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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Jacksonville State got the test it wanted to kick off the 2015 season and passed with flying colors.
 
Facing a top 10 FCS opponent before the third-largest crowd in Finley Stadium history, the seventh-ranked Gamecocks marched 79 yards for the go-ahead score and then turned to their defense to preserve a 23-20 win over No. 8 Chattanooga in the season opener for both.
 
The Mocs (0-1), the reigning Southern Conference champions and an FCS playoff quarterfinalist in 2014, had taken their final lead when Montrell Pardue stripped JSU's Troymaine Pope and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown for a 20-16 lead with 8:16 remaining.
 
The Gamecocks responded with a drive that showcased the leadership and poise of junior quarterback Eli Jenkins and the depth of their running game.
 
Jacksonville State moved 79 yards in 10 plays, twice converting fourth downs in Chattanooga territory. Miles Jones leaped over the line for a 1-yard TD run and Connor Rouleau kicked the extra point to make it 23-20 with 2:41 left.
 
The game ended as Darius Jackson sacked UTC quarterback Jacob Huesman.
 
"The game was everything it was billed to be with two great teams going at it," said Jacksonville State coach John Grass, who team extended its regular-season win streak to 11. "It was a physical, physical football game.
 
"That last touchdown drive showed the maturity of our football team and how far Eli Jenkins has come."
 
The Jenkins-led JSU offense recorded 411 total yards, with 298 on the ground. Pope rushed for a career-high 173 yards on 15 carries, while transfer Josh Clemons had 67. Rouleau hit field goals of 34, 35 and 32 yards.
 
Jacksonville State never led in the first half. The Gamecocks took their first lead by taking the second-half kickoff and moving 57 yards in 11 plays, with Rouleau kicking a 35-yard field goal for a 13-10 lead.
 
That lead didn't last long, however.
 
The Mocs answered with a time-consuming drive of their own to tie the score at 13-13. Henrique Ribeiro's 33-yard field goal at the 4:47 mark to finish off a 12-play, 59-yard drive that chewed up 5 minutes, 37 seconds.
 
The Gamecocks (1-0) face their lone FBS opponent of 2015 when they travel to the Plains to face Auburn (1-0) at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. It will be the first meeting ever between JSU and the Tigers.

Postgame Notes
- Captains for the Gamecocks were all seniors: SLB Brandon Bender, P Hamish MacInnes, RB Troymaine Pope, OL Kyron Samuels, LB Dawson Wells.
- Three Gamecocks made their first career start against the Mocs, all on defense: So. Linebacker Joel McCandless, Sr. Linebacker Dawson Wells and So. DE Darius Jackson.
- The Gamecocks are now 48-50-8 all-time in season openers and have won four of their last six. They have won their first game scheduled against an FCS foe eight-straight years.
- JSU has won 11-straight regular season games, including a 10-game winning streak to close the 2014 regular season.
- JSU now trails the all-time series with Chattanooga 13-26. JSU has won three-straight and eight of the last 10.
- JSU is now 23-39 all-time against ranked FCS opponents and have won six of its last eight.
- Senior Troymaine Pope's 65-yard run on the Gamecocks' first offensive play is the longest of his career.
- Senior Ruben Gonzalez' four-yard TD catch from Eli Jenkins in the second quarter was the third of his career. It was the 13th career passing TD for Jenkins.
- Troymaine Pope's 173 rushing yards is a new career high and accounts for his fifth career 100-yard rushing game, seventh-most in JSU's Division I history. It was the 17th-highest single-game total in JSU's Division I history and the most in a game since DaMarcus James had 206 against Southeast Missouri on Nov. 23, 2013.
- With his eight catches in the game, junior Josh Barge now has 122 in his career, moving him into third place on the school's career receptions list. Rusty Fuller entered the game in 3rd with 120.
- Junior Jaylen Hill's interception in the fourth quarter was the fourth of his career and his first of the season.
- Senior Miles Jones' go-ahead one-yard touchdown with 2:41 left in the game was the 10th rushing score of his career.
- Over the last two seasons, the Gamecocks have outgained UTC 820-307, an average of 410-153.5 yards per game, despite winning by three points in both games.
- Nine Gamecocks made their JSU debut on Saturday: Joel McCandless, Jairus Hollman, A.J. Barge, Josh Clemons, Joseph Roberts, Tyler Swindle, Gerald Sterling, Desmond Owino and David Segers.