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JACKSONVILLE – It's time to start measuring for at least one championship ring.

Third-ranked Jacksonville State clinched its fourth Ohio Valley Conference football crown Saturday afternoon with a gritty 27-20 victory over Eastern Illinois before a crowd of 14,925 at Burgess-Snow Field.

Eli Jenkins passed for a career-best 288 yards as the Gamecocks (9-1, 7-0 OVC) reeled off their ninth straight win, their second-longest winning streak since moving to Division I in 1993. JSU earned the OVC's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs regardless of the outcome of next week's regular-season finale at Southeast Missouri State.

A win over SEMO will likely earn the Gamecocks a first-round bye.

"These guys are not ready to be through playing," said first-year head coach John Grass. "Hopefully we'll have a good week this week and go on the road and beat a good SEMO team and make sure we get one of the top four seeds and get to play at home."

Jacksonville State never trailed against the Panthers (5-6, 5-2). The Gamecocks have not been behind in a game since Oct. 11, when they trailed Tennessee State 3-0 early in the first quarter.

Josh Barge had eight catches for 153 yards and one touchdown while Ruben Gonzalez caught seven passes for 113 yards. It marked the first time since 2001 that Jacksonville State had a pair of 100-yard receivers in a game.

"We knew we were going to have to throw it coming in," said Grass. "Barge had his normal day, Eli played really, really well and it was good to see Ruben get going. He showed tonight what we thought he could do the whole season."

Eastern Illinois – the two-time defending OVC champions – refused to relinquish its title without a fight.

Trailing 20-7 at halftime, the Panthers dominated the third quarter and cut the deficit to three, 20-17, on Taylor Duncan's 2-yard run at the 5:59 mark. 

The spark the Gamecocks badly needed came from redshirt freshman Darius Jackson early in the fourth quarter.

Eastern Illinois took over after a missed JSU field goal with momentum on its side. That quickly turned when Jackson stepped in front of a pass by Panthers quarterback Jalen Whitlow and raced 27 yards untouched to the end zone.

"What a play by D.J.," said Grass. "We were struggling a little on offense at that point and to run one in was huge."

Connor Rouleau added the extra point for a 27-17 lead with 11:33 remaining.

Eastern Illinois got to within 27-20 with 8:31 left in the fourth. The Panthers had one last chance to pull even after taking over at their 41 with 2:09 to go, but Jacksonville State's defense forced EIU backup quarterback Andrew Manley into four incomplete passes to preserve the title-clinching victory.

Jenkins connected with Barge on a 59-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 Jax State lead early in the first quarter.

The second of Rouleau's two field goals increased the Gamecocks' lead to 13-7 with 5:54 remaining.

DaMarcus James had an 8-yard touchdown run with 2:30 left before halftime to extend his team's lead to 20-7.

The touchdown marked the 19th straight game in which James has scored a touchdown against an FCS opponent. He now has 46 rushing touchdowns in his career, just two behind the school record set by David Gulledge from 1987-90.

James ran for 112 yards on 26 carries.

Kickoff in Cape Girardeau, Mo., next Saturday is set for 1 p.m. The 24-team FCS playoff field will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 23 on ESPNU.

GAME NOTES
• JSU Honorary Captains: Class of 2014 seniors: Rashod Byers, Omari Jones, Michael Carlisle, JD Williams, Max Shortell, Kyle Pope, Nigel Terrell, DaMarcus James, Jeremy Harrison, Cantrell McKinley, Darrius Stephens, Ben Endress, Dustin Gayton, Andrew Dean, Max Holcombe, Blake Burks, Terrence Pendleton, Spencer Goffigan, Chad Coleman, Greg Clark, Montavious Skelton, Caleb Lawrence

• Jacksonville State won the coin toss and defered the decision until the second half.
 
• With the victory Saturday, Jacksonville State clinched it fourth Ohio Valley Conference championship since joining the conference in 2003. It's the first outright championship for the Gamecocks since 2004. JSU also won the OVC title in 2003, 2004 and 2011.
 
