(STATS) -- With all due respect to the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference, Jacksonville State has surged past the other eight t

Posted in IYH Forums by jokergreen0220 at 08:15, Feb 11 2020

(STATS) -- With all due respect to the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference, Jacksonville State has surged past the other eight teams to a place all by itself.Enough so that the Gamecocks can lose more than half of their starting lineup after last season and be focused on -- rightfully -- getting back to that last game, as third-year coach John Grass calls the FCS national championship.Their first trip to Frisco, Texas, in January didnt go as planned as North Dakota State routed the Gamecocks 37-10 to claim a record fifth straight title.To get back there, JSU will first try to win a third consecutive OVC title. Grass hasnt lost a conference game in his first two seasons and the Gamecocks have only lost to FBS opponents during the regular season.This is viewed as a potentially down season for the rest of the OVC, although somebody -- probably usual powers Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Illinois -- will mount a threat to the Gamecocks.But the Gamecocks have the biggest dreams in mind. Theyve bulked up their non-conference schedule to prepare for another playoff run. Senior quarterback Eli Jenkins is one of nine returning starters and Grass looked to the transfer market to fill some needs.We have the talent to replace those (graduated) guys, he said, but my question to my guys is, hey, do we have that leadership on and off the field because its gonna get you to where you are. Because every team is different, the chemistry of every team. This is a new year, we cant live off whats happened the last couple years. This team will have its own identity, it will have its own chemistry.Three OVC teams have new coaches -- Eastern Kentucky (Mark Elder), Tennessee Tech (Marcus Satterfield) and Austin Peay (Will Healy). While theres no sure thing in the OVC, JSU has put some distance between itself and the rest of the conference.Following is a team-by-team breakdown of the 2016 Ohio Valley Conference race and STATS predicted order of finish:1. Jacksonville State2. Eastern Kentucky3. Eastern Illinois4. UT Martin5. Southeast Missouri State6. Tennessee State7. Murray State8. Tennessee Tech9. Austin Peay---=TEAM CAPSULES=1. JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS=LOCATION: Jacksonville, AlabamaSTADIUM: JSU StadiumCOACH: John Grass (23-4 in two seasons at Jacksonville State)LAST SEASON: 13-2 overall, 8-0 OVC (1st); FCS runne