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JACKSONVILLE – The renewal of the Jacksonville State-Samford rivalry turned out to be one of the most lopsided outcomes in the history of the series that began in 1905.
 
The 20th-ranked Gamecocks scored on six of their first seven possessions and routed No. 18 Samford 55-14 in a first-round Football Championship Subdivision playoff game at Burgess-Snow Field.
 
Jacksonville State limited the Bulldogs to only two first downs and 17 total yards in the first half en route to a 38-0 lead at intermission. Samford did not get into Jacksonville State territory until early in the third quarter.
 
Next for the Gamecocks (10-3) is a second-round matchup against former Southland Conference foe McNeese State (10-2), the tournament's No. 6 overall seed.
 
The teams met seven times from 1997-2003 when both were Southland members. Kickoff at Cowboy Stadium in Lake Charles, La., is set for 6 p.m.
 
The Gamecocks' offense piled up 361 total yards in the first 30 minutes while JSU's defense held the Bulldogs (8-5) to a shade more than 1.6 yards per play and forced seven punts. Jacksonville State scored five touchdowns and a field goal in the first half – the only possession that ended without points came when kicker Griffin Thomas hit the right upright on a 46-yard field goal attempt.
 
Jacksonville State beat Samford for the ninth straight time and now leads the all-time series 23-21-2. It was the Gamecocks' first postseason victory since the NCAA Division II Championship Game in 1992.
 
"The effort tonight, the execution in every phase, was terrific," said Jacksonville State head coach Bill Clark. "Samford really had a good team. I thought we just really played well tonight.
 
"It was all three phases and that's what I was really proud of."
 
JSU's points came early and often against the Southern Conference co-champions.
 
The Bulldogs' defense, which had allowed 25.8 points per game during the regular season, surrendered a season-high 38 by halftime and allowed 482 yards for the game.
 
"Obviously this was very disappointing to us," said Samford head coach Pat Sullivan. "I didn't think we played our best, but we should have been more competitive. But sometimes that's the way it goes."
Telvin Brown's 22-yard punt return after Samford's opening drive stalled set up the Gamecocks' first score.
 
DaMarcus James scored on a 2-yard run to cap the eight-play, 51-yard drive. Thomas' extra point made it 7-0 just four minutes into the game.
 
Brown, playing for the first time since the Eastern Kentucky game on Nov. 9, accounted for 176 all-purpose yards in the win.
 
The sophomore from Carrollton, Ga., scored twice, the first on a 47-yard TD pass from Eli Jenkins early in the second quarter. His second touchdown came on an electrifying 67-yard run on the Gamecocks' first play of the second half, extending their lead to 45-0.
 
Jenkins had a 72-yard TD run, James added a 1-yard run, Miles Jones ran in from 12 yards out and Thomas kicked a 37-yard field goal as Jacksonville State built its 38-point halftime cushion.
 
Thomas' 47-yard field goal midway through the third quarter was his 22^nd of the season and moved him into a tie with Gavin Hallford (2007) for the most field goals in JSU history in a season.
 
Linebacker Robert Gray's fumble recovery in the end zone in the fourth quarter resulted in JSU's final points.
 
"I'm pretty much looking forward to the next one," said senior linebacker Rashad Smith. "After this, the energy, I feel like this is going to bring everybody together. We're going to get something moving."



Head coach Bill Clark
"I think our guys had a sense of history this week. We just felt so blessed to get in. We had such a good year. Obviously we were all worried about would we make it in or not. Just the relief of getting an opportunity and responding so well this week. To be together, focus on nothing but football, these guys responded so well. I think every day I kept telling them I think this is one of our best practices. You don't know until you come out and see the result. The effort tonight, the execution in every phase, was terrific. Samford really had a good team. I thought we just really played well tonight. It was all three phases and that's what I was really proud of."

R-FR QB Eli Jenkins
"I had a pretty good night. I think we had a pretty good game plan. We just stuck with it and the plays just fell into place like we practiced. Coach Grass called the plays and we just executed. We had a good night."

SR LB Rashad Smith
"I'm pretty much looking forward to the next one. After this, the energy, I feel like this is going to bring everybody together."

SO WR Telvin Brown
When asked about his spin move near the goal line for the touchdown.
"I saw him going to my shoulder that I made the move off of. I didn't even see the other defender that was coming to me. I don't even know. I guess it's just a lucky play. I just saw him on the outside. I knew he was going to bite on it and he did. I didn't know I was that close to the end zone either."

