JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State's 19th consecutive Ohio Valley Conference win didn't play out as most of the crowd of 14,455 at Burgess Snow Field probably expected.
 
The No. 3 Gamecocks overcame a slow start to beat winless Austin Peay 34-14 as Eli Jenkins and Josh Clemons each ran for two touchdowns. Jacksonville State's 19th straight league win ties Murray State (1995-97) for the third-longest streak in OVC history.
 
Clemons piled up a career-best 143 yards and Jenkins ran for 117 more as JSU improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in OVC.
 
Clemons scored on runs of one yard and 46 yards in the second half. Jenkins added a 5-yard TD in the third quarter as the Gamecocks finally established their offensive rhythm after sputtering through game's first 30 minutes.
 
"I can never be unhappy with a win," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "To get a win is always good.
 
"Austin Peay is getting better. They're probably the most-improved team we've played since I've been here. Our guys didn't play awful. It's hard because I thought we had our best week of practice this week."
 
The Governors' defense stifled JSU's passing game all afternoon. Jenkins completed 9 of 20 for a season-low 72 yards, with Josh Barge hauling in six receptions for 44 yards.
 
Jacksonville State also was just 1-for-10 on third-down conversions.
 
"Eli didn't have his best day … he knows that," Grass said. "He missed a couple of days of practice and the offense just seemed a little off in the first half."

 
Austin Peay (0-6, 0-5), which entered the day allowing opponents 595 yards per game, held the Gamecocks to a season-low first-half output and trailed only 14-7 at intermission.
 
JSU could muster only 159 total yards through the first two quarters – its previous first-half low was 227 yards at LSU on Sept. 10. The Governors maintained possession for nearly 20 minutes, keeping the Gamecocks' usually potent offense on the sideline for much of the half.
 
Jacksonville State struck first after forcing an Austin Peay punt on the game's first series.
 
Jenkins directed a 10-play, 62-yard drive for the game's first points. Demontrez Terry hauled in his third career touchdown pass, an 11-yarder from Jenkins, and Cade Stinnett tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 JSU lead at the 8:05 mark in the first quarter.
 
Jenkins and Barge each reached impressive milestones on Jacksonville State's second series.
 
Barge's first catch of the day tied the OVC record for most consecutive games with a reception. He now has caught at least one pass in 44 straight games, tying the league mark previously established by Samford's Jeff Moore from 2004-07.
 
Barge and Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp are one reception away from tying the FCS record of 45 consecutive games with a reception.
 
Jenkins joined Eastern Illinois' Jimmy Garrapolo and Murray State's Casey Brockman as the only players in OVC history with 10,000 career total yards after his 14-yard run to the Austin Peay 29 midway through the first. But the Gamecocks came away without points when Stinnett's 49-yard field goal sailed right.
 
Austin Peay tied it at 7-7 with 11:46 left in second quarter. Quarterback Timarious Mitchell broke free on a 43-yard run to the end zone – his longest of the season – to finish off a four-play Govs drive.
Mitchell's run was the first of 20 yards or more by a non-FBS opponent this season.
 
Jenkins did it himself as Jacksonville State took the lead for good with a quick, three-play drive with 5:59 left in the half. The OVC's leading rusher ran 27, 25 and the final four yards as JSU regained the lead at 14-7.
 
Austin Peay attempted a 40-yard field goal prior to halftime, but Randy Robinson blocked the kick and Reggie Hall recovered to end the threat.
 
Siran Neal led the JSU defense with eight tackles, including four solo stops. Darius Jackson recovered a Govs fumble in the third quarter that set up Clemons' 1-yard plunge on the next play.
 
Jacksonville State hits to road to Eastern Kentucky for its first OVC road test next Saturday. Kickoff at Roy Kidd Stadium is scheduled for 2 p.m.

 
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Austin Peay
October 15, 2016 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

