CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The No. 1 defense in the FCS tightened its clamp on that ranking against Southeast Missouri.
 
Top-ranked Jacksonville State moved a step closer to its third straight Ohio Valley Conference championship with a 17-10 win over the Redhawks on homecoming at Houck Stadium. Senior quarterback Eli Jenkins passed for 144 yards and one touchdown to become the Gamecocks' career passing leader, eclipsing Ed Lett's 34-year-old mark.
 
Jacksonville State's offense sputtered for the second time in three weeks but managed to produce enough points to turn back SEMO's late upset bid. The Gamecocks improved to 8-1, 5-0 in the OVC, with their 22^nd consecutive conference victory.
 
It was a bizarre and contentious afternoon from the opening kickoff.
 
The hard-hitting showdown saw the teams penalized a combined 25 times for 214 yards; Jacksonville State not get over the 100-yard rushing mark until deep into the fourth quarter; Jenkins on the bench for part of the second quarter and most of the fourth; and the Redhawks end up with zero yards on 28 carries, a new record for fewest rushing yards allowed in Jacksonville State's Division I history.
 
"That was a tough road win in the OVC," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "It was a war on the road. They had the stage set, had homecoming and probably their largest crowd in quite a while.
 
"We didn't play great, but we didn't play terrible. We found a way to win the game, but just left it a little too close at the end."

The Gamecocks' first game of the season as the No. 1 team in the FCS wasn't decided until Dalton Campbell fell on an onside kick after SEMO drew to within 17-10 on Ryan McCrum's 23-yard field goal with 24 seconds remaining.
 
The Redhawks (3-6, 3-3) had driven 83 yards in 14 plays after recovering a fumble as the Gamecocks were trying to run out the clock in the final minutes.
 
SEMO's zero net rushing yards broke the old mark of 11 yards on 26 attempts by Murray State in 2001.
 
"Our defense continues to play well," Grass said. "Our defense has bailed us out of two road games."
 
Southeast Missouri finished with 206 total yards – all through the air. Jacksonville State began the day ranked first in FCS at total defense at 259.6 yards per game.
 
Jenkins became JSU's all-time passing leader when he hit Jamari Hester on a 16-yard completion to start the fourth quarter. It turned out to be his last completion before turning the reins over to backup quarterback Bryant Horn.
 
Jenkins connected with Josh Barge for a 20-yard touchdown pass deep into the first quarter to give the Gamecocks a 7-0 lead they never relinquished.
 
Cade Stinnett boosted JSU's lead to 10-0 with a 45-yard field goal with 5:02 left in the second.
 
Horn, who came on in relief in the second quarter for the first time, tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Josh Clemons with 1:19 remaining before halftime. Clemons' first career TD catch extended Jacksonville State's lead to 17-0 at halftime.
 
Jaylen Hill and Siran Neal had interceptions for the Gamecocks. Neal and Joel McCandless were credited with nine tackles each.
 
Jacksonville State plays its final road game of the season next Saturday when it travels to Murray State (4-5, 4-2). Kickoff at Roy Stewart Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
 
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – at Southeast Missouri
November 5, 2016 • Houck Stadium • Cape Girardeau, Mo.
-Jacksonville State captains: SAF Ra'Shad Green, DE David Segers, OL Justin Lea and TE Ty Anderson.
 -Southeast Missouri won the toss and deferred to the second half.
-With his 144 passing yards in today's game, senior quarterback Eli Jenkins broke Ed Lett's school record for passing yards in a career. Jenkins now has 7,147, breaking Lett's record of 7,145 set from 1979-82.
-Josh Barge caught at least one pass for the 47^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.
-The Gamecocks improve to 17-4 in the series against the Redhawks and have now won the last nine meetings.
-JSU extends its winning streak against OVC opponents to 22 games, tying Eastern Kentucky from 1980-83 for the second-longest in OVC history. The record is a 26-game streak by EKU from 1992-95.
-JSU's 22-straight conference wins extend the longest active conference win streak in the nation at either the FCS or FBS level.
-JSU has now won 29 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.
-Josh Barge's 20-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was his second of the season and the 19^th of his career, moving him past Derrick Thomas (1982-85) into third on JSU's career touchdown receptions list.
-Siran Neal's interception early in the second quarter was his first of the season and the second of his career.
-Sophomore Cade Stinnett's 45-yard field goal in the second quarter gave him a FG of 40-plus yards for the second week in a row. He entered last week without a 40-yard FG in his career.
-Senior Josh Clemons' 11-yard touchdown reception late in the second quarter was the first TD catch of his career.
-JSU's defense held Southeast Missouri to 0 net rushing yards on 28 carries. It sets the program Division I record for least amount of net rushing yards allowed, breaking the previous record of 11 allowed on 26 carries at Murray State on Oct. 1, 2011.
- By holding SEMO to no rushing yards, it's the seventh time in nine games this season JSU's opponent has failed to run for 100 yards.