MIAMI, Fla. – Freshman Alen Karajic kicked four field goals and Josh Samuel rushed for a career-high 163 yards as Jacksonville State shocked Florida International 19-10 at Riccardo Silva Stadium, the Gamecocks' first victory over an FBS opponent since 2013.

Samuel and Uriah West (24 carries, 116 yards) helped Jacksonville State ground out 285 yards and control than ball for more than 42 minutes. It marked the first time since Nov. 16, 2017, that two Gamecock players surpassed 100 yards in the same game.

JSU (3-1) outgained FIU 444-156 and allowed only six first downs to the Panthers (0-3), who were averaging 33.5 points in their first two games. The Gamecocks held a 42:16 to 17:44 advantage in time of possession and ran almost twice as many plays as the Panthers.

"What a great game," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "We played a full 60 minutes. That was fun to watch and I'm so proud of these guys.

"This game would not have been close if we had scored touchdowns in the red zone. We had to kick too many field goals. But we've got a kicker and he did a heck of a job tonight."

Samuel became the Gamecocks' first 100-yard rusher since Jaelen Greene's 121-yard performance vs. East Tennessee State in the FCS playoffs on Nov. 24, 2018, a streak of 17 games.
Record-setting quarterback Zerrick Cooper was hurt on JSU's first series but walked off the field on his own. He stayed in and directed a 62-yard drive capped off by Karajic's first field goal on the next possession but could not return.

Cooper was 5-of-8 for 56 yards before departing. He now has 7,491 career passing yards, closing to within 161 yards of Eli Jenkins' record of 7,652. He remains tied with Ed Lett (1979-82) atop the record book with 61 career touchdown passes.

Grass could not have scripted a better first-half effort from the Gamecocks, even with Cooper watching from the sideline on crutches. Jacksonville State spotted the Panthers a 3-0 lead, then totally dominated the contest until halftime with Zion Webb at the helm of offense.

"I can't say enough about Zion Webb," said Grass, who posted his first career win over an FBS foe. "Zion has hardly been able to practice the last two weeks. He came in and just a great job."
The Gamecocks had 15 first downs to FIU's 2, outgained the Panthers 223-54 and controlled possession for nearly 21 minutes through the first two quarters.

Each of Jacksonville State's three first-half scoring drives covered at least 55 yards and lasted 10, 14 and 12 plays, respectively.

Karajic kicked field goals of 30 and 39 yards sandwiched around the Gamecocks' longest scoring drive since 2014.

Taking over at its two following a 64-yard punt by FIU's Tommy Heatherly, JSU drove 98 yards in 14 plays – 11 running plays and three Webb completions – and Samuel finished things off with a two-yard touchdown run for a 10-3 lead with 11:43 remaining in the second quarter.

Karajic provided all the points Jacksonville State needed after halftime.

He kicked a 20-yard field goal at the 9:53 mark in the third quarter to extend the Gamecocks' lead to 16-3. His final kick – a 23-yarder with 2:35 remaining – put the proverbial nail in the coffin, extending JSU's lead to 19-10 and capping off a time-consuming 14-play, 66-yard drive.

Webb threw for 103 yards in relief of Cooper and ran for 15 more.

Safety Nicario Harper led Jacksonville State defensively with seven tackles. Robert Johnson had a fumble recovery, the game's only turnover.  

The Gamecocks will open their seven-game Ohio Valley Conference spring schedule at Tennessee State on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, with their first league game at Burgess-Snow Field against Tennessee Tech one week later.

JSU 2021 Spring Schedule

• Feb. 21 – at Tennessee State, 2 p.m.
• Feb. 28 – Tennessee Tech, 3 p.m.
• March 14 – at UT Martin, 1 p.m.
• March 21 – Southeast Missouri, 2 p.m.
• March 28 – Austin Peay, 2 p.m.
• April 3 – at Eastern Illinois, 1 p.m.
• April 11 – at Murray State, TBA

Postgame Notes
Jacksonville State at FIU
Oct. 23, 2020 – Riccardo Silva Stadium – Miami, Fla.
 

• JSU Captains: senior tight end Trae Berry, redshirt senior punter Preston Knight, redshirt senior Zerrick Cooper, redshirt senior tight end Landon Rice and senior wide receiver Jared Scott.
• JSU won the toss and elected to defer.
• JSU improved to 6-21 against FBS foes, with its first win over a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent since Sept. 21, 2013, in a 32-26 overtime win at Georgia State, snapping a string of five straight FBS losses for the Gamecocks.
• Head coach John Grass earned his first career win over an FBS opponent in his sixth attempt, but it marked his first time not facing a Power 5 program. He is now 61-19 overall at the helm of the Gamecocks.
• JSU is the first FCS program to beat an FBS opponent in 68 games dating back to The Citadel's win over Georgia Tech on Sept. 14, 2019. FCS teams were 0-25 in such games in 2020 prior to Friday night.
• The Gamecocks held FIU to six first downs, marking the first time a JSU defense allowed fewer than 10 first downs since Eastern Kentucky had eight on Oct. 6, 2018.
• JSU moves to 6-27-2 all-time against six members from Conference USA.
• This was the 88th time since moving to Division I in 1995 where the Gamecocks held their opponent to fewer than 100 yards rushing, limiting FIU to just 72 yards on the ground. JSU held North Alabama to just 63 yards rushing on Oct. 17.
• Tonight marked JSU's first game in Miami in 50 years since the 1970 Orange Blossom Classic, a 21-7 victory over Florida A&M at the historic Orange Bowl.
• Redshirt junior Zion Webb filled in for the injured Zerrick Cooper by matching a career-high with 12 completions on 17 attempts for 103 yards.  
• Prior to his first quarter injury Cooper had 56 passing yards on five completions, bringing his career total to 7,491 yards, just 161 behind Eli Jenkins' school record of 7,652.
• Redshirt junior Josh Samuel's two-yard touchdown run capped a 14-play, 98-yard scoring drive for the Gamecocks, marking the longest such drive since a 99-yard, 10-play drive against West Alabama on Sept. 20, 2014.
• Samuel and Uriah West each carried the ball for more than 100 yards (Samuel, 25 carries for 163 / West, 24 carries for 116) for JSU's first contest with multiple 100-yard rushers since Nov. 16, 2017, against Tennessee State. (Bryant Horn, Roc Thomas) 
• Prior to Samuel and West's 100-yard performances, JSU had gone 17 games without any 100-yard rusher since Jaelen Greene's 121-yard night against East Tennessee on Nov. 24, 2018.
• Freshman kicker Alen Karajic converted three straight field goals (30, 39 and 19 yards) prior to his fourth attempted being blocked, resulting in the first miss of his career. His seven straight made field goals to begin the season was the longest stretch by a Gamecock since Cade Stinnett made nine-straight between the final two games of 2016 and first six games of 2017.
• Karajic's four field goals were the second-most in a game in school history, one shy of the record of fie by Griffin Thomas vs. North Alabama on Sept. 14, 2013. Karajic's four successful kicks in a game ties Gavin Hallford, who accomplished the feat three times during his career.   
• Redshirt junior Nicario Harper led the JSU defense matching a career-high with seven tackles.
• FIU's field goal block in the third quarter was the first time JSU had a field goal attempt blocked since Oct. 20, 2018, at Southeast Missouri.