MARTIN, Tenn. -- With its back against the wall, one final fourth-quarter drive came up short for Jacksonville State as the Gamecocks fell at UT Martin, 22-17.
The loss drops Jacksonville State to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play. It marks the first time the Skyhawks have beaten the Gamecocks since winning 49-47 in Martin on Nov. 3, 2012. Despite the outcome, JSU had the nod in several statistical categories, including total offense (372), first downs (23), time of possession (33:09) and total plays (72).
"I thought we moved the ball really well today, but just couldn't put it into the end zone when we got into the red zone," said Jacksonville State head coach
John Grass. "I thought we played well at times. Defensively, I thought we played a really good offense, great red-zone defense and made some plays to keep us in the game.
"It's just a rough day. I'm very, very disappointed, because the guys gave everything they had today and left it all out on the field."
Jacksonville State took an early 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter when a 1-yard touchdown run by
Zerrick Cooper capped a three-play, 75-yard drive that lasted only 86 seconds. The Gamecocks held onto the lead until John Bachus managed to find the end zone from 10 yards out with 6:42 remaining in the second quarter.
UT Martin took a 13-7 lead with 89 seconds left before halftime on a 26-yard pass-and-catch from Bachus to Colton Dowell. Jacksonville State re-took the lead on the final play of the first half as Cooper, who finished 16-of-36 passing for 240 yards, threw his only touchdown when he found
Michael Matthews in the end zone as time expired.
A 65-yard punt return for a touchdown by UT Martin's Terry Williams pushed the Skyhawks ahead with 24 seconds left in the third quarter. The 19-14 UT Martin lead was chipped into when
Bryant Wallace connected on a career-long 37-yard field goal with 9:40 remaining in the game.
However, Rya Courtright answered with an 18-yard field goal nearly four minutes later to extend the Skyhawks' lead back to five.
Jacksonville State had two more offensive series to find a way to cut into its deficit, but an incomplete pass to
Josh Pearson on a fourth-and-20 play ended one drive combined with Cooper being sacked on the game's final play cemented the outcome.
"I take my hat off to UT Martin," Grass said. "Coach Simpson does a great job and they play us close every year. They almost got us last year, but we came up with a great drive to win that game. You always know it's going to be a great game when two good football teams go at it. We just came up on the short end today and ran out of time."
The Gamecocks continue the two-game road swing Saturday, Nov. 9 with a trip to Tennessee Tech. JSU's matchup in Cookeville, Tenn., is set for 1:30 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN+.
Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – at UT Martin
November 2, 2019 • Graham Stadium • Martin, Tenn.
- JSU Captains: sophomore cornerback Yul Gowdy, junior tight end Landon Rice, senior linebacker Jalen Choice, senior wide receiver Daniel Byrd.
- Jacksonville State won the toss and deferred to the second half.
- One player made his first career start for the Gamecocks on Saturday: freshman defensive end Kyle Holt.
- JSU is now 33-8 all-time in the series against UT Martin and had won the last three meetings with the Skyhawks before today's loss. The Gamecocks are 16-5 all-time in Martin.
- With his 240 passing yards in the game, Zerrick Cooper now has 6,197 in his career, making him the fourth player in school history to throw for 6,000 yards in a career.
- Zerrick Cooper's one touchdown pass in the game gives him 54 in his career, second all-time and one closer to Ed Lett's school record of 61 from 1979-82.
- His 54 career touchdown passes move him into ninth on the OVC's career touchdown passes list, passing UT Martin's Jarod Neal (53 from 2012-15).
- Zerrick Cooper's one touchdown pass in the game gives him 22 this season, moving him into a tie on the school's single-season touchdown passes list with Ed Lett (22 in 1982) for third place. Cooper set the record with 32 in 2018.
- Jamari Hester hauled in 61 receiving yards in the game, extending his career total to 2,155. He is third on the school's career receiving yards list and just the third player in school history with over 2,000 receiving yards in a career.
- Junior wide receiver KJ Stepherson hauled in 100 yards for the Gamecocks on Saturday, his first 100-yard game in a JSU uniform.
- The Gamecocks scored first for the second-straight week, the first time this season they've scored first in back-to-back games. It is just the third time this season that JSU has gotten on the scoreboard before its opponent (North Alabama and Murray State).
Michael Matthews' six-yard touchdown reception on the final play of the second quarter was the third of his career and his third this season.
