A Breakdown Of Jacksonville State's Team Defense
Usually, we will break down a couple of athletes you'll need to keep a close eye on both sides of the ball, this week is different. While Jacksonville State has very good players, watching the film, this is a 'WE' defense, where not one or two guys drastically stick out. They play with and for each other.
30 Team Sacks
This is a defense that knows how to get after the quarterback. As a team, they have 30 sacks in their nine total games. Averaging 3.3 sacks per game. With an offensive line that's had a plethora of injuries this could be something to keep a close eye on. More potentially concerning is that 22.5 of those 30 sacks have come from defensive linemen.
The Gamecocks get their sacks primarily through their aggressive mindset they carry schematically. For example, in their game against Liberty in week seven, excluding the final drive in each half for the Flames, Jacksonville State sent five or more rushers in the box 65.7 percent of the time. That percentage includes blitzes on 22 different first down plays, indicating that Rich Rodriguez's team tries to get their opponent behind the sticks early and put them into uncomfortable downs and distances.
Defensive Linemen Chris Hardie getting set before a play
11 Interceptions
Another statistic that would place Jacksonville state towards the top college fooball is the number of times they've forced quarterbacks to make mistakes. The Gamecocks will use different alignments and looks on 3rd down that resemble nickel, 3-3-5 and 3-2-6 formations in order to confuse offensive lines and quarterbacks in terms of their protection schemes. They've forced on average at least one turnover per game from interceptions and they haven't come from one or two individuals, it's come from several different players. Not only can they force theses mistakes, but they've also averaged roughly 15 yards per return.
Carolinas Offense has to make sure they come prepared and can play mistake free football. While it may not seem like an opponent who can cause issues, everything on film and the numbers shows this is a type of team that can be a thorn in the side of some, especially an offense who has been plauqed with injuries.
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