JACKSONVILLE – Head coach John Grass challenged his Jacksonville State football team this week and they responded.
 
No. 20 Jacksonville State spotted Tennessee State a 17-point lead, then rode the arm of Zerrick Cooper and an opportunistic defense to rally for a 31-23 victory at Burgess-Snow Field Saturday night.
 
The Gamecocks (4-2, 1-1 OVC) recovered three TSU fumbles, including two in the red zone, and Cooper tossed two touchdowns to record-setting receiver Josh Pearson and another to KJ Stepherson to bounce back from last week's demoralizing loss at Austin Peay.
 
Cooper threw for 305 yards and became the first Jacksonville State quarterback since Ryan Perrilloux in 2009 to throw for three touchdowns in four straight games. He also moved into fourth place on the all-time passing yardage list.
 
Pearson, meanwhile, snagged touchdown passes of 20 and eight yards and now has 26 receiving TDs in 19 career games to extend his school record in that category.
 
Michael Matthews sealed the win midway through the fourth with a 10-yard scoring run to finish off a time-consuming 10-play drive. Matthews ran for 45 yards on the drive and finished as JSU's leading rusher with 67 yards. Cooper was next with a season-high 44 yards.
 
"That's one of the most explosive offenses we've played all year and we've played some pretty good ones," Grass said. "We had a great week of practice. We changed practice up a good bit this week and our guys were focused and ready to play coming in – that was just a really good offensive team."
 
Tennessee State (1-5, 0-2) won the pre-game coin toss and surprisingly elected to take the football first.
 
The decision proved to be wise as the Tigers quickly moved 75 yards in five plays for a 7-0 lead. Chris Rowland – who entered the night as the FCS total offense leader – lined up in the backfield on the opening series and sprinted the last 48 yards up the middle for a score with 13:13 left in the first quarter.
 
Jacksonville State soon found itself trailing by two touchdowns after its first possession stalled.
 
TSU again needed fewer than two minutes to find the end zone, with Seth Rowland finishing off the five-play, 65-yard drive with a 27-yard touchdown run. Antonio Zita's second PAT extended the Tigers' lead to 14-0 at 10:01 mark in the first quarter.
 
A nice defensive stand in the red zone by the Gamecocks on TSU's next possession led to Zita's 19-yard field goal that extended the lead to 17-0 at the 4:27 mark.
Bryant Wallace finally got Jacksonville State on the board with a career-best 36-yard field as time wound down in the first quarter to cut the deficit to 17-3.
 
Cooper, limited to 44 passing yards in the first quarter, began to find his rhythm during the second.
 
The redshirt junior, who became only the sixth Gamecocks quarterback to throw for 5,000 career yards, connected with Pearson on a 20-yard touchdown pass set up by Traco Williams' fumble recovery deep in Tennessee State territory.
 
Pearson's 25th career touchdown catch extended his school record and was his eighth of the season. Wallace's PAT pulled JSU to within 17-10 at the 9:48 mark in the second.
 
Zita added another field goal on the ensuing TSU possession as the visitors upped their lead to 20-10 midway through the second quarter.
 
Jacksonville State responded with KJ Stepherson's second career touchdown reception to finish off a 75-yard drive. Stepherson's 42-yard TD and Wallace's PAT drew the Gamecocks to within 20-17.
 
The Gamecocks forced another fumble just before halftime when Tre' Threat pounced on a loose ball at the Tigers' 14. JSU then quickly moved downfield to Tennessee State's 9, but
Cooper was sacked and coughed up the ball, which was recovered by the Tigers' Justin Brown to send his team to the locker room with a 20-17 halftime lead.
Cooper threw for 177 yards in the second quarter in directing JSU's comeback.
 
Tennessee State outgained the Gamecocks 470-467. Chris Rowland accounted for 191 scrimmage yards, including six receptions for 113 yards.
 
Jalen Choice led JSU's defense with 10 tackles. Jackson Luttrell and TaCorri Russell were credited with forced fumbles.
 
Jacksonville State travels to Eastern Illinois (0-6, 0-2) next Saturday. Kickoff is at noon and the game is available on ESPN+.

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Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Tennessee State
October 5, 2019 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.

