Coastal Carolina scored four straight touchdowns in the first and second quarters on the way to a 55-27 victory over Jacksonville State at AmFirst Stadium on Thursday night, in the 2024 opener for both teams.

Ethan Vasko threw for two touchdowns and ran for another for the Chanticleers, who piled up 552 yards of offense and also got into the end zone on defense. The Gamecocks (0-1) managed 357 yards — 177 of that in the fourth quarter after the game was well out of hand — and went 1-for-10 on third down in losing their opener for the first time under third-year coach Rich Rodriguez.

It was the second straight loss for Jax State to Coastal Carolina, which won 30-14 in Conway, S.C., in 2023. The Gamecocks finished 9-4 a year ago, winning the New Orleans Bowl in their first season as an FBS program.

With Thursday’s game tied 3-3 late in the first quarter, Coastal Carolina (1-0) took control with a pair of touchdowns in an 11-second span. Vasko hit Tray Taylor for a 36-yard score to make it 10-3 with 1:12 left in the quarter, then the Chanticleers’ defense capitalized immediately on one of Jax State’s three turnovers in the game.

On the next play from scrimmage, Will Whitson sacked Gamecocks quarterback Logan Smothers and popped the ball loose. Clev Lubin scooped it up and raced 17 yards to the end zone to give Coastal a 17-3 lead after one.

Vasko and Braydon Bennett added touchdown runs of 4 and 2 yards in the second quarter to make it a 31-3 game. Jax State then mounted its first good drive of the night, a 75-yard march capped by Cole Fuller’s 1-yard run with 19 seconds left in the half that pulled the Gamecocks within 31-10 at the break.

Bennett scored on a 2-yard run on Coastal Carolina’s first possession of the second half to put the Chanticleers back up by 28 at 38-10. After both teams kicked field goals, Vasko found Jameson Tucker for a 37-yard touchdown and a 48-13 score with 8:34 to play.

Jax State added two long touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Tyler Huff’s 92-yard pass to Michael Pettway with 8:03 remaining and Tre Stewart’s 38-yard option run with 1:06 left. Coastal backup quarterback Noah Kim capped the Chanticleers’ scoring with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Senika McKie at the 2:18 mark.

Vasko completed 12 of 19 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and ran for 39 yards on 12 carries. The Chanticleers totaled 290 yards on the ground, averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

Huff and Smothers split time behind center for Jax State, combining to complete 14 of 27 throws for 234 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. The Gamecocks’ signature running game never materialized, totaling just 123 yards on 30 attempts.

Jacksonville State is back in action Sept. 7 at Louisville. That game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. on ACC Network.