Jacksonville State will see a lot of what it wants to become on the other side of the field this weekend.

The Gamecocks (2-0) travel to face Coastal Carolina (0-1) in a non-conference game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C. The Chanticleers, who moved up to the FBS level in 2017, have won 31 games the last three seasons.

“They’re probably a model for teams that have moved up from FCS to FBS and did it the right way and won games, committed to the program,” JSU coach Rich Rodriguez said. “And they’re really good. Their atmospheres up there at home games is outstanding, so it’s going to be quite a challenge. I think we’ll find a lot about ourselves during that game, but I think we’ll play hard. We’re going to have to play really well, better than we’ve played in the last two games to win this one.”

JSU won its FBS and Conference USA debut two weeks ago, beating UTEP 17-14 thanks to a late interception. The Gamecocks then won 49-3 vs. FCS visitor East Tennessee State last Saturday.

But the competition level goes up this weekend in Coastal Carolina, which won the Sun Belt Conference championship in 2020 and played for it last year. Grayson McCall, the three-time Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, is back for his fourth season as the Chanticleers’ starting quarterback.

McCall passed for 271 yards and a touchdown, but threw two interceptions, in a 27-13 loss at UCLA last week.

“He’s competitive, he’s smart, he’ll make plays that are there and then he’ll make plays that aren’t there,” Rodriguez said. “He’s probably one of the most dynamic leaders in college football. … I mean, he’s been the three-time player of the year in the Sun Belt Conference. That doesn’t happen very often and he’s off to another good start. So, we’ve got a lot of respect for him.”

Speaking of quarterbacks, Jax State has an interesting situation of its own after two different players started under center in its first two games. Veteran Zion Webb played all but one series vs. UTEP, rushing for 55 yards and passing for 67.

Webb was limited by illness last week, allowing Nebraska transfer Logan Smothers to start and play most of the game vs. East Tennessee State. Smothers passed for 127 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 40 yards and two scores despite playing only three quarters.

“I feel confident in both of them,” Rodriguez said. “Logan is getting better and better and is a good football player when he’s healthy and feeling good. You’re not going to lose your starting job because you’re hurt or sick, you’d lose your starting job because maybe somebody’s playing better. Zion is a good football player and he’ll have a good week of practice. He’s a competitive guy. Logan will have a good week of practice and right now I feel like I got two starting quarterbacks.”

Though the passing game has been a mixed bag, Jax State is averaging better than 220 yards on the ground through two games. Malik Jackson and Ron Wiggins have formed a dynamic 1-2 punch at running back, combining for 297 yards and four touchdowns this season.

The Gamecocks have been opportunistic on defense in the early going, forcing three turnovers against UTEP and four more against East Tennessee State. Defensive tackle Jackson Luttrell said defensive coordinator Zac Ally makes taking the ball away a priority in practice.

“We don’t really call them turnovers, we call them takeaways,” Luttrell said. “We want take the ball away from them as much as possible and give it back to our offense and put us in the best chance to be able to continue to score, continue to put pressure on those guys. I think most of our turnovers would be from just playing relentless, just playing hard, doing our job and just playing as hard as we can.”

Saturday’s Jax State-Coastal Carolina game will stream live via ESPN+.