• JSU Captains: R-Sr. safety Marlon Bridges, R-So. linebacker Dakota Chapman, R-So. offensive lineman Ye'Majesty Sanders and Sr. defensive lineman Tyree McKinney.
•  Tennessee State won the toss and elected to the receive the opening kickoff.
• Attendance: 16,589
• The Gamecocks have now won 32 consecutive regular season home games, dating back to October 2013.  Head coach John Grass is now 30-0 at home during the regular season since taking over as head coach in 2014.
• JSU now leads the series with TSU 12-2 and has won nine of the last 10 in the series.  Jax State is 7-2 against the Tigers in Jacksonville.
• After setting a new program mark for touchdowns in a career, senior Josh Pearson added to his career record with two more scoring grabs, including the game-tying TD catch in the third quarter.  Pearson now has 26 career TD receptions.  
• It's the third consecutive game that Pearson has posted multiple TDs in a game and the seventh of his career.  He finished with seven catches for 87 yards.
• Junior QB Zerrick Cooper moved into second place with former Gamecock Eli Jenkins on JSU's career passing touchdowns list with 48 in his career after tossing three TDs against TSU. 
• Cooper also pushed his career passing yards total to 5,295, surpassing David Coffey (1983-86) and Reggie Stancil (1999-02).  Cooper now ranks fourth all time on JSU's career passing yards list.
• R-So. Michael Matthews' game-winning TD was the seventh of his career and the third of the season.  Matthews finished with a team-high 67 yards on eight carries.
• R-Sr. Jamari Hester moved into third place on JSU's career receptions list with five catches against the Tigers.  Hester moved past Donald Young (1975-78), who had 125 catches during his career.  Hester has accumulated 129 career receptions.
• The Gamecock defense compiled double digit tackles for a loss with 10.0 behind the scrimmage for a loss of 26 yards. 
• R-Sr. Jalen Choice turned in 10 total tackles, including 1.5 stops for a loss.

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Jacksonville State Postgame Quotes – Tennessee State
October 5, 2019 • Burgess-Snow Field • Jacksonville, Ala.
 
Head Coach John Grass
Thoughts on the game
"It was great to get this win. We made a lot of mistakes, but we got better as the game went on and we did things to win the game. I can guarantee you Tennessee State was the best 1-4 team in the country. They were so explosive offensively that it probably took us three drives into the game to catch up with their speed. I think we got better tonight. We have to continue to do that and keep getting better."
 
On handling the first quarter differently
"I definitely think this situation was different than some of the others. We had a lot more energy and we were ready to play. I think our defensive players were shell-shocked at how good their offense was. I know people will talk about their record, but we really beat a good football team tonight.
 
On rebounding in slow first quarter starts
"I have no doubt that these guys are going to play hard and finish games, so I don't think that's our issue. The fact of the matter is these other teams we're playing have gotten much better. We're still so young in spots, and we've got people injured that we've got to get back on the field, too. Tonight was just a very physical game from both sides though."
 
Zerrick Cooper, quarterback, redshirt junior
On passing Eli Jenkins to become second on the all-time passing touchdown list at JSU
"I really didn't know the record, but it's definitely nice to know. It's good but I'm not here playing for records. I'm playing for championships with this team. Without them I wouldn't be able to break records. It's good to have it but that's not why I'm here."
 
Jalen Choice, linebacker, redshirt senior
On responding on defense
"We had to come together and overcome it. I feel like everyone executed and did their job in the red zone, and we had more intensity and urgency their, too. We've got to have that on the rest of the field though."
 
Michael Matthews, running back, redshirt sophomore
On bouncing back after slow first quarter starts
"We had a great week of practice, but we came out flat. I believe our problem is we wait until our backs are against the wall to actually start putting forth serious effort and getting something done. This is something that has to be fixed though and it will be fixed."
 
TaCorrie Russell, defensive end, redshirt freshman
On stepping up in red zone situations
"We definitely had to step up in the red zone a lot of times today, but I think it was really us being more disciplined that did it for us. There were plenty of times that our lack of discipline extended drives for them. If we start coming out playing more disciplined like how we're coached in practice, then we can play with anyone."