JACKSONVILLE – No. 9 Jacksonville State welcomed an ex-conference rival to Burgess-Snow Field, welcomed back record-setting quarterback Zerrick Cooper from injury, and in the end saw its two-game win streak halted Saturday afternoon.

Former fellow Ohio Valley and Gulf South conference member UT Martin stunned the Gamecocks with 24 points in a span of less than 12 minutes during the second half to claim a 34-31 upset win in the non-conference matchup. It was Jacksonville State's first home loss to the Skyhawks (3-1) since 1987.

Cooper, who sat out a victory over North Alabama a week earlier, returned to the lineup and threw for 318 yards with two touchdowns.

The senior quarterback had touchdown passes of nine yards to Ahmad Edwards and 30 yards to Gadsden native PJ Wells, and also ran for a short touchdown with 5:34 remaining to draw Jacksonville State within a field goal. Cooper was the Gamecocks' top rusher with 37 yards – no other back had more than 29 as JSU was limited to 91 yards on the ground.

"I thought UT Martin played well in the fourth quarter and came up with explosive plays. They have a good football team. They proved how explosive their offense is in the second half," said Jacksonville State head coach John Grass.

"In the first half we didn't get enough points out of the drives we had. Our inability to score in the red zone hurt us all day. It goes back to controlling the line of scrimmage. We knew we were going to have to throw it more today than we normally do because they load the box up. In the red zone you have to be able to run the ball and we couldn't do that today."

The Gamecocks (2-2) grabbed an early lead on the game's opening series when the defense produced a touchdown for the second straight week.

Skyhawks quarterback Keon Howard was sacked for a loss and JSU's George Steele knocked the ball free, where it was scooped on the run by defensive end Jaylen Swain at the UTM 46. Swain returned it for a touchdown and Alen Karajic tacked on the extra point to put the Gamecocks in front 7-0 with 13:05 to go in the first quarter.

Swain's fumble return marked Jacksonville State's third defensive touchdown of the season and sixth since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, the most by any FCS program in that span. Swain had a 39-yard interception return for a score in the win over North Alabama.

The lead became 14-0 when Cooper directed a seven-play, 60-yard drive that culminated with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Edwards, the 64^th of the quarterback's illustrious career.

Edwards had a career-high six catches for 87 yards.

Karajic kicked a 33-yard field goal at the 8:04 mark in the second quarter as Jacksonville State built a 17-3 cushion.

Wells, a Gadsden native and former Westbrook Christian standout, caught Cooper's 65^th career touchdown toss late in the third quarter as JSU surged ahead 24-13. It was the first career scoring reception for the redshirt freshman, who led the Gamecocks with 93 yards on six catches.

Howard had touchdown passes of 14, four and 54 yards on consecutive series as UT Martin roared back in the fourth quarter. The Skyhawks later ran the game's final 5:34 off the clock to preserve the win.

UT Martin outgained the Gamecocks 426-409, the third opponent in four games with 400-plus yards of total offense.

Makhail Benton led JSU in tackles with eight and Marshall Clark contributed seven stops.

The Gamecocks travel to face future ASUN Conference foe Kennesaw State next Saturday.

Kickoff at KSU's Fifth Third Bank Stadium is set for 2 p.m. CT. JSU is 0-2 all-time against the Owls.

Jacksonville State Postgame Notes – UT Martin
September 25, 2021 • Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium • Jacksonville, Ala.

• JSU Captains: Redshirt junior cornerback Yul Gowdy and redshirt junior offensive lineman Zack Cangelosi 
• JSU won the toss and elected to defer for the second straight week
• The Gamecocks drop to 34-9 in the all-time series against UT Martin. Saturday was the first home loss to the Skyhawks since Oct. 31, 1987 (28-17).
• Head coach John Grass is now 70-23 at the helm of the Gamecocks, suffering just his second career loss to UTM in eight meetings.
• Redshirt senior quarterback Zerrick Cooper completed 24 of 39 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns. It was his first 300-yard game since throwing for 311 against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 23, 2019. 
• Freshman Jaylen Swain scooped up his first career fumble recovery and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown for JSU's first score. It's the Oxford, Ala., native's second straight week to score after a 39-yard interception return against North Alabama on Sept. 18.
• Redshirt freshman PJ Wells hauled in his first career touchdown reception in the third quarter on a 30-yard catch from Cooper