SATURDAY'S SCORES
#12 Youngstown State 40,
@#2 Jacksonville State 24
#12 YOUNGSTOWN STATE 40, #2 JACKSONVILLE STATE 24
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The No. 3 Jacksonville State fell 40-24 to Youngstown State Saturday afternoon at Burgess-Snow Field, bringing an end to the 2016 football season for the Gamecocks.
Youngstown State scored on its second play on a 70-yard touchdown pass and kept up the offensive pressure all afternoon to defeat the Gamecocks 40-24 before a rain-soaked Burgess-Snow Field crowd in Saturday's second-round playoff matchup.
Jacksonville State finished the year 10-2. The loss snapped a 14-game win streak at Burgess-Snow Field.
"We gave up too many explosive plays, which is uncharacteristic of us, especially in the passing game," said Jacksonville State coach John Grass. "It was just one of those days.
"They're a really good football team and fundamentally sound. They threw the ball a lot better than we expected. They made the throws and catches."
Eli Jenkins wrapped up his illustrious career at Jacksonville State by running for 189 yards on a career-high 25 carries.
The senior quarterback added 140 yards passing, but completed only 6-of-26 throws against the stingy YSU secondary. He finishes with 3,896 career rushing yards, second-best in JSU history.
"We had a lot of respect for Jacksonville State and knew we were going to have to come into their place and play a really good football team," said Youngstown State coach Bo Pelini.
The Penguins (10-3) piled up 520 yards against the Gamecocks' nationally ranked defense that entered the postseason yielding a mere 252.6 per game. Jody Webb rushed for 140 yards and scored on two long runs and Zak Kennedy kicked four field goals as Youngstown State advanced to the quarterfinals.
YSU, which owns four FCS national championships, had not won a playoff game since 1999 before their win over Samford in the first round last Saturday.
Webb scored on a 37-yard run on Youngstown State's second series for a 14-7 lead with 6:45 left in the first quarter. Jacksonville State never got any closer than three points.
Jenkins ran for a 26-yard touchdown in the first quarter and tossed a 38-yard pass to Jamari Hester in the second as Jacksonville State pulled to within 20-17 at halftime.
Josh Clemons added a 2-yard run in the third quarter for the Gamecocks. Clemons had 11 yards on 20 carries.
Joel McCandless and Marlon Bridges led Jacksonville State with a eight tackles each.