FINAL STATS |   PHOTO GALLERY  |  POST-GAME NOTES

FINAL STATS (.pdf)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Jacksonville State football team had Florida State on the ropes, but the Seminoles scored 12 points in the final 35 seconds to escape Doak Campbell Stadium with a 19-9 win.

The Gamecocks (0-2) led the Seminoles (1-1) by two in the final minute of the game, but Ty Jones' second touchdown run of the night gave FSU a 13-9 lead that it wouldn't give up. The score was the latest game winner by a JSU opponent since 2006 and relieved a mostly quiet crowd of 71,420, the largest to ever see the Gamecocks play.

In his first start of the season, senior Ryan Perrilloux threw for 213 yards and a touchdown on 12-for-27 passing. The outing marked the ninth 200-yard passing game for the LaPlace, La., native and his seventh as a Gamecock. Perrilloux led JSU to 310 yards of total offense, 213 in the air and 97 on the ground.

FSU quarterback Christian Ponder put his offense on his shoulders and threw for 324 of their 402 yards of total offense. He was 22-for-35 on the night. Jones scored both of the Seminoles' offensive touchdowns and finished the night with 40 yards on eight carries. Richard Goodman caught eight passes for 80 yards, including a 24 yard grab that set up Jones' game-winning score from the one.

Calvin Middleton's 44 yards on 13 carries led the Gamecocks' rushing efforts. Perrilloux added 39 yards on the ground on 18 rushes. Senior James Wilkerson caught two passes for a team-high 80 yards.

Sophomore Jawaan Booker led the Gamecock defense with eight stops and a career-best two fumble recoveries. The JSU defense fell on three of the Seminoles' four punts, giving the Gamecocks six fumble recoveries over the past two weeks.

Florida State had two players with 10 tackles each and sacked Perrilloux seven times.

The Gamecocks drew first blood and did so early after a fumbled punt by FSU put the Gamecocks in business at midfield. Eight plays later, Perrilloux found Jamal Young on the right side for a 28-yard scoring pass that gave the Gamecocks a 6-0 lead. It was their first lead over an FBS foe since Sept. 22, 2001, when they won at Arkansas State, 31-28.

The Seminoles used a two-play drive to take the lead late in the quarter, when a seven-yard Ty Jones run followed a 53-yard pass from Ponder to Caz Piurowski to give FSU a 7-6 lead with 1:25 to play in the first quarter.

After swapping possessions, Perrilloux opened the Gamecocks' next scoring drive by finding James Wilkerson down the right sideline for a 59-yard gain. The play set up a 37-yard field goal that gave JSU a 9-7 lead with 7:47 remaining in the first half. The drive took just five plays and covered 65 yards. JSU took the 9-7 lead into the locker room at the half, marking the first time since Nov. 11, 2000, when the Gamecocks led at Louisiana-Lafayette, 21-7, at half time.

The Seminoles threatened a few times in the second half but struggled to capitalize. They took their first possession of the half to the JSU one but fumbled it away. Their next drive ended on downs at the Gamecocks' 35, and the fumbled their first possession of the fourth quarter at the JSU 32.

They were able to take the lead for good with 35 seconds to play, when Jones' one-yard run finished a nine-play, 57-yard drive that took the Seminoles 2:16 to complete. The score was set up by a 24-yard pass from Ponder to Richard Goodman to the one.

FSU punctuated the win on the first play of the Gamecocks' ensuing drive, when Jacobbi McDaniel sacked Perrilloux, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Kevin McNeil and taken 33 yards for a score. Dustin Hopkins missed the point after on both FSU touchdowns in the fourth quarter, resulting in the final score.

The Gamecocks will continue their four-game road swing to open the season on Saturday, when they travel to Normal, Ala., to face Alabama A&M at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live on the JSU Radio Network with Mike Parris and Ed Lett calling the action. 

