ATLANTA – Jacksonville State head coach John Grass summed up what the crowd of 17,124 for the first-ever football game at SunTrust Park experienced after witnessing No. 2 Kennesaw State's 60-52 quintuple-overtime victory on Saturday.
 
"It was a classic football game," Grass said in the Gamecocks' locker room.  "You can play the game a long time and not be in one like that.
 
"I thought we had it won about 10 times. We should have won the game in regulation and just didn't get it done.  Both teams left everything they had out there on the field."
 
Zerrick Cooper accounted for 423 total yards and completed the most passes (32) ever by a Jacksonville State quarterback in what was easily the longest game in JSU history. Cooper had four touchdown passes and Leander Burrowes rushed for a pair of scores as the Gamecocks outgained the Owls 519-425.
 
Jacksonville State (8-3), which clinched its fifth consecutive OVC championship and an automatic bid last week, finds out its playoff destination Sunday at 11:30 a.m. during the FCS Selection Show on ESPNU.
 
The Gamecock players and coaches will watch the show on the fifth floor of JSU Stadium Tower, and fans are welcome to attend. Doors will open at 11 a.m. and fans can enter through the main lobby of the stadium.
 
"We'll be playing next week and we just have to rebound and get ready," Grass said. "I think we'll have a home game; I'd be surprised if we didn't. We're going to get this one behind as quick as we can and move on to the playoffs."
 
If JSU is selected to host a playoff game (either first- or second-round), tickets will go on sale online atwww.JSUGamecockSports.com/Tickets beginning Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The JSU ticket office will be open to sell tickets on Monday at 9 a.m. Tickets purchased online prior to game day will cost $15, while all tickets purchased in the ticket office or on game day will be $20.
 
Club Level tickets will be $60 for season ticket holder renewals and $75 for non-season ticket holders. Season ticket holders may only get the number of season tickets owned for the discounted price.
 
Cooper threw for a career-high 417 yards – tying Montressa Kirby (1997) for the second-most ever in a single game – and now has 2,825 yards this season, breaking Kirby's previous mark of 2,817.
 
The superlatives were numerous for the Gamecocks against the Owls (10-1).
 
Jamari Hester had a career-high 12 catches for 109 yards, including TD receptions of 43 and 25 yards. Trae Barry snagged five passes for 115 yards, marking the first time two Gamecocks surpassed the 100-yard milestone in a game since 2015.
 
Jaelen Greene ran for 92 tough yards on 15 carries, a season high. Burrowes contributed two touchdowns by taking direct snaps and scoring on short runs.
 
The Gamecocks established the tone early with a 16-play, 75-yard drive that consumed nearly 8½ minutes to start the game. JSU extended its lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter as Michael Matthews ran 12 yards to the end zone.
 
Kennesaw State cut the deficit to 14-10 by halftime, then opened the third quarter with a short touchdown drive to take its first lead at the 11:58 mark.
 
Jacksonville State answered with Cade Stinnett's 29-yard field goal and Hester's 43-yard touchdown catch in a span of less than five minutes to carry a 24-17 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The Owls forced Jacksonville State's first overtime game since 2015 with a 72-yard march late in the fourth quarter. Chandler Burks' 1-yard run and the ensuing extra point tied it at 24-24 as regulation ended.
 
This was the first of a home-and-home contract between the FCS powerhouses. The Owls will visit Burgess-Snow Field at a later date not yet determined.
 
 
Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – vs. Kennesaw State
November 17, 2018 • SunTrust Park • Atlanta, Ga.
 
Head coach John Grass
Thoughts on the game
"A classic football game between two really good football teams. Both of these teams can make a run in the playoffs. I've been coaching and played a long time, and I've never been in one like that. Both teams deserved to win the game. Both teams left everything they had out there on the field, and that's what the game is supposed to be about."
 
On the game going to five overtimes
"We battled it out. It was like two heavyweight fighters exchanging blows, and both of these teams can make a run in the playoffs."
 
On the physically draining game despite the loss
"Maybe playoff-wise it helps you. This will be our ninth or tenth straight week. We will have to handle it in the playoffs."
 
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – vs. Kennesaw State
November 17, 2018 • SunTrust Park • Atlanta, Ga.

• JSU Captains: Senior OL Tyler Scozzaro, Senior DL Randy Robinson, Senior DE E.J. Moss, Junior WR Jamari Hester
• Kennesaw State won the toss and elected to defer to the second half.
• JSU is now 12-6 against ranked teams under John Grass.
• The Gamecocks 519 yards of total offense are the most against the Owls this season, passing the previous high of 347 gained by Tennessee Tech on Sept. 6. 
• Zerrick Cooper's 417 yards passing tied Montressa Kirby (Sept. 6, 1997 vs. Southwest Missouri) for the second-most in a game in school history.
• With his 11-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Byrd on the game's first possession, Zerrick Cooper broke the Gamecocks' single-season touchdown passes record. His 24th touchdown pass of the season passed Ryann Perrilloux's previous record of 23 set in 2009. With his four TD passes today, Cooper now has 27.
• With his career-high 417 passing yards in today's game, Zerrick Cooper now has 2,825 this season, breaking the school's single-season passing record held by Montressa Kirby's 2,817 in 1997. He is just the third JSU player to throw for 2,500 yards in a season (Eli Jenkins, 2,788 in 2015).
• With his school-record 32 completions in the game, Zerrick Cooper now has 212 this season, the third-most in a season by a JSU player. 
• With his 423 yards of total offense on Saturday, Zerrick Cooper now has 3,123 yards this season, (making him the second player in school history to record 3,000 yards of total offense in a season (Eli Jenkins did it in 2015 and 2016). The 3,123 yards in the second-most in a season in JSU history behind Jenkins school-record 3,949 in 2015.
• With his eight points in the game, kicker Cade Stinnett now has 231 career points at JSU, moving him past Chris Hobbs (226 from 1981-84) for seventh place on the school's career scoring list. He is third on that list among kickers. 
• With 12 catches, Jamari Hester tied Ronald Bonner (at Sam Houston State on Sept. 13, 1997) for the second-most in a game in school history and became the first Gamecock with 10 or more catches since Josh Barge had a school-record four at Auburn on Sept. 12, 2015. He is just the seventh player in school history with 10 or more catches in a game.
• Jamari Hester's two touchdown receptions in the game give him nine this season, tying him with Derrick Thomas (1985) for the fourth-most in a season in JSU history.
• Jamari Hester (12 catches for 109 yards) and Trae Barry (five catches for 115 yards) became the first JSU duo to haul in 100 receiving yards in the same game since Josh Barge (9-158) and Markis Merrill (5-101) against Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 31, 2015.
• Josh Pearson's touchdown reception in the second overtime extended his national lead and his school record to 17 touchdown receptions this season. He is now two away from the OVC record of 19 set by Erik Lora in 2013.
• Daniel Byrd's 11-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was his second touchdown catch of the season and his first since the season opener vs. North Carolina A&T on Aug. 25.
• Traco Williams' interception in the second quarter was his fourth of the season and the fourth of his career. It marks the second-straight week he has had an interception and gives him the team lead this season, one more than Zack Woodard's three.
• Michael Matthews' 12-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was his fourth of the season and gives him a scoring run for the second-straight week.
• Freshman Malik Feaster's interception in the fourth quarter was the first of his career.