UNA football opened their season with a 42-7 win over Miles College and now turn their attention to Division-I foe Jacksonville State University on Sept. 14.

 This will be the 45th meeting of the two teams, in what was once a storied rivalry in the Gulf South Conference (GSC).

Jacksonville State left the GSC when they made the move to the Football Championship Series level of Division I athletics. They joined the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 2003.

Since 1964, the Gamecocks are 21-10-1 against the Lions and 7-1 in their last eight meetings. This will be the first match-up between the two teams since 2003, when the Lions left Jacksonville with a 28-16 win.

UNA Head Coach Bobby Wallace talked about facing one of UNA’s oldest rivals.

“I’m excited to play them (JSU) again,” Wallace said.  “These kids probably don’t remember this rivalry, but I do and the fans probably do, too.

“This rivalry used to be like the Auburn-Alabama game for these two teams.”

In 1992 JSU edged out a two-point win over UNA on their way to a National Championship and that loss spurred him to begin scheduling out-of-region teams such as Portland State, Wallace said.

“After we beat Portland, we were voted number one in the polls and stayed there for a while,” he said.

Wallace is referring to the three-year stretch from 1993 to 1995 when UNA won three straight Division-II National Championships.

UNA has spent a lot of time strengthening the run defense and that will likely be tested this weekend, Wallace said.

“They have two great running backs,” Wallace said.  “I think we can match up well against them, though.”

Jacksonville State is 2-0 this season coming into the match-up with the Lions. They opened the season with wins over Alabama State and Jacksonville University. The Gamecocks are coming off of an explosive rushing display, posting 523 yards from the running game against Jacksonville University.   

UNA is 1-0 after their home win against Miles College Sept. 5. The Lions bring a healthy rushing offense, as well, behind running back LaMonte Thompson, who posted 189 yards on 14 carries, resulting in two touchdowns.

The Lions travel to Burgess-Snow Field at the JSU Stadium to square off with the Gamecocks Saturday at 7 p.m.

Follow @FlorAlaSports on Twitter for updates on the JSU/UNA game.