MONTGOMERY – Bill Clark was the first-year Jacksonville State head coach in 2013 when the Gamecocks began a streak of 104 consecutive games without being shut out.

Clark was on the opposite sideline Wednesday night as UAB blanked FCS No. 8 Jacksonville State 31-0 at Cramton Bowl. The shutout marked the first time since a 23-0 loss at No. 7 Florida in the 2012 season finale that the Gamecocks failed to score.

Just 122 days after falling in the FCS national quarterfinals, Jacksonville State (0-1) never got closer than the UAB 36 and were limited to eight first downs and 155 total yards at the Montgomery Kickoff.

"We just could not get anything going offensively in the first half," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass. "We played well enough in the first half to stay in the game but we could not duplicate that in the third quarter to give ourselves a chance in the fourth."  

Quarterback Zerrick Cooper, who missed the spring campaign after sustaining an injury against Florida International last October, completed 18-of-35 passes for 91 yards in his return to the lineup. He also led the Gamecocks in rushing with 28 yards on six carries. Newcomer PJ Wells caught three passes for a team-high 42 yards. 

UAB (1-0), which returned nine starters from its defensive unit that ranked seventh nationally in total defense among FBS teams a year ago, limited the Gamecocks to 64 yards in the first half.

Jacksonville State managed only two first downs and its two longest first-half plays each gained 11 yards – a run by Pat Jackson and a Cooper pass to Wells. Jack Dawson's first four punts averaged 52.5 yards per kick, but his fifth attempt was blocked by UAB and led to a Blazers' field goal with one minute remaining before halftime.

Dawson pinned UAB deep in its territory with a 61-yard punt early in the second quarter. The Blazers promptly moved 97 yards in nine plays and got on the scoreboard first with quarterback Tyler Johnston's 3-yard touchdown pass to Rajae' Johnson-Sanders at the 4:53 mark in the second. Matt Quinn's extra point gave UAB a 7-0 lead.

Johnston had a 52-yard pass nullified due to a holding penalty on the scoring drive, but completed passes of 46 and 30 yards to lead the Blazers downfield.

UAB's Grayson Cash later broke through the line and blocked Dawson's punt, then recovered the blocked kick at the Gamecocks' 15. But JSU's defense rose to the challenge and limited the Blazers to a 27-yard field goal by Quinn that extended UAB's lead to 10-0 with one minute before halftime.

The Blazers tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter and added the game's final points midway through the fourth. UAB finished with 518 total yards – 371 through the air.
All-American safety Nicario Harper and Marshall Clark led Jacksonville State with 11 tackles apiece.  

The Gamecocks face another FBS opponent on Sept. 11 at Florida State, the second straight year JSU has traveled to Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. The Seminoles – who kick off their season on Sunday at home vs. Notre Dame – won last year's matchup 41-24 in a game Jacksonville State led into the second half.

Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – UAB
September 1, 2021 • Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, Ala.

• JSU Captains: Sophomore lineman Tylan Grable, sophomore Nicario Harper 
• UAB won the toss and deferred its option 
• The Gamecocks are now 50-54-8 all-time in season openers and have dropped four in a row for the first time since losing five straight from 2005-09 
• JSU falls to 68-22 overall under eighth-year head coach John Grass 
• The Gamecocks fall to 2-4 in the all-time series against UAB  
• UAB gained 518 yards of offense for the most yards allowed by JSU since Youngstown State accumulated 520 during the 2016 FCS playoffs in a 40-24 win 
• Sophomore linebacker Marshall Clark forced his first career fumble in the opening quarter, recovered by freshman Jaylen Swain for his first career fumble recovery 
• Redshirt junior Stevonte Tullis secured his team-best fourth career fumble recovery in the third quarter 
• Redshirt freshman PJ Wells had a career night with his first three career receptions to lead JSU with 42 receiving yards, including a long of 26 yards 
• Quarterback Zerrick Cooper finished 18-for-35 passing for 91 yards. He moves just 70 yards shy of matching Eli Jenkins' school-record of 7,652 passing yards
• JSU had its first punt blocked in four years going back to Sept. 17, 2017, against Coastal Carolina 
• The 31-point margin is the largest loss for JSU since the 2014 opener at No. 8 Michigan State (45-7) 
• Harper and Clark led the JSU defense with 11 tackles each