Three thoughts after the SEMO win

Playmakers

One thing a successful coach will do it put his playmakers in a position to make plays. As JSU improved their record to 9-1, we got a chance to see playmakers in action last night. On defense, you had Jason Horton and Jamison Wadley making big plays all afternoon. Keginald Harris, TJ Heath, and Rodney Garrott also got in on the action and made things happen for us on D. On offense, we have to start with Marques “Cool Hand” Ivory when talking about playmakers. Marques stayed cool under pressure on the last drive. In fact, Ivory had a Redhawk defender holding his ankle as he made the winning touchdown pass.

On the winning play, you can’t leave out Alan Bonner who made a huge catch just inbounds in the end zone. Many could debate which was better; the pass or the catch. But that play never happens without a huge 29-yard catch from Jeff Cameron on 2nd and 31 with less than 2 minutes left.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of this game was electric. SEMO brought a bus with their fans to the game. They came really fired up, hoping to win an outright conference championship on Burgess-Snow Field. JSU players and fans were determined that wasn't going to happen. As the video says "This is OUR house". The Southerners worked hard all week getting ready for the game, then on game day must have loaded up on power bars and energy drinks, because they really showed up for the game. They played in the stands the entire game. The student section was rowdy. I hope no one sat in the student section expecting to sit down during the game. Our students have done a great job this year, and took it to the next level yesterday.

Winning the conference championship

Yesterday’s win was a great win, but doesn’t mean we’ve won the OVC. JSU has to win next week to reach their goal of the OVC championship. If you’ve been thinking of attending a road game, this is it. We should have a good crowd there. If we see that there will be a good number of Gamecock fans traveling to the game, we may try to get an organized effort to cheer on the team before the game. Stay tuned for more details.