crowd 19,677ESPN+

Jacksonville State routed Eastern Kentucky 49-7.

We had Jacksonville State favored. It won.

Next: Eastern Kentucky beat Chattanooga 22-17, Sat Sep 12

Next: Jacksonville State lost to Ohio 29-27, Sat Sep 12

How it swung

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Jacksonville State an 85% chance, and the closing betting line (Jacksonville State was a 22.5-point favorite) put it at 97%.

Pick-sixJacksonville State · Q2 10:27
FinalJacksonville State 49-7 Eastern KentuckyJacksonville State wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.
50%75%90%Q1Q2Q3Q4Won49-7ScoresPick-six
50%75%90%Q1Q2Q3Q4Won49-7ScoresPick-six
50%10%25%Q1Q2Q3Q4Lowest 0%Lost7-49ScoresPick-six
50%10%25%Q1Q2Q3Q4Lowest 0%Lost7-49ScoresPick-six

No single play moved the chance by 20 points.

No single play moved the chance by 20 points.

Jacksonville State’s chance to win after every play.
How to read this chartStarts from the pregame line (Jacksonville State -22.5), at 96% for Jacksonville State (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays.

Every drive

Jacksonville State scored on 6 of its 9 drives; Eastern Kentucky on 1 of its 10.

Jacksonville State’s drives are teal, Eastern Kentucky’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

own goalgoal lineQ1Eastern Kentucky: Punt, from 75 yards out to 64PuntJacksonville State: Touchdown, from 70 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Kentucky: Punt, from 73 yards out to 68PuntJacksonville State: Touchdown, from 74 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Kentucky: Interception, from 75 yards out to 27InterceptionJacksonville State: Touchdown, from 91 yards out to 0TouchdownQ2Eastern Kentucky: Interception returned for a touchdown, from 75 yards out to 66Interception TDEastern Kentucky: Touchdown, from 70 yards out to 0TouchdownJacksonville State: Touchdown, from 75 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Kentucky: End of half, from 83 yards out to 49End of halfQ3Jacksonville State: Interception, from 75 yards out to 38InterceptionEastern Kentucky: Punt, from 71 yards out to 64PuntJacksonville State: Touchdown, from 83 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Kentucky: Punt, from 75 yards out to 39PuntJacksonville State: Punt, from 94 yards out to 76PuntQ4Eastern Kentucky: Punt, from 76 yards out to 77PuntJacksonville State: Touchdown, from 4 yards out to 0TouchdownEastern Kentucky: Turned over on downs, from 75 yards out to 34DownsJacksonville State: End of game, from 66 yards out to 27End of game

Box score

Jacksonville State 49, Eastern Kentucky 7

Jacksonville State covered −22.5 by 19.5. The total, 56, went over 51.5.

Eastern KentuckyJacksonville StateTotal yardsEastern Kentucky 285Jacksonville State 526285526Passing yardsEastern Kentucky 90Jacksonville State 35290352Rushing yardsEastern Kentucky 195Jacksonville State 174195174First downsEastern Kentucky 16Jacksonville State 261626TurnoversEastern Kentucky 2Jacksonville State 121Time of possessionEastern Kentucky 33:27Jacksonville State 26:3333:2726:33
Team totalsEastern KentuckyJacksonville State
Total yards285526
Passing12 of 19, 90 yds23 of 30, 352 yds
Rushing38 for 195 yds31 for 174 yds
First downs1626
Third down3 of 119 of 11
Fourth down1 of 21 of 1
Turnovers21
Penalties11 for 95 yds5 for 49 yds
Time of possession33:2726:33

Eastern Kentucky leaders

  • Passing Tyler Travers 12 of 19, 90 yds, 2 INT
  • Rushing Brady Hensley 7 for 91 yds, 1 TD; Cortez Stone 8 for 58 yds
  • Receiving Braylon Newcomb 1 for 19 yds; Jarvis Hayes 1 for 17 yds

Jacksonville State leaders

  • Passing Caden Creel 21 of 28, 327 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT
  • Rushing Jalen Likely 5 for 73 yds, 1 TD; Caden Creel 10 for 54 yds
  • Receiving Jamill Williams 7 for 144 yds, 4 TD; David Alpers 2 for 34 yds

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games · 2025 season

Eastern Kentucky · 5-7

Rated 154th in our preseason ratings, 154th now.

1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

W 33-10 @ Utah Tech #250 of 667

won by 23 as a 6.5-point favorite

L 10-17 vs Abilene Christian #114 of 667

lost by 7 as a 9-point underdog

L 17-27 vs Southern Utah #131 of 667

lost by 10 as a 6.5-point underdog

W 34-13 @ Central Arkansas #196 of 667

won by 21 as a 6.5-point underdog

L 7-31 vs Tarleton State #69 of 667

lost by 24 as a 24-point underdog

L 14-35 @ North Alabama #223 of 667

lost by 21 as an 11.5-point favorite

W 34-20 vs Austin Peay #118 of 667

won by 14 as a 10-point underdog

W 27-7 vs Nicholls #212 of 667

won by 20 as a 2.5-point favorite

L 12-33 @ West Georgia #179 of 667

lost by 21 as a 10.5-point underdog

L 7-38 @ Marshall #96 of 667

lost by 31 as a 17.5-point underdog

Eastern Kentucky lost 7-38 at Marshall. Chance to win started at 6%, low under 1%, high 9%.

