JACKSONVILLE — He was joking, of course, but Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe said he hopes his players don't miss the turn going into Paul Snow Stadium this weekend.

It's been a while since they've been there.

After playing their first four games on the road, the No. 20 Gamecocks (2-2) finally get to play their first home game of the season on Saturday, against UT Martin. It's the latest home opener outside of the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision this season.

"We have been road warriors and we've developed a road personality," Crowe said Monday. "I don't know what our personality is at home. I can only think it will make us better to hear our fans respond when we do something, to hear our band playing in rhythm with what's going on with our team.

"I expect it to bring out the best in us, which could be really good, because this is a talented football team that can do some really good things. If there is such concept as a 12th man, it could really make this an outstanding football team."

The Gamecocks scheduled their four non-conference games on the road on purpose to avoid the logistical problems that would come with the ongoing stadium expansion and dorm project.

The project wasn't going to be completed by the time the Gamecocks returned home, but it was hoped the stadium would be fully able to accommodate the fans — sans light poles —when the game kicked off. But engineering problems that developed shortly into the project has rendered approximately 1,500 existing seats unavailable.

Whether the stadium is fully operational, the players said they can't wait to play at home.

"It kind of feels like a homecoming, actually," senior receiver James Wilkerson said. "You finally get to come back and play at your own place. I think the fans are real excited.

"As I've been walking around (campus), people have been congratulating us on the win (at Nicholls State). A lot of people have been talking about it. I think a lot of people want to come out and see what we've got and what we can do."

In the time the Gamecocks have been away, they said they've missed the familiarity of their own locker room and running out to the cheers of their own fans. What they won't miss are the long bus rides.

When the season ends, the Gamecocks will be the most-traveled team in the Ohio Valley Conference. They've already put in 2,004 of the 4,182.8 miles they expect to travel this season — and they still have to go to Murray State, Austin Peay and Southeast Missouri.

"We're definitely tired of being on the road," senior safety Josh Cain said. "We're definitely ready to play a home game."

Crowe said the Gamecocks "got a lot" out of themselves in what he called the "treacherous road schedule," each week adding another piece to making themselves a complete team.

They lost at Georgia Tech to open the season, then came within 35 seconds of upsetting Florida State in their second game. Since returning to the FCS level, they routed Alabama A&M and Nicholls State.

UT Martin will test the Gamecocks with the most balanced offensive attack they will have seen to date. The Skyhawks (2-2, 1-0) lead the OVC in total offense, averaging a league-leading 255 yards through the air and third-ranked 177.5 yards on the ground. They've beaten JSU two of the past three times they've played, including last year's 31-30 midweek game in a downpour.

The most intriguing match-up will be the one between the quarterbacks.

JSU's Ryan Perrilloux, who won a national championship at LSU, is a Payton Award candidate, has won OVC Player of the Week three weeks running and leads all Division I in passing efficiency.

Martin's Cade Thompson, a transfer from South Carolina, beat out Perrilloux for preseason All-OVC quarterback and Offensive Player of the Year and enters the game second to the Gamecocks' senior in the OVC in passing and total offense.

"I think it's going to be about two guys' can-do, want-to and a strong will to do what they have to do for their teams to win," Crowe said. "The competition of the two quarterbacks in the game is worth the price of admission.

"It should be one heck of a football game for coming home and showing our fans what it means to be playing in front of them."

Next: UT Martin at JSU
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