PHOTO GALLERY (Steve Gross Pics)

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Things went south for Tennessee Tech from the opening kickoff against No. 1 Jacksonville State Saturday night.
 
Junior quarterback Eli Jenkins threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Gamecocks (5-1, 3-0 Ohio Valley Conference) reeled off their fourth straight win, thumping Tennessee Tech 42-13 at Tucker Stadium.
 
The win marked Jacksonville State 12th straight victory against OVC opponents.
 
The Golden Eagles fumbled the opening kickoff out of bounds at their 7, an indicator of things to come.
 
Jacksonville State's defense forced a three-and-out and the offense wasted little time finding the end zone, driving 61 yards in 10 plays. Jenkins finished the drive with a 4-yard TD pass to Dalton Screws to start the rout.
 
Tennessee Tech (2-5, 1-3) was held to a pair of John Arnold field goals and a rushing TD with just over a minute left in the game, its lowest point total of the season.
 
Jacksonville State piled up 619 yards, the sixth-highest total in school history.
 
Jenkins was 18-of-27 passing for 184 yards and two touchdowns, the 4-yarder to Screws and 30 yards to Troymaine Pope in the second quarter, compiling a passer rating of 148.4. He has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in nine straight games and 15 of his last 16.
 
Jenkins also contributed to the scoring with a 40-yard run in the first quarter, finishing with 89 yards on 13 carries.
 
"Eli looked sharp," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "He really ran the offense good coming off of the off week."
 
Arnold's 43-yard field goal with 5:07 left in the first quarter drew TTU to within 7-3. But after an exchange of punts, Jenkins burst free on his 40-yard touchdown run to extend JSU's lead to 14-3 with 1:12 to go in the first.
 
Josh Clemons' 3-yard run capped a 12-play, 72-yard drive as the Gamecocks pushed their lead to 20-6 midway through the second quarter. Pope's nifty catch-and-run for 30 yards with 1:27 left gave JSU a 26-6 lead at halftime.
 
Miles Jones raced 45 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter and Connor Rouleau added the extra point for a 33-6 lead. True freshman Monty Young of Saks tackled Golden Eagles quarterback Colby Brown for a safety with 24 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make it 35-6.
 
Jacksonville State's final points came in the waning moments when JoJo Wynn ran 65 yards for a touchdown on his third career carry. Cade Stinnett's extra point made the final 42-13.
 
Brandon Bender led the Gamecocks with seven tackles, including three solo stops.
 
The Gamecocks return to the state of Tennessee again next week with a visit to Austin Peay. Kickoff at Governors Stadium is at 4 p.m.
 
Jacksonville State returns to Burgess-Snow Field on Oct. 31 to face Eastern Kentucky.

Postgame Notes 
- Captains for the Gamecocks: Sr. CB Jermaine Hough, Sr. WR Markis Merrill, Sr. DL Devaunte Sigler and So. OL Justin Lea.
- Jacksonville State won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Gamecocks have won the toss in every game except at UTM but has kicked off in every game.
- The Gamecocks are now 13-6 all-time against the Golden Eagles. The Gamecocks have won four in a row and are 10-3 in the series since joining the OVC in 2003. JSU is 7-3 in Cookeville.
- The Gamecocks have won 12-straight games against OVC opponents and 16-straight regular season games against non-FBS foes. JSU's last non-FBS loss in the regular season and OVC loss came at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 16, 2013.
- John Grass improves to 15-3 as Jacksonville State's head coach, extending the best start as a head coach in JSU history.
- With 619 yards in the game, the Gamecocks gained over 400 yards for the 17th-straight game and the sixth time this season. The 17-straight games with at least 400 yards is a school record, with the previous long being eight games from Sept. 17-Nov. 6, 1999. It was the third 500-yard game of the season for JSU and the first 600-yard outing.
- The 619 yards for JSU were the sixth-highest total in a game in school history and just the ninth 600-yard game in school history.
- With one interception in the game, JSU has picked off at least one pass in every game this season and in its last 10 regular season games.
- Dalton Screws' four-yard TD catch in the first quarter was the first of the season for the junior and the second of his career.
- Junior Eli Jenkins threw two touchdown passes in Saturday's game, extending his streak of games with at least one TD pass to nine. He's thrown at least one TD pass in 15 of his last 16 games.
- Jenkins two touchdown passes give him 25 in his career, 11th-most in school history and one behind Richard Drawdy's 26 from 1965-66 in 10th place.
- With 86 rushing yards and 184 passing yards in the game, Eli Jenkins increases his career total offense total to 5,843, fourth-most in school history. He trails Reggie Stancil (6,276 from 1999-02) in third place by 433 yards.
- The Gamecocks continued their success on the first drive of the game this season, taking the opening possession 61 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown. JSU has scored on its first possession four times in six games but got in field goal range before missing attempts in the other two.
- Eli Jenkins' 40-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was his longest run of the season and his longest since a 48-yard carry at Chattanooga on Sept. 6, 2014.
- JSU is now 21-0 in regular season games against non-FBS opponents when Eli Jenkins starts.
- Spencer Goffigan's three catches tied his career high for catches in a game. He caught three passes at Tennessee State on Oct. 11, 2014 and vs. Tennessee State on Oct. 12, 2013.
- Senior Josh Clemons scored his fourth TD of the season on a three-yard run in the second quarter. He has now rushed for a score in his last four games.
- Troymaine Pope's 30-yard touchdown catch from Jenkins in the second quarter was his first receiving score since he caught a 19-yard pass from Marques Ivory at Arkansas on Sept. 1, 2012, his first game as a Gamecock.
- Senior safety Folo Johnson's interception late in the second quarter was the first of his career.
- Freshman Monty Young recorded his first career sack in the third quarter in TTU's end zone. It was JSU's first safety since recording one vs. North Alabama on Sept. 14, 2013.
- JoJo Wynn's 65-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the first of his career. The junior from Darien, Ga., entered the game with two career carries for four yards.