MURRAY, Ky. – The longest season in No. 10 Jacksonville State's storied football history is assured of lasting at least one more week, and hopefully even longer.

The Gamecocks waved goodbye to the Ohio Valley Conference with their ninth league title and secured an FCS playoff berth with a 28-14 win over No. 17 Murray State at Roy Stewart Stadium on Sunday.

Jacksonville State – which has an open date next weekend – will carry a 9-2 record into the postseason after going 6-1 against OVC competition in the spring its last year of membership.

The FCS Football Selection Show will be held Sunday, April 18, at 10:30 a.m. on ESPNU. The playoffs begin on April 24 and Jacksonville State is eligible to host a first-round game.

"This never gets old," an elated Jacksonville State head coach John Grass said after his team earned its sixth conference crown in seven years. "I've never been more proud of a group than this bunch.

"To come through the most unusual year you could ever dream of, all it's done is make them stronger. It was a great job by the coaching staff to navigate through all of this and my hat's off to the players. Everybody did a great job."

The Gamecocks rolled up 281 yards in the first two quarters and scored touchdowns on three straight drives covering at least 65 yards. Jacksonville State also benefited from a pair of missed field goals by Racers kicker Aaron Baum, who failed to convert from 43 yards in the first quarter and 38 yards just before halftime.

Senior tight end Trae Barry hauled in a 39-yard toss from Zion Webb as the Gamecocks drove deep into Murray State territory on their second series. Webb scored on an 11-yard scamper on the next play and Alen Karajic tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 8:12 remaining in the first.

The Webb-to-Barry connection staked Jacksonville State a 14-0 lead on the next series. Barry became JSU's all-time leader in career receiving yardage by a tight end with another 39-yard reception down to the Murray State 12, then Pat Jackson ran 11 yards to the Racers 1.

Webb finished off the five-play drive with a 1-yard run and Karajic's PAT made it 14-0 at the 1:39 mark in the first.

Murray State responded with its only points of the half on a 30-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Webb completed four passes on the ensuing drive and got the Gamecocks into the red zone with a 16-yard jaunt early in the second quarter. Josh Samuel ran the last yard to complete the 14-play, 74-yard march and Karajic's kick gave JSU the 21-7 cushion it carried to the locker room at half.

Barry finished with 101 yards on four catches, his first 100-yard game since a 104-yard performance against North Alabama on Oct. 17, 2020.

Webb hit Barry with an 18-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to complete a seven-play, 81-yard scoring drive. It was Webb's 16th touchdown pass of the 2020-21 season.

Webb accounted for 304 scrimmage yards against the Racers. The junior quarterback ran 12 times for 65 yards and threw for 239, completing 17 of 28 passes without an interception.

Nicario Harper and Marshall Clark were Jacksonville State's top tacklers with eight each. Jamias Presley had a fourth-quarter interception to seal the win and also contributed five tackles.

"Our guys executed on both sides of the football," Grass said. "It was just fitting to end our time in the OVC with a championship."

JSU held a 444-373 advantage in total offense and limited Murray State to 26 yards on the ground. It marks the ninth opponent held to less than 100 yards rushing, breaking the season mark set by JSU's defenses in 2016 and 2017.

All rounds of the FCS playoffs will be broadcast on ESPN's family of networks with first-round games taking place Saturday, April 24, and concluding with the national championship game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on Sunday, May 16, at 1 p.m. CT on ABC.

Murray State, which won or shared three of the first four OVC titles between 1948-51, ended the regular season on a two-game losing skid and now must wait to see if it receives one of the six at-large bids into the 16-team (down from 24) FCS bracket.

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Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – Murray State
April 11, 2021 • Roy Stewart Stadium • Murray, Ky.

• Jacksonville State captains for the regular-season finale were linebacker Markail Benton and wide receiver Ahmad Edwards
• The Gamecocks won the opening coin toss and deferred their option to the second half
• Trae Barry's second catch of the day, a 39-yarder from Zion Webb in the first quarter, moved him past JSU Hall of Famer Rusty Fuller (1979-83) for the most career receiving yards by a Gamecocks tight end. Barry entered the game 65 yards shy of Fuller's mark of 1,500 career yards and finished with four catches for 101 yards, giving him 1,536
• Barry's 101-yard performance was his fifth career game with 100+ receiving yards 
• Webb's two rushing touchdowns tied his career high set against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 22, 2018
• Jacksonville State has won seven in a row vs. Murray State and eight in a row on the Racers' home turf
• JSU improves to 16-2 in the all-time series
• Murray State is the ninth consecutive opponent held to fewer than 100 yards rushing by Jacksonville State's stern defense. The Racers ran 20 times for 26 yards, the fourth time in five games the Gamecocks held an opponent to less than 30 on the ground
• The Gamecocks' OVC football titles came in 2003, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020
• JSU ties former OVC member Western Kentucky for fourth-most football championships with nine. Eastern Kentucky, which along with Jacksonville State is joining the ASUN Conference on July 1, 2021, is the all-time leader with 21 OVC titles
• Jacksonville State went 111-31 against OVC opponents since entering the conference in 2003 and is now 141-46-8 vs. past and current league members
• Jacksonville State is the only FCS program with nine total wins
• Barry's third-quarter touchdown catch was his first score since the second game of the 2019 season against Chattanooga