SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#1 Jacksonville State 62, #6 Sam Houston State 10
#1 JACKSONVILLE STATE 62, #6 SAM HOUSTON STATE 10
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Jacksonville State scored a school record 41 points in the first half and held Sam Houston State, the nation’s No. 1 ranked offense, to 259 total yards as they advanced to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game with a 62-10 victory on Saturday.
The Gamecocks (13-1) will take on four-time defending national champion North Dakota State (12-2) in Frisco, Texas on January 9 (11 a.m., ESPN2).
Jacksonville State is the first OVC school to advance to the National Championship Game since Eastern Kentucky won the title in 1982. The Colonels are the only other OVC program to make the title game, appearing in 1979, 1981 and 1982 (winning in 1979 and 1982).
The Gamecocks avenged a home playoff loss to the same Bearkats team from the Second Round of last year’s FCS Playoffs.
Jacksonville State, who entered the game No. 3 nationally in total offense finished the game with 639 yards of total offense.
All-American quarterback Eli Jenkins finished the game with 290 yards of total offense as he completed 17-of-23 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 43 yards and another score. The FCS ADA National Quarterback of the Year moved into fourth place on the OVC single-season total offense list with 3,804 yards; he also passed Tony Romo to move into eighth place on the OVC career chart (8,212).
Jenkins is the only Division I player (FBS or FCS) with more than 2,600 passing (2,731) and 1,000 rushing yards (1,073) on the season.
Troymaine Pope rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns and now needs just 22 yards to break the OVC single-season rushing record. He has rushed for 665 yards in three playoff games this year.
Sam Houston State (11-4), which had been averaging 551 yards per game, never recovered after fumbling away the opening kickoff. Jacksonville State scored 17 first-quarter points and established a school record for first-half points by stretching its lead to 41-10 at intermission.
The Gamecocks dominated every phase before a record Burgess-Snow Field crowd of 23,692, rolling up 639 total yards, forcing four turnovers - all in the first half - and limiting the Bearkats to nearly 300 yards and 33 points below their season average.
Connor Rouleau's game-opening kickoff was fumbled by Sam Houston State's Hayden Cagle and recovered by the Gamecocks' Santavius Oden at the Bearkats 31. Jacksonville State capitalized quickly on the turnover, needing just four plays to get to the end zone with Jenkins finishing off the drive with a 1-yard run with less than two minutes elapsed.
The Bearkats fumbled again on their next series, with E.J. Moss pouncing on the loose football at the JSU 15. The Gamecocks needed just five plays this time with Pope breaking free on a 62-yard scamper with 9:42 remaining in the first.
Rouleau's 36-yard field goal midway through the first quarter put the Gamecocks ahead 17-0 and the rout was on.
The lead became 31-0 following Miles Jones' 3-yard TD and Jenkins' 12-yard scoring pass to Ruben Gonzalez. Rouleau added a 22-yard field goal and Pope scored on a 7-yard run as Jacksonville State opened a 41-7 lead with 59 seconds left in the half.
Sam Houston State never got closer than 31 points after halftime.