The Other McCain

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Jax State Is #FCSCocky Today #FearTheBeak! #BlowSoutherners UPDATE: Bisons Defeat JSU 37-10 as NDSU Claims Fifth Straight Title

Posted on | January 9, 2016 | 11 Comments

 

True story: One afternoon when I was a sophomore at Jacksonville (Ala.) State University, two of my buddies and I left Jack Hopper Dining Hall and headed over toward the student center to shoot some pool.

Just as we were approaching the front doors of what is now the Theron Montgomery Building, the doors swung open and there she was: Teresa Cheatham, Miss Alabama 1978 and runner-up in the Miss America Pageant. Our eyes popped open at the sight of the most beautiful girl on a campus that was then, as now, famous for its beautiful girls. But what happened next was the real shocker.

“Hi, Stacy! How are you doing!” Teresa said, greeting me with a smile.

“Well, uh . . . Hi, Teresa,” I replied, reaching out to shake her hand. “Congratulations. You did us proud, but you should have won. They cheated you, honestly.” So we stood there for just a minute, chatting and laughing, and then Teresa went on where she was going, while me and my buddies headed into the student center. As soon as the doors closed behind us, my buddies started high-fiving me.

“Wow! You know her?”

Yeah, I played it off real casual-like, but that moment was actually a tribute to Teresa, who had the kind of memory for faces and names that is part of the “poise” and “leadership” element of being a pageant winner. She had played a lead role in the student performance of Cabaret my freshman year, when I was in a non-speaking role among the cast. Although I can’t remember if we had ever actually talked to each other during the weeks of rehearsals, somehow Teresa had remembered my name, so that she was able to greet me like an old friend after she had become a famous celebrity at JSU.

Jax State is “The Friendliest Campus in the South” and, with only about 7,500 students, there is a small-town atmosphere that makes it easy to get to know people. Tuition is only $8,790 a year, which makes for a down-to-earth attitude — many of the students are from working-class families, and nobody’s rich, so you don’t have a lot of snobbery or the kind of politically correct social-justice mentality that seems to make the so-called “elite” schools such a wretched nightmare.

Anyway, my beloved alma mater is playing today in the NCAA FCS Championship Game in Frisco, Texas:

Jacksonville State is the No. 1 ranked FCS team in the country and has beaten three Top 10 teams in this year’s playoffs, yet is a 3-point underdog in Saturday’s national championship game.
And with good reason.
The Gamecocks’ opponent is none other than North Dakota State, not only the country’s second-ranked FCS team but the winner of four consecutive national championships. All of those victories have taken place at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, once again the site of Saturday’s championship game.
“People probably look at us as the underdog, but I don’t really feel like we’re the underdog,” Jacksonville State quarterback Eli Jenkins said. “We’re the No. 1 team in the nation, and we’re that for a reason. But North Dakota State, they deserve the attention. This is their fifth year in this position. They’re a great, well-coached football team. They deserve everything that’s coming to them.”

Game time is noon ET, 11 a.m. Central, and I’ll be updating for y’all. Everybody say, “GO BIG COCKS!”

UPDATE: North Dakota was stopped on their first possession and settled for a field goal, then drove for a touchdown to go ahead 10-0 early in the second quarter. Then they had an interception and North Dakota went ahead 17-0. That’s OK, Gamecocks. Still plenty of time. Just hang in there and keep on fighting.

UPDATE II: Alas, a Gamecock victory was not to be:

The greatest modern college football dynasty kept rolling along on Saturday as North Dakota State won its fifth consecutive FCS national championship — a record for consecutive titles at any level of college football — with a dominating performance against Jacksonville State.
North Dakota State cruised to a 37-10 win over the Gamecocks in Frisco, Texas. The Bison defense locked down on the dynamic Jacksonville State offense and turned a pair of first half turnovers into touchdowns as North Dakota State jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead.
On offense, the Bison got a great game from star quarterback Carson Wentz, who returned after missing eight games due to a wrist injury. Wentz is one of the top quarterback prospects for the upcoming 2016 NFL Draft, ranked as the No. 4 quarterback and 36th overall in CBS Sports’ prospect rankings.
Wentz completed 16-of-30 passes for 197 yards 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, looking solid in his first game back under center after the injury.
Not only did Wentz spin it through the air, he showed off the wheels with 9 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns, including a great effort this 11-yard touchdown run that put the Bison ahead 17-0.

My wife said, “I hope that’s not an omen.” Yeah. My Dad’s alma mater — maybe you’ve heard of them — has a game Monday night.




 

Category: Education, Football

Comments

11 Responses to “Jax State Is #FCSCocky Today #FearTheBeak! #BlowSoutherners UPDATE: Bisons Defeat JSU 37-10 as NDSU Claims Fifth Straight Title”

  1. Mike G.
    January 9th, 2016 @ 12:13 pm

    Go JSU!!! Finally, a team you root for I can get behind. 😉

  2. RS
    January 9th, 2016 @ 12:19 pm

    For the past few years, I’ve paid attention to the lower division NCAA football playoffs, because D1A, D2 and D3 better capture for me what college football is supposed to be. (This year’s D-II Champ is Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Missouri which won its fifth national title.) The same problem JSU has is the one Clemson has for Monday. There’s a lot of historical precedent and institutional memory on the other side of the ball.

  3. RS
    January 9th, 2016 @ 12:32 pm

    She had played a lead role in the student performance of Cabaret my freshman year, when I was in a non-speaking role among the cast. (Emphasis supplied.)

    “Flamboyant Dude #6: Robert Stacy McCain”

  4. robertstacymccain
    January 9th, 2016 @ 12:43 pm

    I played a drunk patron of the Kit Kat Club.

    Typecasting, really.

  5. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    January 9th, 2016 @ 12:48 pm

    Don’t forget UVA has Varsity Catfishin’

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nY01Ih8fSzI/VpEnYQCI6uI/AAAAAAAA28c/InzcbNcatjc/s1600/catfishin.gif

    A combination of theater, mental health issues, and fabulist feminist sport

  6. Mr. Saturn
    January 9th, 2016 @ 1:44 pm

    Looks like the Bison are doing what the Bison do best. Still a lot of football to play though.

    Go Bison!

  7. LLC
    January 9th, 2016 @ 3:08 pm

    Sorry, but it looks like the trophy’s coming back here to ND again. Of course, it ain’t over till it’s over.

  8. Finrod Felagund
    January 10th, 2016 @ 2:12 am

    My alma mater seems unable to make it past the quarterfinals of the Div III tournament. Really, it’s impressive that they make it that far.

  9. Finrod Felagund
    January 10th, 2016 @ 2:15 am

    You’re a better fan than I am. When Cincinnati scored right after the 2-minute warning to take the lead for the first time against Pittsburgh tonight, I swore loudly and disappeared downstairs to throw one of my pinball machines around. I was completely gobsmacked when my girlfriend yelled from the top of the stairs that the Steelers had actually won, and I finished my game (minus any more throwing) and came back upstairs where she had rewound the game so I could see the bogglesome ending that I had missed.

    She’s almost too good to me at times.

  10. Mr. Saturn
    January 10th, 2016 @ 3:19 am

    That was pretty dominant wasn’t it? The Bison have a track record of making supposedly high powered offenses look pedestrian, especially non-MVFC teams. I was a bit worried going in but those fears were for naught.

  11. Just call me Mr. Irreverent | If You're Left
    January 10th, 2016 @ 12:10 pm

    […] The Other McCain is pretty damn COCKy […]