POSTGAME NOTES
- Captains for the Gamecocks: Senior DL Brandt Thomas, senior WR James Wilkerson, senior DB Carnell Clark and senior OL Reggie Wade.
- Florida State won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
- Saturday marked the first time the Gamecocks have faced two FBS schools in the same season after they opened at Georgia Tech last week.
- The Gamecocks' 9-7 halftime lead marked the first time they've led an FBS foe at the half since Nov. 11, 2000, when they led at Louisiana-Lafayette, 21-7.
- The Seminoles' seven first-half points were the fewest by an FBS foe in the first half since Louisana-Lafayette scored seven on Nov. 11, 2000.
- FSU's seven points through the first three quarters ties the fewest allowed by a JSU defense vs. a FBS team. The Gamecocks led UL-Lafayette, 28-7 after three quarters on Nov. 11, 2000. That was also the last time JSU led an FBS team headed into the fourth quarter.
- Today's crowd of 71,420 is the largest to ever watch the Gamecocks play (previously 47, 456 at Miss. St., 9/14/02) by 23,964. It is the fifth-largest to ever see an OVC team play.
- JSU is now 3-13 in games vs. FBS teams. Its last win over an FBS foe came on Sept. 22, 2001 at Arkansas State (31-28).
- The Gamecocks are now 1-3 against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They defeated Florida State, 7-0 in 1947 and have lost twice to Georgia Tech.
- Ty Jones' one-yard touchdown run with 35 seconds to play marked the latest game-winning score by a JSU foe since Sept. 2, 2006, when Furman scored with 28 seconds left to win, 17-13, in Greenville, S.C.
- Ryan Perrilloux' touchdown pass to Jamal Young in the 1st quarter gave JSU its first lead over a FCS foe since Sept. 22, 2001, when the Gamecocks defeated Arkansas State, 31-28.
- Senior Ryan Perrilloux has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in 11 of his 12 games at JSU.
- Jamal Young's 28-yard TD catch from Perrilloux in the 1st quarter was the first scoring catch of his career.
- Ryan Perrilloux has now thrown for 200 yards nine times in his career and seven as a Gamecock. He has tossed for over 100 yards in all 12 games in a JSU uniform and 14 times in his career. He has 200 or more yards in four of his last five starts.
- Alphonso Freeney's 37-yard reception in the third quarter is the longest of his career.
- The Gamecocks have now recovered three fumbles in each of their two games this season.
- Senior Alexander Henderson's forced fumble in the third quarter was the third of his career. Sophomore Jawaan Booker recovered the fumble, his second career recovery.
- Freshman Brooks Robinson's fumble recovery on a first quarter punt was the first of his career.
- Sophomore Rodney Garrott was the only Gamecock to make his first career start.
- Saturday marked Jack Crowe's 101st game as the Gamecocks' head coach. The 10th-year head coach is third on the school's all-time list behind Don Salls (163) and Bill Burgess (137) and now has a 57-44 record at the helm of JSU.
- FSU's Kevin McNeil returned a Ryan Perrilloux fumble 33 yards for a touchdown with 21 seconds to play, the first fumble return for a score against the Gamecocks since EKU's Justen Rivers returned one 32 yards for a touchdown on Sept. 25, 2004. 

BY THE NUMBERS
1 - Gamecocks that made their first career start on Saturday (Rodney Garrott).
2 - Fumble recoveries by Jawaan Booker, a career high.
3 - JSU players that have caught a touchdown pass in 2009.
3 - Gamecocks (James Shaw, Jamal Young,. Alan Bonner) that made their first career punt returns on Saturday.
6 - Turnovers forced by the Gamecocks through the first two games of 2009.
7 - First-half points by Fla. State, the fewest by and FBS foe against JSU since Nov. 11, 2000 (UL-Lafayette, 7).
28 - Quarters vs. FBS opponents since JSU last led before Young's 28-yard TD catch in the first quarter.
91 - Consecutive games in which the Gamecocks have scored, a streak that dates back to Nov.18, 2000, when they were last shut out.
101 - Games Jack Crowe has coached at JSU, the third-most in school history.
213 - Passing yards by Ryan Perrilloux, his ninth 200-yard game in his career and his seventh as a Gamecock.
71,420 - Attendance for tonight's game, the largest crowd to ever watch the Gamecocks play by 23,964.

JACKSONVILLE STATE HEAD COACH JACK CROWE POST-GAME QUOTES
“We played awful hard. We played smart, I think, for the most part. Florida State made some mistakes that helped us. Until the end there we had played without a turnover. We had been fortunate enough to keep the ball out of the kick returners hands and just stay away from some of the things that can really hurt you. We weren't really penalized very much – that's what I mean when I said we played smart and Ryan (Perrilloux) made a lot of plays. Ryan is a really, really good quarterback. He's a leader and I think a lot of our ability to sustain the ball – I don't know if we won time of possession but we had it for most of the game. I think a lot of that was just the ability to make timely plays. I'm very proud for Ryan.

“As far as our football team, it would be tough to put this one behind us. We are challenged to do that because we are an 0-2 football team right now. We better be figuring how to win some games. But I think there is enough evidence in these two games to expect to win games.

“Florida State is going to be a good football team for all of those Florida State folks out there that have concerns. First thing they will have to recognize is we're pretty good. They weren't playing the sisters of the poor; it's better than its brand, I will tell you that. There are some guys out there that can play for anybody. Don't go woeing. I think Florida State's going to have a really good football team.

SENIOR QUARTERBACK RYAN PERRILLOUX
“It was a good game; a hard fought battle. They have got a good football team; you can't take nothing away from them. We just came up short. We fought our hearts and just played the best we could play. They played a lot more zone than we were ready for. Over all they still did what they normally do – play man to man and they rush hard. They played good ball today. We just have to go in and watch the film and build off of it and get ready for next week.”