SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#2 Eastern Illinois 51, #17 Tennessee State 10
#20 Jacksonville State 31, @#6 McNeese State 10
#2 EASTERN ILLINOIS 51, #17 TENNESSEE STATE 10
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois jumped out to a 37-0 halftime lead on its way to a 51-10 victory over OVC rival Tennessee State in the second round of the FCS Playoffs on Saturday.
With the victory Eastern Illinois (12-1) will advance to the FCS quarterfinals and will host Towson (11-2) next weekend. Game date (Friday or Saturday) and time will be announced later.
It marks the first playoff win for EIU since 1989, snapping an 11-game losing streak in the playoffs. It is the third overall win for an OVC team in this year's playoff (the first time that has happened since 1991).
Walter Payton Award finalist Jimmy Garoppolo did not have to do much as his team grabbed the big early lead, but still managed to complete 17-of-26 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns. He now has 51 touchdowns on the season, just five away from the FCS record. His 116 career touchdowns now ranks tied for seven in FCS history. Garoppolo also increased his season passing yards total to 4,729 yards, just 347 away from the all-time record.
Sophomore Shepard Little carried the ball 12 times for 184 yards (15.3 ypc) and two touchdowns, including an 80-yarder in the second half. Taylor Duncan added 79 yards on the ground. Adam Drake (6 catches, 95 yards), Erik Lora (3 catches, 76 yards) and Jeff LePak (6 catches, 32 yards) all caught a touchdown pass.
Tennessee State (10-4) saw its season come to an end but did see senior kicker Jamin Godfrey break the OVC career field goals made (59) mark during the game. Ryan Mitchell led the team with six catches for 76 yards as TSU quarterback Michael German passed for 242 yards.
#20 JACKSONVILLE STATE 31, #6 MCNEESE STATE 10
LAKE CHARLES, La. - Three wins now stand between Jacksonville State and the 2013 Football Championship Subdivision title.
The Gamecocks' defense continued its stellar play in the postseason, sacking No. 6 McNeese State's quarterback a school-record 11 times in a 31-10 victory at Cowboy Stadium Saturday night.
The 20th-ranked Gamecocks (11-3) advance to next week's quarterfinals at No. 3 Eastern Washington (11-2), a 41-17 winner over South Dakota State in another second-round matchup.
The march to the FCS quarterfinals continues JSU's deepest advance in the NCAA playoffs since winning the 1992 Division II national championship. Its 11 wins are the most by a Gamecock squad since the '92 season.
McNeese State, which defeated Jacksonville State seven straight times from 1997-2003 when both teams were Southland Conference members, ends its season at 10-3.
Junior DaMarcus James ran 24 times for 127 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Gamecocks. He became Jacksonville State's all-time single-season rushing leader and now stands at 1,431 yards, surpassing Rondy Rodgers previous record of 1,417 yards in 2001.
James has now run for a touchdown in 11 straight games and now has 28 TDs in 2013.
The Cowboys entered the playoff showdown as the fourth-highest scoring team in FCS at 42.5 points per game while rolling up 464 yards per outing. JSU's ball-hawking defense kept McNeese State out of the end zone until just over 10 minutes remained in the fourth quarter.
McNeese State was limited to 255 total yards.
Jacksonville State scored 14 points off turnovers in the first half and sacked McNeese State quarterback Cody Stroud seven times to build a 21-0 lead at intermission. It marked the second straight week JSU had held a playoff opponent scoreless in the first half - the Gamecocks led Samford 38-0 at halftime in the first round.
Jacksonville State silenced the McNeese State crowd early by scoring on its first play from scrimmage after Ketrick Wolfe intercepted Stroud at the Cowboys' 19.
Eli Jenkins found Josh Barge in the end zone on first down and Griffin Thomas tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 JSU lead with less than two minutes elapsed.
Jenkins hooked up with Telvin Brown for a 46-yard completion early in the second quarter and James carried the load the rest of the way, covering the final 30 yards on four carries.
His 1-yard run and Thomas' second PAT made it 14-0 at the 12:52 mark in the second quarter.
Another McNeese State turnover led to the Gamecocks' next score when Pierre Warren picked off Stroud and returned it 19 yards to the Cowboys' 31.
Jenkins sprinted 30 yards on first down and James finished off the drive with a 1-yard dive on fourth-and-goal. Thomas' kick extended JSU's lead to 21-0 with 1:53 left before the half.
Thomas kicked a 39-yard field goal late in the third quarter to become the Ohio Valley Conference's all-time record holder for field goals with 23.