POST-GAME NOTES

- Captains for the Gamecocks: senior OLB Harris Gaston, senior OLB Robert Gray, and junior RB DaMarcus James
- JSU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
- JSU leads the all-time series 23-21-2 and has now won nine straight games over Samford.
- JSU has an all-time record of 16-12 in 28 NCAA playoff games and is 8-5 in the First Round. The Gamecocks are now 1-3 in the FCS playoffs.
- JSU has an all-time record of 98-58-3 in the month of November.
- JSU is now 41-60-2 all-time against current teams from the Southern Conference
- JSU is 62-10 when scoring 30 or more points in a game, and 36-3 at Burgess-Snow Field.
- This set of JSU seniors now has 32 wins, which ties the most wins by a JSU Division I senior class. The 2011 senior class previously finished with 32 wins. 
- Senior Jerry Slota made his first career start today to become the 20th different Gamecock to record their first start of the season this year.
- DaMarcus James now has 1,304 yards on the season, the third most yards in a single season in JSU history.  
- DaMarcus James scored two rushing touchdowns to push his single-season OVC and school record to 25 rushing touchdowns on the year.
- James also finished with 124 yards rushing, marking his 13th career 100-yard rushing game and his seventh 100-yard rushing game of the season. His rushing total is the third most rushing yards in a JSU postseason game and the most since Pat Clements rushed for 133 yards against Lehigh in the 1977 Division II National Championship game.
- James carried the ball 22 times, tying the JSU postseason record for carries in a game. Pat Clements previously carried the ball 22 times against North Dakota State in 1977.
- The Gamecocks scored on their first drive of the game, marking the fourth time JSU has opened the game with a scoring drive this season. 
- Eli Jenkins tied the JSU postseason record with a 72 yard touchdown run in the first quarter, sharing the previous mark set by David Gulledge in 1988 again West Chester in the First Round. That 72-yard gain is also the 8th longest rush in JSU's Division I history and the longest rush of his career. 
- JSU finished with three scoring drives of less than 1:00, giving the Gamecocks 23 drives of 1:00 or less on the season and 34 scoring drives of 1:42 or less on the year.
- JSU broke the school record for total points scored in a season with 473, breaking the previous mark of 421 set in 1991. 
- JSU now has 5,726 yards on the season, extending the school record for total yards in a season. 
- Griffin Thomas kicked two field goals and is now 22-for-29 on field goal attempts on the year. Hiss 22 made field goals ties the school record for field goals kicked in a season with Gavin Hallford, who converted 22-of-29 attempts in 2007.
- Thomas now has 121 points on the season, moving him past Hallford's total of 99 in 2007 for the most points by a kicker in a single-season. He currently trails DaMarcus James, who has 150 points on the season.
- Eli Jenkins finished with 115 yards rushing on 12 attempts, his third career 100-yard rushing game. That total marks the fifth most rushing yards in a JSU postseason game.
- Telvin Brown's 47 yard touchdown catch in the second quarter was his longest reception of the season.
- JSU held the Bulldogs to zero first half points, the first time the Gamecocks have shut out an opponent in the first half since taking a 17-0 lead into the half against Tennessee State on Oct. 16, 2010 (24-0).
- Telvin Brown set a career-long with his 67 yard scoring run to open the second half.
- Brown finished with 80 yards rushing, a new career-high.
- The Gamecocks limited Samford to just 93 yards rushing, the fewest amount of rushing yards JSU has allowed in a postseason game. The previous low was 95 against North Alabama in 1990.
- JSU held Samford to 201 total yards of offense, the fewest amount of total yards allowed in JSU postseason history. The previous low was 229 against Mississippi College in the 1989 National Championship Game.
- JSU finished with six sacks on the night, giving the Gamecocks a school record of 39 sacks on the year. JSU broke the previous total of 38 set in 1998.
- Hamish MacInnes recorded a 68 yard punt in the fourth quarter, the longest punt in JSU postseason history, breaking the previous record of 55 yards by Richie Rhodes against Furman in 2004.

BY THE NUMBERS

1 - Number of playoff wins JSU has since moving up to Division I after tonight's 55-14 victory.

9 - Consecutive games the Gamecocks have won over the Bulldogs with tonight's 55-14 victory.

10 - Consecutive games DaMarcus James has scored a rushing touchdown

22 - Number of field goals Griffin Thomas has made this season, tying the school record with Gavin Hallford set in 2007.

22 - Number of carries DaMarcus James finished with, tying the JSU Postseason record. Pat Clements previously set the mark in 1977 against North Dakota State.

25 - Number of touchdown's DaMarcus James has scored on the season, an OVC and JSU single-season record.

41 - JSU's largest margin of victory in the playoffs.

55 - Second most points JSU has scored in a playoff game and the most since scoring 63 against West Chester in the First Round of the 1988 Division II playoffs.

93 - Number of rushing yards Samford finished with, the fewest amount a JSU team has allowed in postseason play.

201 - Total yards JSU allowed tonight, the fewest a JSU team has allowed in a postseason game. The previous low was 229 against Mississippi College in the 1989 National Championship Game.

473 - Number of points JSU has scored on the season, setting a new school record. The previous record was 421 set in 1991.

1,304 - Number of yards JSU's DaMarcus James has rushed for this season, the third most total in a single season.

5,726 - Number of total yards the Gamecocks have recorded this season, a school record.