JACKSONVILLE – Step aside, Eastern Kentucky. The Ohio Valley Conference record for consecutive league wins now belongs to Jacksonville State.
 
The third-ranked Gamecocks defeated Eastern Kentucky 41-25 on Saturday at Burgess-Snow Field, improving to 5-1 and 3-0 in the OVC. The win was Jacksonville State's 27^th in a row against OVC foes, eclipsing the record previously set by EKU from 1992-95.
 
Jacksonville State's last OVC loss was on Nov. 16, 2013, at Eastern Illinois. Since then, the Gamecocks are 36-0 against non-FBS competition in regular-season games.
 
Bryant Horn threw for 158 yards and ran for a team-high 73 more as the Gamecocks beat the Colonels (1-5, 1-3) for the fifth straight time before a crowd of 18,045. Horn had touchdown runs of 13 and four yards and threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Hester while leading Jacksonville State's offense on three scoring drives of at least 80 yards.
 
"The first half, outside of our kickoff coverage, I thought we played about as well as we can play," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "You're seeing on Saturday what we're seeing in practice. We've been really practicing well and it showed tonight."
 
Jacksonville State did not have a turnover, the first time in six games without at least one.
 
The Gamecocks led by 28 at intermission – their biggest halftime advantage since leading 41-10 against Sam Houston State in the 2015 national semifinals – as Horn directed three scoring drives and Marlon Bridges returned an interception 73 yards for a touchdown.
 
De'Marcus Flowers returned EKU's opening kickoff 66 yards to give JSU excellent field position, and Horn wasted little time getting the offense into the end zone.
 
The Gamecocks needed only four plays with Horn scoring from the 13 on a quarterback option with 13:32 left in the first quarter. Cade Stinnett tacked on the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
 
Siran Neal came up with a key interception in the end zone – the first of four turnovers forced by the Gamecocks – to turn away an early Colonels' threat. JSU responded by marching 80 yards in six plays, with Roc Thomas completing the drive with a 12-yard TD run at the 3:15 mark in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead.
 
"I thought one of the bigger plays of the game was Siran's interception," Grass said. "They had driven the ball down the field on us and that was huge."
 
Stinnett's 24-yard field goal at the 9:57 mark in the second quarter stretched Jacksonville State's lead to 17-0.
 
Horn's 31-yard touchdown pass to Hester with 1:12 to go before halftime capped a 93-yard, nine-play drive, JSU's longest since a 96-yard march against Eastern Kentucky in 2015. Horn completed five passes on the drive as the Gamecocks went ahead 24-3.
 
Jacksonville State, which returned three interceptions for touchdowns at Eastern Kentucky last year, added another defensive TD in the waning seconds of the half.
 
Bridges stepped in front of an Eastern Kentucky pass and returned it 73 yards down the sideline with 41 seconds left in the second quarter. Stinnett kicked the extra point for a 31-3 Gamecocks' lead at halftime.
 
Stinnett added a 46-yard field goal in the third quarter and Horn ran in from the 4 early in the fourth to complete JSU's scoring.
 
Eastern Kentucky had two fourth-quarter touchdowns against the Gamecock reserves.
 
Bridges recorded a game-high tackles to lead Jacksonville State defensively. All-American Darius Jackson was credited with three tackles for loss (seven total), marking the ninth consecutive game he's recorded at least one TFL.
 
Jacksonville State travels to Eastern Illinois (5-2, 4-0) next week with first place in the OVC standings at stake. Kickoff at O'Brien Field is set for 2 p.m.
 
