FRIDAY'S SCORES
@#1 Jacksonville State 58, #7 Charleston Southern 38
#1 JACKSONVILLE STATE 58, #7 CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 38
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State racked up 506 rushing yards in topping No. 8 seeded Charleston Southern 58-38 at Burgess-Snow Field on Friday.
With the victory the No. 1 ranked Gamecocks (12-1) advance to the FCS Semifinals next week to host the winner of the Sam Houston State/Colgate game which takes place on Saturday.
Jacksonville State is the first OVC team to advance to the semifinals since Eastern Kentucky in 1991. JSU is also just the fourth team in OVC history to win 12 overall games in a season.
Charleston Southern (10-3), who entered the game ranked No. 2 in total defense, had not allowed more than 199 rushing yards in a game this season (including against FBS Alabama). But instead JSU had 506 on the ground, including four touchdown runs of at least 44 yards.
The 58 total points scored by Jacksonville State were the most-ever in a playoff game for an OVC team, besting the mark of 55 the Gamecocks set against rival Samford in 2013.
JSU scored 45 of its points and had 425 yards after halftime.
Troymaine Pope rushed for 250 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Eli Jenkins ran for 195 yards and scored twice before a crowd of 22,797 at Burgess-Snow Field.
Pope became JSU's all-time single-season rushing leader with 1,576 yards, surpassing the mark of 1,477 yards previously held by DeMarcus James (2013). He also moved into 7th place in OVC single-season history.
Jenkins, meanwhile, eclipsed Montressa Kirby's school record for total offense and now stands at 7,922 yards for his career.
A national TV audience and the second-largest crowd in school history saw what had been a defensive battle evolve into a shootout in the second half. But Jacksonville State had the most weapons, scoring three touchdowns in a span of 13 minutes, 27 seconds to extend its lead to 34-17 entering the final quarter.
The Buccaneers closed the deficit to 10 points twice in the fourth quarter. But Connor Rouleau tacked on a late field goal and Pope finished his night with a 54-yard run with 2:16 remaining for the game's final points.
The Gamecocks led 13-10 at intermission behind Jenkins' 14-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Screws and a pair of Rouleau field goals.
Jacksonville State's offense wasted little time scoring after the defense forced Charleston Southern to punt on the game's opening series.
JSU took over at the Buccaneers 40 following a 13-yard kick and needed just seven plays to cover the distance. Jenkins scrambled twice to move the Gamecocks inside the red zone, then finished off the scoring drive with a strike to a diving Screws in the back of the end zone.
Rouleau's extra point gave Jacksonville State a 7-0 lead at the 10:38 mark in the first quarter.
The Buccaneers soon found themselves trailing 10-0 after the Gamecocks' second series. Jacksonville State drove 43 yards in 11 plays, settling for a 35-yard field goal by Rouleau with 6 minutes remaining in the first.
Charleston Southern answered with a field goal of its own, a 24-yarder by David Kennedy to draw to within 10-3 late in the first quarter.
The Buccaneers drew even at 10-10 midway through the second quarter on Mike Hollway's 1-yard to cap a 63-yard drive.
Rouleau's second field goal of the night, a 38-yarder, sent Jacksonville State to the locker room with a 13-10 lead at halftime.
Jacksonville State finished with 597 total yards. Charleston Southern had 375 total yards and also returned nine kickoffs for 335 yards.
The winner of next week's semifinal advances to the FCS Championship Game in Frisco, Texas, on January 9.