• Jacksonville State did not trail in the game and the Gamecocks now have held the lead (or been tied) for a total of 579 minutes and 23 seconds over the last 10 games (out of a possible 600 minutes). The Gamecocks have not been behind in a game since Oct. 11, when they trailed Tennessee State 3-0 early in the first quarter.
 
• After setting the JSU mark for consecutive starts last week, senior Max Holcombe has tied former EIU player Tim Kelly (2004-07) for the Ohio Valley Conference consecutive starts record at 47.
 
• Safety Siran Neal and offensive lineman Dylan Cline made their first career start for the Gamecocks. After leading the C-USA in tackles last season at cornerback, DeBarriaus Miller made his first career start at the position for JSU.
 
• After defeating the Panthers Saturday afternoon, the 2014 Jax State senior class has tied the 2013 class for the most wins by a four-year class since the Gamecocks left the Division II ranks in 1993.   The 2014 senior class now has a record 33-14.
 
• During the second quarter, Jacksonville State outscored Eastern Illinois 13-0, and has now outscored opponents 124-55 in the second quarter this season.
 
• Saturday's receiving performance by Josh Barge and Ruben Gonzalez marks the first time the Gamecocks have had two receivers over 100 yards since Nov. 3, 2001, against Tennessee Tech when Ralph Jenkins (140) and Quincy Bowie (124) accomplished the feat.  
 
• For the first time in school history, Jacksonville State has posted a perfect 7-0 record in OVC play. Since joining the OVC, the Gamecocks are 71-23 against the league and 101-40-8 all-time versus teams from the conference.
 
• Head coach John Grass improved his career coaching record to 9-1 and he has the most wins through 10 games than any JSU coach in his debut season as head coach of the Gamecocks. 

• Jacksonville State head coach John Grass led his team to the OVC Championship in his ?rst year as a collegiate head coach. In doing so he became just the fifth OVC coach to lead his team to the title in his ?rst season as a head coach, joining Austin Peay's Boots Donnelly (1977), UT Martin's Jason Simpson (2006), Eastern Kentucky's Dean Hood (2008) and Eastern Illinois' Dino Babers (2012).
 
• The Gamecocks are now 31-6 in their last 37 games at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium and 29-5 in their last 34 regular season games.
 
• In the month of November, the Gamecocks have an all-time record of 101-58-3 since the 1964 season (last season all dates are available). Since the move up to Division I in 1995, JSU is 32-31 during the month.
 
• JSU has 28 scoring drives of less than 2:09 this season. The Gamecocks have 40 scoring drives of 3:00 or less this season.
 
• Darius Jackson became the 12th different Gamecocks to score a touchdown this season with his 27-yard interception return.
 
• Siran Neal became the 18th different Gamecock to earn his first-career start this season.
 
• DaMarcus James finished with 112 rushing yards to run his school-record to 17 career 100-yard rushing games. His 8-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter was the 46th of his career and it also marked the 19th straight game he has scored a rushing touchdown against FCS opponents.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
1: It's the first time since Jacksonville State joined the OVC in 2003, the Gamecocks have won the conference after being selected as the preseason favorites.
 
9: With the victory, Jacksonville State extends its winning streak to nine, which is the ninth longest in school history and second-longest since moving to Division I in 1995.
 
19: 19 senior Gamecocks were honored prior to the start of the game. This class of seniors has played in 478 games and is tied for the most wins for a four-year class in JSU's Division I history.
 
27: The length of redshirt freshman Darius Jackson's interception return during the early moments of the fourth quarter.
 
59: Quarterback Eli Jenkins' 59-yard touchdown toss to receiver Josh Barge in the first quarter was the second longest pass play for the Gamecocks this season.
 
153: Wide receiver Josh Barge set a career high with 153 receiving yards. It's the most yards by a receiver since Alan Bonner racked up 235.  
 
288: Quarterback Eli Jenkins set a career high with 288 passing yards on 18-of-35 through the air.
 
454: Heading into the game needing just 333 yards, the Jax State offense finished with 454 to become the second-most prolific offense in school history.