W 20-10 vs Houston Christian #208 of 667

won by 10 as an 18-point favorite

L 17-51 @ LouisvilleTop 25 #25 of 667

lost by 34 as a 37.5-point underdog

Eastern Kentucky lost 17-51 at Louisville. Chance to win started at 1%, low under 1%, high 1%.

Last three games · 2025 season

Jacksonville State · 9-5

Rated 66th in our preseason ratings, 66th now.

2-1 in its last three, including a 3-point win over Western Kentucky as a 1.5-point underdog.

W 17-13 vs Troy #112 of 667

won by 4 as a 3-point favorite

Jacksonville State won 17-13 vs Troy. Chance to win started at 66%, low 35%, high better than 99%.

L 15-19 vs Kennesaw State #107 of 667

lost by 4 as a 3-point underdog

Jacksonville State lost 15-19 vs Kennesaw State. Chance to win started at 51%, low under 1%, high 78%.

W 37-34 vs Western Kentucky #92 of 667

won by 3 as a 1.5-point underdog

Jacksonville State won 37-34 vs Western Kentucky. Chance to win started at 56%, low 14%, high better than 99%.

L 21-27 @ Florida International #105 of 667

lost by 6 as a 2.5-point underdog

Jacksonville State lost 21-27 at Florida International. Chance to win started at 37%, low 5%, high 78%.

W 35-26 vs Kennesaw State #126 of 667

won by 9 as a 3.5-point underdog

Jacksonville State won 35-26 vs Kennesaw State. Chance to win started at 45%, low 26%, high better than 99%.

W 30-27 @ UTEP #158 of 667

won by 3 as a 1.5-point favorite

Jacksonville State won 30-27 at UTEP. Chance to win started at 46%, low 39%, high 94%.

W 24-21 @ Middle Tennessee #186 of 667

won by 3 as a 4.5-point favorite

W 38-25 vs Delaware #121 of 667

won by 13 as a 2.5-point underdog

Jacksonville State won 38-25 vs Delaware. Chance to win started at 57%, low 46%, high better than 99%.

W 29-27 @ Sam Houston #184 of 667

won by 2 as a 7.5-point favorite

Jacksonville State won 29-27 vs Sam Houston. Chance to win started at 64%, low 13%, high better than 99%.

L 25-42 @ Southern Miss #96 of 667

lost by 17 as a 5.5-point underdog

Jacksonville State lost 25-42 at Southern Miss. Chance to win started at 27%, low under 1%, high 32%.

W 45-10 vs Murray State #262 of 667

won by 35 as a 35.5-point favorite

Jacksonville State won 45-10 vs Murray State. Chance to win started at 99%, low 97%, high better than 99%.

L 34-41 @ Georgia Southern #101 of 667

lost by 7 as a 3.5-point underdog

Jacksonville State lost 34-41 at Georgia Southern. Chance to win started at 29%, low 3%, high 53%.

W 34-24 vs Liberty #89 of 667

won by 10 as a 6.5-point underdog

Jacksonville State won 34-24 vs Liberty. Chance to win started at 42%, low 31%, high better than 99%.

L 10-17 @ UCF #55 of 667

lost by 7 as a 20.5-point underdog

Jacksonville State lost 10-17 at UCF. Chance to win started at 8%, low under 1%, high 50%.

Week by week

Jacksonville State

  • Wk 1Lat North Dakota State7-33

Eastern Kentucky

  • Wk 1Lat Western Carolina21-45

The series

Jacksonville State leads the series 10-8

18 meetings since 2003 · Jacksonville State won the last meeting

Jacksonville State wonEastern Kentucky won2003: Jacksonville State by 352004: Jacksonville State by 72005: Eastern Kentucky by 172006: Jacksonville State by 282007: Eastern Kentucky by 112008: Eastern Kentucky by 32009: Jacksonville State by 82010: Eastern Kentucky by 122011: Eastern Kentucky by 42012: Eastern Kentucky by 302014: Jacksonville State by 142015: Jacksonville State by 342016: Jacksonville State by 172017: Jacksonville State by 162018: Jacksonville State by 492019: Eastern Kentucky by 62021: Eastern Kentucky by 82022: Jacksonville State by 2520032022
  • 2022Jacksonville State 42-17Jacksonville State won 42-17 vs Eastern Kentucky. Chance to win started at 49%, low 38%, high better than 99%.
  • 2021Eastern Kentucky 39-31
  • 2019Eastern Kentucky 29-23
  • 2018Jacksonville State 56-7
  • 2017Jacksonville State 41-25

Each line is Jacksonville State’s chance to win through that meeting. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Our model and the betting line don’t fully agree on Jacksonville State’s chances here.

50-50Model · 85%Line · 97%Eastern KentuckyJacksonville State

Jacksonville State favored by 22.5 · Total 51.5

How games like this usually go

Jacksonville State by 22.5: the game against the usual path

50%90%Q1Q2Q3Q450%90%Q1Q2Q3Q4

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 411 games since 2025 with a favorite of 21.5 points or more.

The market

The spread moved 3 points toward Jacksonville State.

opened −19.5now −22.5

The total fell 1 point.

opened 52.5now 51.5

Spread: −19.5 → −22.5 · Total: 52.5 → 51.5

The books’ cut: 3.8%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Jacksonville State is worth +7.7 points (±5.0) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top tenth of FBS, 97th percentile.

86% at home, 41% on the road against FBS opponents (18-3 home, 11-16 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +2.4 at home vs. away over 54 games — inside the ±7.9 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 283 miles to get here.

Where next