Jax State HC Rich Rodriguez Calls Out the Tide to Schedule a Game

On Monday, Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez mentioned on his weekly "Rich Rod Show," hosted by former CTSN radio voice Eli Gold, that he would like to schedule a game with the Alabama Crimson Tide in the future after a caller mentioned the Crimson Tide not playing an in-state team for their season opener.

According to AL.com's Thomas Ashworth, Rich Rodriguez has claimed that he is willing to play the Tide for $2 million. Rodriguez remarked, "If they want to pay me $2 million, I'll be down there on Saturday and Sunday, I'll play them twice, get four million, and help our budget."

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Jacksonville State's head coach did not stop there, saying, "They can beat our brains in for a couple million dollars, for sure." Rodriguez claimed that he would contact his "buddy," Alabama's current AD Greg Byrne, and tell him about his proposal of the two teams playing "back-to-back" games for "4 million dollars."

Byrne, who was Arizona's athletic director from 2010 to 2017, hired Rich Rodriguez as the team's head football coach in 2012.

Rodriguez, who was hired by the Gamecocks in November 2021, has had immediate success, leading Jacksonville State to two 9-win seasons, an ASUN Championship in the Gamecocks' final season of FCS, and a 34-31 overtime win over Louisiana in the program's first season in the FBS.

Rodriguez is no stranger to winning after an incredible stint at West Virginia (2001-2007), where he had three 10-win seasons and was considered one of the most promising coaches in college football at the time, even being a top candidate for the Alabama head coaching job in 2007, but Nick Saban was hired and went on to become the greatest coach of all time.

Unfortunately for Rodriguez and the Gamecocks, the Crimson Tide's schedule is set until 2027, with sources indicating that Greg Byrne and the Crimson Tide have halted arranging non-conference games for 2027 due to uncertainties about the conference's schedule moving forward.

According to AL.com's Creg Stephenson, Alabama has not played an in-state school other than Auburn in the Iron Bowl since 1944, when the Crimson Tide faced Howard, which is now Samford.

Jacksonville State and Head Coach Rich Rodriguez have plenty of opportunities to build a budget over the next few seasons, including games against Auburn in 2026, Louisville this week, and UCF in 2025. These should provide ample opportunity for Jax State to raise funds for the program.

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