• Jacksonville State captains: RB Josh Clemons, OL Justin Lea, CB Jaylen Hill and DE Darius Jackson
• Jacksonville State won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. It's only the second time in six games this season the Gamecocks have won the toss with the other win coming at Liberty.
• On the first offensive play for JSU, Dantley Coker recorded his first career reception when the redshirt freshman hauled in a 12-yard pass from Eli Jenkins.
• With a 9-yard reception on the first play of JSU's second drive, Josh Barge tied Samford's Jeff Moore for the Ohio Valley Conference record of consecutive games played with a catch. Barge now has a catch in his last 44 games played.
• On the very next play after Barge tied the OVC mark, quarterback Eli Jenkins ran for 14 yards, which pushed his career total offense yards mark to over 10,000. Jenkins is the first player in JSU history to reach the accomplishment.
• After ending the first quarter with 18 receiving yards, Josh Barge moved to third on the OVC career receiving yards list, passing Tim Benford (Tennessee Tech; 2008-11).
• Austin Peay's Timarious Mitchell's 43-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was the first run of 20-or-more yards allowed by the JSU defense to a non-FBS opponent this season. The score also snapped a streak of 163 consecutive carries by non-FBS opponents against JSU without a run of at least 20 yards.
• With 120 rushing yards for the game, Austin Peay became the first non-FBS opponent to rush for over 100 yards against Jax State's defense this season.
• On a four-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Eli Jenkins broke a tie with Troymaine Pope (2012-15) for fourth on Jacksonville State's career rushing touchdown list. Jenkins now sits alone at fourth with 36.
• Early in the third quarter, Eli Jenkins passed Troymaine Pope (2012-15) for third on Jacksonville State's career rushing yardage list. Jenkins now has 3,420 for his career.
• By finishing with six receptions, Josh Barge moved into third place in OVC history with 221 career receptions. He passed Tim Benford (Tennessee Tech) and Marcus Harris (Murray State) for third and fourth place, respectively, during the game.
• After finishing with 117 rushing yards, Eli Jenkins now has 11 career 100-yard rushing games, which is the fourth-most in Jacksonville State history.
• Jacksonville State is 18-6-3 all-time against Austin Peay and is 11-3-1 at home in the series.
• Jacksonville State extends its regular-season winning streak against non-FBS opponents to 26. The streak dates back to a loss a No. 2 Eastern Illinois on Nov. 16, 2013.
• Jacksonville State has won its last 19 OVC games, the longest active conference winning streak in Division I. The streak matches Murray State (1995-97) for the third longest in OVC history.
•  With his 11-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, Eli Jenkins broke a tie with Marques Ivory (2008-12) and tied Ryan Perrilloux (2008-09) for third in Jacksonville State's career passing touchdown list.
• Jacksonville State is now 269-99-8 at home since JSU Stadium opened in 1946. The Gamecocks are 43-7 in their last 50 games at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium and 37-5 in their last 42 regular-season home games.
• Jacksonville State has won 26 consecutive games when scoring at least 30 points.
• Josh Clemons set a career-high with 143 rushing yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns. He has now rushed for 100-or-more yards and multiple touchdowns in back-to-back games.

 
Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – Austin Peay
October 15, 2016 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

Head Coach John Grass
Thoughts on the game
"We got the win, but we gave up a late touchdown at the end. We didn't play bad, but we didn't play great. You have to credit Austin Peay for that. They're, to me, the most improved team we've played since I've been here. They're doing a great job of coaching their guys and doing a great job of getting better. Breaking them down during the year, that's what you see. They're young guys who played really good in spurts and not-so-good at times. They were leading Eastern Illinois going into the fourth quarter, so that really tells you what they're capable of."
 
On the halftime talk
"I may have stepped on a few toes. We kind of lit a fire underneath them. You don't have to say a lot after playing a half like we did. We didn't play terrible, but there wasn't enough energy. We have to continue to learn how to create energy for four quarters, and we aren't doing that right now."
 
Thoughts on Josh Clemons
"The last two weeks, I think everyone is seeing who he is. He was kind of having this kind of year for us last year before he got hurt. He got 500 or 600 yards last year before he went down. He's continuing to play at a high level right now, and I just love the way he runs the ball."
 
On the fumble recovered by Darius Jackson in the third quarter
"I thought that was huge. We got the ball down inside the five, and that's a great thing. Defense creating turnovers is huge all day. The defense played well today. The ball was probably down on the field a couple more times that we could've got. You have to create turnovers. Our defense is doing a great job of doing that right now."
 
Eli Jenkins, quarterback, R-Sr.
On Josh Clemons
"He played great. For him, it's all about preparation. During the week, I saw him running hard and finishing runs. He's back to how he was when he was younger.  He's an old man now. You can tell he's trying to make something happen on every play. He's running with a purpose."
 
On breaking records
"I'm not a big record guy. When I see them, I'm like, 'Oh snap, that's pretty neat,' but all that matters to me is winning."
 
On second quarter touchdown drive
"When it's time to buckle down and make a play, I feel like I can make something happen. We called a couple read plays. The read took the running back, and I just made a play. That's what I'm supposed to do. It's really a team effort, too, because there was one play where Josh Barge blocked a guy for 10-15 yards. That really helped me."
 
Josh Barge, wide receiver, R-Sr.
On breaking records
"I'm with Eli. I try not to think about them. If you get to thinking about one thing, you'll miss something. Eli and I talk about this all the time — the records are all good, but as long as our team is winning or helping the team out, that's all that matters to us."
 
On first half
"There was just a lot of lack of focus. It wasn't a comfortable feeling knowing we were only up 14-7. We can't overlook a team just because of their record. It's like what Coach Grass said. It may not have gotten us beat this game, but later on down the line when we are playing another team, that could come back and get us."
 
Quan Stoudamire, linebacker, R-So.
On the first half
"We know, playing against us is a big game for everybody. When teams in our conference are asked who they want to beat, everyone always says Jacksonville State. We knew we were targets at the beginning of the season."
 
Siran Neal, safety, R-Jr.
On the halftime talk
"They told us to keep the energy up, because we weren't playing the way we know we can. We had to find a way to create energy for each other and pick each other up."