MARTIN, Tenn. – No. 2 Jacksonville State wrapped up a fourth consecutive Ohio Valley Conference title Saturday afternoon, but had to withstand one of the toughest battles of its remarkable 31-game league win streak.
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Roc Thomas scored two first-half touchdowns and the Gamecock defense limited UT Martin to 179 total yards as Jacksonville State secured the OVC's automatic berth in the FCS playoff with a hard-fought 14-7 victory at Hardy M. Graham Stadium. The outcome wasn't decided until JSU linebacker
Joseph Roberts pounced on a Skyhawks fumble with 1:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.
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"It's a great win on the road. We knew it was going to be tough coming up here," said Jacksonville State head coach
John Grass. "We didn't make enough plays to get the ball in the end zone. A few scores were left out there … but it was just a good, solid win."
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The 14 points scored by the Gamecocks (9-1, 7-0) marked their lowest output against FCS competition this season and marked the first one-score OVC game they'd been involved in since beating Southeast Missouri 17-10 last year.
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Jacksonville State had 289 total yards, including 197 on the ground with quarterback
Bryant Horn leading the way with 86 on 15 carries. Tramel Terry added 61 yards while Thomas had 52 yards on 14 rushes before exiting early in the third quarter with an ankle injury.
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"I'm proud of this team for getting us right where we want to be at the end of the season," Grass said. "Proud of all the guys who've come before them to make this four in a row happen. It's pretty special when you look back at it. But right now, we don't have time to look back at it – we have to get ready for Tennessee State."
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UT Martin (5-5, 3-4) made things interesting in the waning moments when Mike Turner blocked
Cade Stinnett's 18-yard field goal attempt after the Gamecocks drove to the Skyhawks one-yard line with a late time-consuming drive.
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UT Martin's last-ditch effort ended when quarterback Dresser Winn was sacked and fumbled and Roberts fell on it.
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Two kneel-downs by Horn ran the remaining time off the clock as the Gamecocks became the fourth OVC team to win fourth consecutive league titles.
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Thomas plunged in from the one-yard line on the Gamecocks' second possession to finish off an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Stinnett's extra point gave JSU a 7-0 lead at the 3:21 mark in the first quarter.
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A sack of Winn and short UTM punt set up the Gamecocks' second touchdown just before halftime.
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Horn connected with tight end Trae Barry for 22 yards on third-and-six and Thomas finished things one play later, scoring on a 14-yard run with 48 seconds left before halftime. Stinnett's second PAT made it 14-0.
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Marlon Bridges and
Quan Stoudemire each were credited with eight tackles to lead JSU's stout defensive effort. The Gamecocks sacked Winn four times and recorded 11 tackles for loss, with senior
Darius Jackson getting 2.5, giving him 58 for his career -Â third-most among all active FCS players.
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Jackson established a school record for TFLs in a season and now has 20.5, passing the mark (18.0) he previously held along with
Chris Landrum.
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Jacksonville State concludes the regular-season schedule Thursday night against Tennessee State (6-4, 3-4). Kickoff at Burgess-Snow Field is set for 6 p.m.
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Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – UT Martin
November 11, 2017 • Graham Stadium • Martin, Tenn.
- JSU Captains: sophomore wide receiver Jamari Hester, senior defensive end Darius Jackson, senior cornerback Siran Neal, junior running back Tramel Terry.
- Jacksonville State won the toss and deferred to the second half.
- With his 49th-straight start in today's game, senior offensive lineman Justin Lea ties former JSU center Max Holcombe (2011-14) for the most consecutive games started in JSU and Ohio Valley Conference history.
- Junior defensive end E.J. Moss made his first start of the season and the third of his career.
- With the win, JSU clinched its fourth-straight Ohio Valley Conference title and the OVC's automatic bid into the FCS Playoffs. JSU ties the OVC record for most consecutive titles, joining Middle Tennessee (1956-59), Tennessee Tech (1958-61) and Eastern Kentucky (9181-84) as the only teams to win four in a row.
- Senior defensive end Darius Jackson's 2.5 tackles for a loss on Saturday gives him 18.0 this season. It is the third-most in a season in school history. He and Chris Landrum hold the school record of 19.0, both in 2015.
- The Gamecocks are now 32-7 all-time against UT Martin and are now 16-4 in Martin. JSU has now won the last five and eight of the last nine in the series.
- The Gamecocks extend their winning streak in OVC games to 31 games, extending their OVC record and the longest conference win streak in Division I football. It is the second-longest conference win streak in FCS history, behind 39 straight Metro Atlantic Conference wins by Duquesne from 1999-2006.
- John Grass is now 42-7 in his career at JSU and is 39-0 against non-FBS opponents in the regular season. He has four regular-season losses in four years, all to FBS schools (Michigan State, Auburn, LSU and Ga. Tech).
- JSU's 197 rushing yards in the game extends its streak of consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards to 48 games. JSU's last game with less than 100 yards on the ground was at Michigan State in the 2014 season opener.
- JSU has now run for at least 100 yards in 54-straight games vs. FCS foes, with the last time it failed to do so coming against Tennessee State on Oct. 12, 2013.
- Roc Thomas' one-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter was his 10th this season and the 17th of his career.
- With his two rushing touchdowns in the game, Roc Thomas now has six career multi-touchdown games and four this season.
