COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Jacksonville State came to Cookeville as the Ohio Valley Conference leader and No. 1 ranked FCS team in the nation, and the Gamecocks didn't do anything Saturday night to tarnish those platitudes thanks to standout performances from several players.
Led by quarterback Eli Jenkins and effective play from a wide variety of additional weapons, the Gamecocks (5-1/3-0 OVC) left town with a 42-13 victory despite a hard-nosed, never-say-die effort from Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles (2-5/1-3 OVC) kept things interesting well into the second half but couldn't match the JSU firepower.
Jenkins passed for 184 yards and two touchdowns, connecting on 18-of-27 pass attempts without an interception or a sack. He also rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries to account for 270 yards of total offense.
The Gamecocks finished the night with 619 total yards, with 341 on the ground and 278 through the air. Troymaine Pope was the game's leading rusher with 89 yards in 13 carries. JoJo Wynn added 65 yards on one explosive carry in the game's final minute, and Mikes Jones had 63 yards on eight totes.
Backup quarterback Christian LeMay was 8-for-13 passing for 94 yards.
Seven different receivers had multiple catches for the Gamecocks, topped by Josh Barge's six for 60 yards.
Golden Eagle sophomore signal-caller Colby Brown, making just the second start of his career, passed for 199 yards, completing 20-for-42 with one interception. He was sacked twice.
Redshirt freshman Dorian Carter led the Tech ground game, rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Brock McCoin had a team-high seven catches for 39 yards, while Krys Cates had the most receiving yards, catching two passes for 70 yards. McCoin now has 58 catches this season, ranking as the fourth-most in a single-season by any Golden Eagle receiver.
Defensively, senior linebackers Jay Rudwall and Tra'Darius Goff were sensational. Rudwall made a career-high 15 tackles, while Goff – the leading tackles in the OVC – added 14 tackles and now has 92 stops this season. He also raised his career total to 333 total tackles to place him 10th in school history.
Patrick Jordan also posted a career-high with 12 tackles. Cornerback Maleek Hall, the leader in the OVC in passes defended, broke up three more attempts and added five tackles.
JSU took a 7-0 lead when Jenkins hit Dalton Screws with a four-yard TD pass with 8:44 to play in the first quarter, capping a 61-yard, 10-play drive.
Tech answered with a 45-yard scoring drive in 11 plays, finished off with a 43-yard field goal by John Arnold with 5:07 to play in the first.
The next two scores were like hitting the rewind button, with Jacksonville State scoring a touchdown and Arnold kicking his second field goal to make it 14-3. Jenkins broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown, while Arnolds's kick was from 29 yards out.
JSU made it 20-6 with a 12-play, 72-yard scoring drive as Josh Clemons went the final three for the score, but the PAT attempt was wide.
A 30-yard pass from Jenkins to Pope wrapped up a 13-play, 65-yard scoring drive to make it a 26-6 lead. Sophomore Mike Cain bulled his way through the middle of the JSU line to block the PAT kick.
Tech marched into the JSU red zone late in the half, fueled by a 26-yard run from Radir Annoor and a 19-yard catch by tight end Dametris Watson. The drive was halted when Brown's pass from the 18 into the end zone was intercepted.
Jones went 45-yards for a touchdown midway in the third quarter to make it 33-6, ad the Gamecocks added a safety when Brown was sacked in the end zone for a 35-6 lead.
Tech moved from its own 12 to a first-and-goal at the eight, and got the ball to the four, but came up empty on a pair of incomplete passes.
A 47-yard pass from Brown to Cates put the Golden Eagles at the JSU 12, and three runs by Carter later Tech was in the end zone for its only touchdown of the night. Carter scored from one, and Arnold's PAT made it 35-14 with 1:04 remaining.
JSU took advantage of the final minute as Wynn went up the middle and never stopped, racing 65 yards for the final points of the night.
The Golden Eagles don't play at home again for a month, returning to Tucker Stadium for Homecoming on Saturday, Nov. 14. In the meantime, Tech will play at Eastern Illinois next week and Southeast Missouri the following week before an open date. The game at EIU features a 1 p.m. kickoff in Charleston, Ill.
PREGAME NOTES
* Colby Brown will make his second career start, with Jared Davis not expected to play. Also making his first career start will be true freshman Tim Collins and defensive end. Myles Douglas makes his first career start at right guard.
* Brock McCoin has 51 catches this season. He needs three to have the fifth-most in a season and four will tie him for the fourth-best season in school history. With 10 catches, he will tie Da'Rick Rogers for the third-best season in school history at 61.
* Tra'Darius Goff needs seven tackles to move into 10th place in career total tackles. He enters the game with 319 tackles.