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Eastern Kentucky
October 14, 2017 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
 

• Captains for Jacksonville State: WR Krenwick Sanders, P Dean Kelly, DE Dalton Campbell.
• For the third time this season, Jacksonville State lost the toss. Every time the Gamecocks have lost the toss, their opponents elected to defer to the second half, including EKU this weekend.
• With the win, Jacksonville State has now won its last 27 straight Ohio Valley Conference games, breaking a tie with Eastern Kentucky (1992-95) for the longest conference winning streak in conference history. The Gamecocks' last loss in OVC play came at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 16, 2013.
• JSU's game-opening drive covered 33 yards in four plays in 1:28. It's the seventh Gamecock scoring drive in 2:00 or less this season. 
• Siran Neal's first-quarter interception was the first of the season for the redshirt-senior. It's the third career interception for Neal. 
• Gerald Sterling's fumble recovery following a Darius Jackson forced fumble on EKU quarterback Austin Scott during the second was the first career recovery for Sterling. 
• Jax State's nine-play, 93-yard scoring drive late in the second quarter was the longest scoring drive for the Gamecocks this season. The previous long this year was a 91-yarder at Austin Peay last week. It's the third 90-plus yard scoring drive for JSU this season. It's the longest scoring drive by JSU since Oct. 31, 2015 when the Gamecocks went 11 plays, 96 yards against Eastern Kentucky. 
• Marlon Bridges' 73-yard interception return for a touchdown during the second quarter was the 10th longest interception return for a score in Jacksonville State history. 
• JSU's 28-point halftime lead was the largest halftime lead for the Gamecocks since leading Sam Houston State 41-10 in the FCS semifinals on Dec. 19, 2015.
• Darius Jackson, who came into the game with two career forced fumbles, caused two during the game. It was the first forced fumble for the All-American defensive end since Sept. 10, 2016 at LSU. 
• By finishing with 3.0 tackles for loss, Darius Jackson now has 51.5 career tackles for loss.
• JSU has now won its last five games against Eastern Kentucky. 
• Jax State has now won its last 36 games against non-FBS opponents during the regular season, dating back to the 2013 season. 
• Jacksonville State has now won its last 14 games played during the month of October, dating back to 2013. 
• JSU's defense held Eastern Kentucky to 57 total rushing yards. It's the third time this year JSU has an opponent to under 100 rushing yards. 

 
 
Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – Eastern Kentucky
October 14, 2017 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
 
Head Coach John Grass
Thoughts on the game
"It was a good night. I thought we got off to a really good, fast start. I thought the kickoff return really set the tone. I thought Siran Neal's interception at the goal line was a real turning point. I think the second half was a little sloppy, because we didn't come out and play with the energy. We got a lot of guys in during those four quarters, which was good. I think it's great the way we are preparing and I think everyone is seeing that on Saturdays. I guess, for this point in time, we are pretty healthy, which is good. I thought the crowd was strong and that helped our energy during the first half."
 
On the 27-game OVC winning streak
"The guys know how many games the streak is at now. Darius Jackson stood up in the locker room and said, "It's 27!" after the game. I think it's just a pat on the back to the guys who helped built this program, and not just on the field but off the field, too. I know this group is excited about being the group to break the record. Not to down play it, but we don't talk about it much. I think not talking about it really helped us reached this mark. We try to prepare against a faceless opponent each week and give them the upmost respect. We want to have fun and play every snap of the game."
 
On the play of QB Bryant Horn
"I thought he played really well. I thought he played the best he's ever played. He's running the offense really well. He made some really good throws tonight, too. He's only going to get better. I think the rotation we have going on right now, because they're both taking meaningful snaps and developing. We've been having such good weeks of practice and both him and Kendrick Doss have been really excelling. I think our offensive coaches have done a really good job of putting players in a position to be successful. The quarterback is a really progressive position. A lot of coaches just throw players into the fire, but you have to take the time to develop them and don't ask them to do things they aren't conformable with."
 
Bryant Horn, quarterback, R-Jr.
On the 27-game OVC winning streak
"It's a great accomplishment. We just try to keep striving and getting better.  We are just trying to take it one game at a time and do my job."
 
Thoughts on his play
"I think earlier in the year I was trying to force and press things instead of letting other players make the plays."
 
On the production of the running game
"EKU tried to stuff things in the middle so the outside plays were there" 
 
Darius Jackson, defensive end, R-Sr.
On the 27-game OVC winning streak
"We practice hard every day and we try to win by any means."
 
Marlon Bridges, safety, R-So.
Thoughts on his interception
"I didn't feel like I was in position, but when I saw it pop up in my hands, all I thought about was getting down the field"