Jacksonville State at Ohio
Fan take
Jacksonville State fans
How they got here
Last two games
Jacksonville State · 1-1
Picked #68 in the preseason · now #73.
1-1 in its last two — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
W 49–7 vs Eastern Kentucky #161 of 669
won by 42 as a 22-point favorite
L 7–33 @ North Dakota State #87 of 669
lost by 26 as a 6.5-point underdog
Last three games · 2025 season
Ohio · 9-4
Picked #49 in the preseason · now #39 — about right.
Three straight wins, capped by a 7-point win over UNLV as a 6-point underdog.
W 17–10 vs UNLV #67 of 668
won by 7 as a 6-point underdog
W 31–26 @ Buffalo #129 of 668
won by 5 as a 7-point favorite
W 42–14 vs Massachusetts #262 of 668
won by 28 as a 34.5-point favorite
L 13–17 @ Western Michigan #71 of 668
lost by 4 as a 1.5-point underdog
W 24–20 vs Miami (OH) #63 of 668
won by 4 as a 2.5-point favorite
W 28–21 @ Eastern Michigan #165 of 668
won by 7 as a 12-point favorite
W 48–21 vs Northern Illinois #161 of 668
won by 27 as a 11.5-point favorite
L 14–20 @ Ball State #204 of 668
lost by 6 as a 14.5-point favorite
W 35–20 vs Bowling Green #120 of 668
won by 15 as a 7.5-point favorite
W 52–35 vs Gardner-Webb #158 of 668
won by 17 as a 30.5-point favorite
L 9–37 @ Ohio StateTop 25 #1 of 668
lost by 28 as a 28.5-point underdog
W 17–10 vs West Virginia #95 of 668
won by 7 as a 3.5-point underdog
L 31–34 @ Rutgers #64 of 668
lost by 3 as a 15.5-point underdog
What’s at stake
Make the CFP field
Win the conference
Win it all
CFP odds as of September 13, 2026
The series
Ohio leads the series 2-0
2 meetings since 2024 · Ohio has won the last 2
- 2026Ohio 29–27
- 2024 · neutral siteOhio 30–27
Best players
Jacksonville State
- Caleb Nix (S) · 18 tackles
- Caden Creel (QB) · 677 passing yards — Heisman odds: 123rd (+50000)
- Walker O'Steen (LB) · 16 tackles
Ohio
- Jack Fries (LB) · 19 tackles
- Michael Molnar (LB) · 17 tackles
- JT Haskins (S) · 17 tackles
The line, and the room
Ohio fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (58th percentile) — the mood matches the numbers.
- Model · 64%
- Market · 55%
- Ohio fans · 58th
- Jacksonville State fans · 36th
Home −1.5 · O/U 48.5
Conditions
74°F · 7 mph wind · Light Rain
Ohio is worth +5.5 points (±4.0) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top third of FBS, 71st percentile.
76% at home, 45% on the road against FBS opponents (29–9 home, 20–24 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -0.3 at home vs. away over 74 games — inside the ±6.2 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 431 miles to get here.
Jacksonville State 27 – Ohio 29
Called it — picked Ohio to win.
Recent games
Ohio
- Wk 1Lat Nebraska21-49
Jacksonville State
- Wk 1Lat North Dakota State7-33
- Wk 1Wvs Eastern Kentucky49-7
Trajectory
Ohio beat Jacksonville State 29-27 — exactly what the pregame pick had.