MURRAY, Ky. – Jacksonville State overcame another slow start on the road to defeat the Racers 33-15 at Roy Stewart Stadium and clinch a share of the Ohio Valley Conference championship. The Gamecocks (9-1, 6-0 OVC) can claim their third consecutive outright league title with a victory over second-place UT-Martin in next week's regular season finale at Burgess-Snow Field.

JSU's 23^rd straight OVC win – now the second-longest streak in conference history – did not come easily.

Roc Thomas came off the bench to run for a career-high 165 yards and three touchdowns as the Gamecocks broke open a tight game after halftime.

The junior from Oxford scored on 7-yard run in the third quarter and eight and 75 yards in the fourth as the Gamecocks wore down Murray State's defense in the second half.

The upset-minded Racers (4-6, 4-3) led 3-0 deep into the second quarter thanks to a Connor Mitchell's 45-yard field goal.

But Jacksonville State finally got on the scoreboard as Eli Jenkins perfectly executed a six-play, 80-yard drive that took only 44 seconds in the final minute of the half.

Jenkins was 6-for-6 passing on the drive and finished it off with a 23-yard TD pass to Jamari Hester with 17 seconds left before intermission. Cade Stinnett's extra point gave JSU a 7-3 lead it never relinquished.

Whatever message Jacksonville State head coach John Grass delivered at halftime got through to his players.

The Gamecocks offense, limited to 189 total yards through two quarters, exploded for 346 in the second half and finished with its first 500-plus effort (535) since a win over Liberty on Sept. 24. It was JSU's second-highest total yardage this season.

"Overall, just proud of the road win," said Grass. "Hopefully it will be the last road game for awhile.

"We made some adjustments at halftime, got the ball first (to start the third quarter) and I think we played pretty good. Field position played a big part in the second half."

Josh Clemons also added a 1-yard run with 9:08 to go in the fourth quarter.

Jacksonville State's defense delivered another outstanding performance against the potent Murray State offense that was averaging 28.1 points per game.

The Racers managed only 178 yards (just 40 on the ground), punted 12 times and quarterback KD Humphries was sacked six times. Siran Neal recorded a game-high 12 tackles and Ra'Shad Green had an interception.

Kickoff for next week's game vs. UT-Martin (7-4, 6-1) is set for 1 p.m.

Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – at Murray State
November 12, 2016 • Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, Ky.
-Jacksonville State captains: CB Jaylen Hill, WR Josh Barge, DE Darius Jackson, OL Nick Johnson.
-Jacksonville State won the toss and deferred to the second half.
-The Gamecocks clinched at least a share of their third-straight Ohio Valley Conference title with the win, making JSU the OVC's first back-to-back-to-back conference champs since Eastern Kentucky from 1986-88.
-Josh Barge caught at least one pass for the 48^th-straight game, breaking his and Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp's FCS record. Barge and Cupp entered the day tied for the FCS record and with the longest active streaks in the nation.
-Ra'Shad Green's interception in the first quarter was his first of the season and the second of his career. He becomes the eighth different Gamecock with at least one interception this season.
-Redshirt freshman Jamari Hester set new career highs in receptions (6) and receiving yards (102). It is his first career 100-yard receiving game.
-Senior Anthony Johnson's four catches for 32 yards put him over 1,000 receiving yards for his career. He now has 93 catches for 1,013 yards in his four-year career.
-Roc Thomas ran for a career-high 165 yards in the game, while tying his career high with three rushing scores. The 165 yards is the most by a Gamecock this season, with Josh Clemons' 149 at Eastern Kentucky the team's previous high.
-The Gamecocks improve to 12-2 in the series against the Racers and have now won the last three overall and six in a row in Murray.
-JSU extends its winning streak against OVC opponents to 23 games, passing Eastern Kentucky (1980-83) for the second-longest in OVC history. The record is a 26-game streak by EKU from 1992-95.
-JSU's 23-straight conference wins extend the longest active conference win streak in the nation at either the FCS or FBS level.
-JSU has now won 30 consecutive games against non-FBS opponents, a streak that started late in 2013. Its last loss to a non-FBS team came at Eastern Illinois on 11/16/13.
- By holding Murray State to 40 rushing yards, it's the eighth time in nine games against non-FBS foes this season JSU's opponent has failed to run for 100 yards. It's the fourth opponent to run for fewer than 50 yards this season.